1 I n the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of Jehovah by Haggai the prophet, saying,

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Word of the Lord came by Haggai the man of God, saying,

2 S peak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying,

“Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ruler of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the head religious leader, and to the rest of the people. Say to them,

3 W ho is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes as nothing?

‘Who is left among you who saw this house of God as it was before in its greatness? And how does it look to you now? Is it anything like it was?

4 Y et now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith Jehovah; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith Jehovah, and work: for I am with you, saith Jehovah of hosts,

But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, head religious leader. And be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord. ‘Do the work, for I am with you,’ says the Lord of All.

5 a ccording to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, and my Spirit abode among you: fear ye not.

‘As I promised you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is with you. Do not be afraid.’

6 F or thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;

For the Lord of All says, ‘Once again, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

7 a nd I will shake all nations; and the precious things of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith Jehovah of hosts.

I will shake all the nations so that the riches of all nations will come in. And I will fill this house with greatness,’ says the Lord of All.

8 T he silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith Jehovah of hosts.

‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of All.

9 T he latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, saith Jehovah of hosts; and in this place will I give peace, saith Jehovah of hosts.

‘This house will be even greater than it was before,’ says the Lord of All. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of All.” The People Are Unclean

10 I n the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of Jehovah by Haggai the prophet, saying,

On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in the second year of Darius, the Word of the Lord came to Haggai the man of God, saying,

11 T hus saith Jehovah of hosts: Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying,

“The Lord of All says, ‘Ask the religious leaders to decide about this:

12 I f one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any food, shall it become holy? And the priests answered and said, No.

If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his clothing, and this fold touches bread or hot food, or wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” The religious leaders answered and said, “No.”

13 T hen said Haggai, If one that is unclean by reason of a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.

Then Haggai said, “If a man is unclean because he touched a dead body and touches any of these, will it become unclean?” And the religious leaders answered and said, “It will become unclean.” The Lord Promises Good to Come to His People

14 T hen answered Haggai and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith Jehovah; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

Then Haggai said, “‘So are these people, and so is this nation before Me,’ says the Lord. ‘And so is everything they have made. What they give there is unclean.

15 A nd now, I pray you, consider from this day and backward, before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of Jehovah.

Now think about this from this day on. Think about how things were before one stone was placed on another in the house of the Lord.

16 T hrough all that time, when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when one came to the winevat to draw out fifty vessels, there were but twenty.

When anyone came to a place where there were twenty baskets of grain, there would be only ten. When anyone came to a place to get fifty bottles of wine, there would be only twenty.

17 I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the work of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah.

I destroyed you and everything you did with a strong-wind, disease, and hail. Yet you did not return to Me,’ says the Lord.

18 C onsider, I pray you, from this day and backward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, since the day that the foundation of Jehovah's temple was laid, consider it.

‘Think about this from this day on, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day when the base of the Lord’s house was laid, think about this:

19 I s the seed yet in the barn? yea, the vine, and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree have not brought forth; from this day will I bless you.

Is the seed still in the store-house? The vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not given any fruit. Yet from this day on I will bring good to you.’” The Lord’s Promise to Zerubbabel

20 A nd the word of Jehovah came the second time unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying,

The Word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying,

21 S peak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;

“Tell Zerubbabel, ruler of Judah, ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth.

22 a nd I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.

I will take the power away from kings and destroy the power of the nations. I will destroy war-wagons and their drivers. Horses and their horsemen will fall, every one by the sword of another.

23 I n that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith Jehovah, and will make thee as a signet; for I have chosen thee, saith Jehovah of hosts.

On that day,’ says the Lord of All, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will make you like a ring for marking My name. For I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of All.”