Haggai 1; Haggai 2

1 1 The prophet Haggai spoke the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. This message came in the second year that Darius was king, on the first day of the sixth month:

2 "This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: 'The people say the right time has not come to rebuild the Temple of the Lord.'"

3 Then Haggai the prophet spoke the word of the Lord:

4 "Is it right for you to be living in fancy houses while the Temple is still in ruins?"

5 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "Think about what you have done.

6 You have planted much, but you harvest little. You eat, but you do not become full. You drink, but you are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but you are not warm enough. You earn money, but then you lose it all as if you had put it into a purse full of holes."

7 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "Think about what you have done.

8 Go up to the mountains, bring back wood, and build the Temple. Then I will be pleased with it and be honored," says the Lord.

9 "You look for much, but you find little. When you bring it home, I destroy it. Why?" asks the Lord All-Powerful. "Because you all work hard for your own houses while my house is still in ruins!

10 Because of what you have done, the sky holds back its rain and the ground holds back its crops.

11 I have called for a time without rain on the land, and on the mountains, and on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, the plants which the earth produces, the people, the farm animals, and all the work of your hands."

12 Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all the rest of the people who were left alive obeyed the Lord their God and the message from Haggai the prophet, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord.

13 Haggai, the Lord's messenger, gave the Lord's message to the people, saying, "The Lord says, 'I am with you.'"

14 The Lord stirred up Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all the rest of the people who were left alive. So they came and worked on the Temple of their God, the Lord All-Powerful.

15 They began on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year Darius was king.

1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Lord spoke his word through Haggai the prophet, saying,

2 "Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the rest of the people who are left alive. Say,

3 'Do any of you remember how great the Temple was before it was destroyed? What does it look like now? Doesn't it seem like nothing to you?'

4 But the Lord says, 'Zerubbabel, be brave. Also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, be brave. And all you people who live in the land, be brave,' says the Lord. 'Work, because I am with you,' says the Lord All-Powerful.

5 'I made a promise to you when you came out of Egypt, and my Spirit is still with you. So don't be afraid.'

6 "This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: 'In a short time I will once again shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

7 I will shake all the nations, and they will bring their wealth. Then I will fill this Temple with glory,' says the Lord All-Powerful.

8 'The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,' says the Lord All-Powerful.

9 'The new Temple will be greater than the one before,' says the Lord All-Powerful. 'And in this place I will give peace,' says the Lord All-Powerful."

10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in the second year Darius was king, the Lord spoke his word to Haggai the prophet, saying,

11 "This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: 'Ask the priests for a teaching.

12 Suppose a person carries in the fold of his clothes some meat made holy for the Lord. If that fold touches bread, cooked food, wine, olive oil, or some other food, will that be made holy?'" The priests answered, "No."

13 Then Haggai said, "A person who touches a dead body will become unclean. If he touches any of these foods, will it become unclean, too?" The priests answered, "Yes, it would become unclean."

14 Then Haggai answered, "The Lord says, 'This is also true for the people of this nation. They are unclean, and everything they do with their hands is unclean to me. Whatever they offer at the altar is also unclean.

15 "'Think about this from now on! Think about how it was before you started laying stones on top of stones to build the Temple of the Lord.

16 A person used to come to a pile of grain expecting to find twenty basketfuls, but there were only ten. And a person used to come to the wine vat to take out fifty jarfuls, but only twenty were there.

17 I destroyed your work with diseases, mildew, and hail, but you still did not come back to me,' says the Lord.

18 'It is the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, the day in which the people finished working on the foundation of the Temple of the Lord. From now on, think about these things:

19 Do you have seeds for crops still in the barn? Your vines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not given fruit yet. But from now on I will bless you!'"

20 Then the Lord spoke his word a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month. He said,

21 "Tell Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, 'I am going to shake the heavens and the earth.

22 I will destroy the foreign kingdoms and take away the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will destroy the chariots and their riders. The horses will fall with their riders, as people kill each other with swords.'

23 The Lord All-Powerful says, 'On that day I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant,' says the Lord, 'and I will make you important like my signet ring, because I have chosen you!' says the Lord All-Powerful."