On the twenty-first of the seventh
month
, the word
of the LORD
came
by aHaggai
the prophet
saying
,
"Speak now
to aZerubbabel
the son
of Shealtiel
, agovernor
of Judah
, and to aJoshua
the son
of Jehozadak
, the high
priest
, and to the bremnant
of the people
saying
,
`Who is aleft
among you who
saw
this
1temple
in its bformer
glory
? And how
do you see
it now
? Does it not 2seem
to you like nothing
3in comparison
?
`But now 1 atake
courage
, Zerubbabel
,' declares
the LORD
, `take
courage
also, Joshua
son
of Jehozadak
, the high
priest
, and all
you people
of the land
take
courage
,' declares
the LORD
, `and work
; for bI am with you,' declares
the LORD
of hosts
.
`As for the 1 apromise which
I 2made
you when you came
out of Egypt
, 3My bSpirit
is abiding
in your midst
; cdo not fear
!'
"For thus says
the LORD
of hosts
, ` aOnce
more
1in a blittle
while
, I am going to cshake
the heavens
and the earth
, the sea
also and the dry
land
.
`I will shake aall
the nations
; and 1they will come
with the bwealth
of all
nations
, and I will cfill
this
house
with glory
,' says
the LORD
of hosts
.
`The asilver is Mine and the gold
is Mine,' declares
the LORD
of hosts
.
`The latter aglory
of this
house
will be greater
than
the bformer
,' says
the LORD
of hosts
, `and in this
place
I will give
cpeace
,' declares
the LORD
of hosts
."
On the atwenty-fourth of the ninth
month, in the second
year
of Darius
, the word
of the LORD
came
to Haggai
the prophet
, saying
,
"Thus says
the LORD
of hosts
, ` aAsk
now
the priests
for a 1ruling
:
`If a man
carries
aholy
meat
in the 1fold
of his garment
, and touches
bread
with 2this fold
, or cooked
food
, wine
, oil
, or any
other food
, will it become
holy
?' " And the priests
answered
, "No
."
Then Haggai said
, " aIf
one who is unclean
from a 1corpse
touches
any
of these
, will the latter become
unclean
?" And the priests
answered
, "It will become
unclean
."
Then Haggai said
, " ` aSo
is this
people
. And so
is this
nation
before
Me,' declares
the LORD
, `and so
is every
work
of their hands
; and what
they offer
there
is unclean
.
`But now, do 1 aconsider
from this
day
2onward
: before
one bstone
was placed
on another
in the temple
of the LORD
,
1from that time when one came
to a grain heap
of twenty
measures, there would be only ten
; and when one came
to the wine
vat
to draw
fifty
2measures
, there would be only twenty
.
`I smote you and every
work
of your hands
with ablasting
wind
, mildew
and hail
; 1yet you did not come back to Me,' declares
the LORD
.
`Do 1 aconsider from this
day
2onward
, from the btwenty-fourth
day
of the ninth
month; from the day
when
the temple
of the LORD
was cfounded
, 1consider
:
`Is the seed still
in the barn
? Even
including
the vine
, the fig
tree
, the pomegranate
and the olive
tree
, it has not borne
fruit. Yet from this
day
on I will abless
you."'
Then the word of the LORD
came
a second
time
to Haggai
on the atwenty-fourth
day of the month
, saying
,
"Speak to aZerubbabel
governor
of Judah
, saying
, `I am going to bshake
the heavens
and the earth
.
`I will aoverthrow the thrones
of kingdoms
and destroy
the bpower
of the kingdoms
of the 1nations
; and I will coverthrow
the chariots
and their riders
, and the dhorses
and their riders
will go
down
, eeveryone
by the sword
of another
.'
`On that day,' declares
the LORD
of hosts
, `I will take
you, Zerubbabel
, son
of Shealtiel
, My servant
,' declares
the LORD
, `and I will make
you like a 1 asignet
ring, for bI have chosen
you,' " declares
the LORD
of hosts
.