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The Prophet Haggai

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- Chapter 1 -

(Ezra 5:1–5)
1
In the second year of king Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came, by the hand of Haggai the prophet, to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jesus the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying:(a)
2
Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: This people claims that the time has not yet arrived for building the house of the Lord.
3
But the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying:
4
Is it time for you to dwell in paneled houses, while this house is deserted?
5
And now, thus says the Lord of hosts: Set your hearts upon your ways.
6
You sowed much and have brought in little. You consumed and have not been satisfied. You drank and have not been inebriated. You covered yourselves and have not been warmed. And whoever gathered wages, has put them in a bag with holes.(b)
7
Thus says the Lord of hosts: Set your hearts upon your ways.
8
Ascend to the mountain, bring wood and build the house, and it shall be acceptable to me, and I shall be glorified, says the Lord.
9
You have looked for more, and behold, it became less, and you brought it home, and I blew it away. What is the cause of this, says the Lord of hosts? It is because my house is desolate, yet you have hurried, each one to his own house.
10
Because of this, the heavens over you have been prohibited from giving dew, and the earth has been prohibited from giving her sprouts.(c)
11
And I called a drought over the land, and over the mountains, and over the wheat, and over the wine, and over the oil, and whatever the soil would bring forth, and over men, and over beasts of burden, and over all the labor of hands.

The People Obey

12
And Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jesus the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all the remnant of the people heeded the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, just as the Lord their God sent him to them. And the people were fearful before the face of the Lord.(d)
13
And Haggai, a messenger of the Lord among messengers of the Lord, spoke to the people, saying: the Lord says, “I am with you.”(e)
14
And the Lord stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Jesus the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the remainder of all the people. And they entered and performed work in the house of the Lord of hosts their God.(f)

Footnotes

(a)1:1 Haggai the prophet actually wrote down his prophecies, in some form. Other prophets did not write (and may have been illiterate); other persons wrote down their prophecies, which they had merely spoken.(Conte)
(b)1:6 The expression ‘you drank and have not been inebriated’ is a figure of speech.(Conte)
(c)1:10 The word ‘germen’ refers to germination or sprouts or shoots, in other words, the first part of the plant to spring forth from the soil. Thus, the sky does not produce dew and the earth does not even begin to produce plants.(Conte)
(d)1:12 The name of the high priest, in Latin, is ‘Jesus,’ therefore, the translation as ‘Jesus,’ is justified. Some other translations obscure this connection between this man’s name and our Lord’s name, by translating the name as ‘Joshua.’(Conte)
(e)1:13 The phrases ‘song of songs’ and ‘a man among men’ and ‘blessed are you among women’ are all examples of a way of indicating a superlative. Haggai was ‘a messenger among messengers.’(Conte)
(f)1:14 This passage foreshadows the time when the Church will rebuild the Vatican. The Vatican, having been destroyed during World War 3, will not be rebuilt until the second year of the reign of the great monarch. God will stir the spirit of the great monarch and the spirit of the Pope. And so work on the rebuilding of the Vatican in Rome (the center of authority in the Church), and work on the building of a chief Church in Jerusalem, (the center of worship for the Church) will begin when the first part of the tribulation ends.(Conte)
(Ezra 5:1–5)
1
In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, the LORD’s(a) word came by Haggai the prophet, to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,
2
“This is what the LORD of Armies says: These people say, ‘The time hasn’t yet come, the time for the LORD’s house to be built.’”
3
Then the LORD’s word came by Haggai the prophet, saying,
4
“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies waste?
5
Now therefore this is what the LORD of Armies says: ‘Consider your ways.
6
You have sown much, and bring in little. You eat, but you don’t have enough. You drink, but you aren’t filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes in it.’
7
“This is what the LORD of Armies says: ‘Consider your ways.
8
Go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build the house. I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified,” says the LORD.
9
“You looked for much, and, behold,(b) it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the LORD of Armies, “Because of my house that lies waste, while each of you is busy with his own house.
10
Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.
11
I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on that which the ground produces, on men, on livestock, and on all the labor of the hands.”

The People Obey

12
Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the LORD their God’s(c) voice, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him; and the people feared the LORD.
13
Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, spoke the LORD’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you,” says the LORD.
14
The LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of Armies, their God,
15
in the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

Footnotes

(a)1:1 When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “LORD” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name.
(b)1:9 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.
(c)1:12 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).
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