Haggai

11The prophet Haggai received a message from Yahweh in the second year after Darius had become king of Persia. Haggai received this message on the first day of the sixth month of that year. He told it to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel. Haggai also told the message to the high priest, Joshua the son of Jehozadak. He said, 2“Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says this: ‘The people {of Judah} are saying that it is not yet the right time for them to rebuild my temple.’” 3Yahweh then told the prophet Haggai to tell the people this: 4“It is not right for you to live in comfortable houses while you have still not repaired Yahweh’s temple! 5So this is what Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, is telling you: ‘Think about what you are doing!

6You are planting many seeds, but you are not harvesting many crops.

You eat food, but you never get enough to eat.

You drink wine, but you never get enough to satisfy you.

You still have clothes to wear, but they are so worn-out that they no longer keep you warm.

You earn money, but it is not enough to pay your expenses.’ 7So this is what Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, is telling you: ‘Think about what you should do differently! 8Go up into the hills and cut down trees! Bring the timber from them here to Jerusalem and rebuild my temple! This will honor me, and I will be proud of my temple again.’ That is what Yahweh is telling you. 9Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, is also telling you, ‘There is a reason why you have not grown many crops even though you have planted many seeds. The reason is that I kept the crops from growing. I did that because you have built comfortable homes for yourselves, but you have not repaired my temple. 10Because you were not repairing my temple, I kept the crops from growing by making it so dry that no rain fell from the sky and there was not even any moisture on the ground in the mornings. 11I have kept the plants from growing in the fields and on the mountains. I have kept your wheat and barley from growing. I have kept your vines from producing grapes. I have kept your olive trees from producing olives. Even though you worked very hard, you were not able to grow enough food. As a result, both people and animals have not had enough to eat.’” 12{The governor of Judah,} Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, knew that Yahweh their God had told the prophet Haggai to speak this message. The high priest, Joshua the son of Jehozadak, also knew this. The rest of the people who had returned to Judah from exile in Babylon also knew this. And they all respected Yahweh. So they all obeyed the message that Yahweh their God had spoken. 13{Yahweh was pleased that the people had obeyed him. So} Yahweh gave Haggai, his messenger, another message to speak to the people. Haggai said, “Yahweh is telling you, ‘I am with you!’” 14This message from Yahweh made the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, want to rebuild the temple. It also made the high priest, Joshua the son of Jehozadak, want to rebuild the temple. It also made the rest of the people want to rebuild the temple. So they all gathered together and started rebuilding the temple of Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, their God. 15They started the work on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month of the second year that Darius was king of Persia.

21Yahweh gave another message to the prophet Haggai on the twenty-first day of the seventh month {of Darius’ second year as king of Persia}. Yahweh told Haggai, 2“I want you to ask a question to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest, Joshua the son of Jehozadak, and to the rest of the people. Ask them, 3‘Is there still anyone among you who remembers how glorious the temple used to look? If so, do you think that the temple looks glorious now? You must agree that it does not look very glorious at all.’” 4{But after Haggai had asked those questions, he said,} “Yahweh is telling you, Zerubbabel, ‘Now do not be discouraged!’ Yahweh is also telling you high priest, Joshua the son of Jehozadak, and all the Jewish people, ‘Do not be discouraged!’ Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, is telling you, ‘Repair the temple, because I am with you {to help you}! 5That is what I promised your ancestors when I brought them out of slavery in Egypt and made a covenant with them. {And I am still keeping that promise now, since} my Spirit is living among you. So do not be afraid {of the people who are trying to keep you from rebuilding my temple}!’ 6Do not be afraid, because Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, is telling you, ‘Soon it will be as if I am shaking the sky and the earth, the sea and the land. 7It will seem that way because I will be making the other nations respect you. Then those people will bring their treasures to this temple, and I will make it very glorious again.’ That is what Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, is telling you. 8Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says, ‘The silver and gold that the people of other nations have really belong to me.’ 9Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says, ‘The temple will be even more glorious in the future than it was in the past.’ Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, also says, ‘I will protect the temple from people who would want to destroy it.’” 10Yahweh spoke another message to the prophet Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Darius’ second year as king of Persia. Yahweh told Haggai, 11“This is what I, Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, am telling you to do. Ask the priests a question about what Moses directed in his instructions. Say, 12‘Suppose a priest takes {from the altar} some meat that a person has offered to Yahweh. And suppose the priest carries the meat within his robe. If his robe touches some bread or stew or wine or olive oil or any other food, does that food become like food that someone has offered to Yahweh?’” When Haggai asked the priests this question, they replied, “No, it does not.” 13Then Haggai asked the priests this question: “Suppose someone becomes unclean by touching a dead body. If this unclean person then touches any food, does that food also become unclean?” The priests replied, “Yes, that food does become unclean.” 14Then Haggai said, “Yahweh is telling you this: ‘I consider you Jewish people to be unclean as well! And since you are unclean, the crops that you grow and the animals that you raise are also unclean. And so you cannot offer those unclean crops or the unclean meat from those animals on the altar at the temple. 15So now think about what has been happening to you during this whole time that you have not been rebuilding my temple. 16During that time, when you thought you could take 20 measures of grain from a heap, you found that there were only 10 measures in the heap. When you thought you could draw 50 measures of wine out of a wine vat, you found that there were only 20 measures in the vat. 17I caused blight, mildew, and hail to destroy all the crops that you worked so hard to raise. Even so, you did not do what I wanted you to do and rebuild my temple.’ This is what Yahweh is saying to you. 18Think about what has been happening to you during the whole time between when you laid the foundation of my temple {when you first returned from exile} until this day, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Yes, think about that! 19You have no grain left in your barns. Your grapevines have not been producing grapes. Your fig trees have not been producing figs. Your pomegranate trees have not been producing pomegranates. Your olive trees have not been producing olives. But from now on, I will bless you {with an abundance of crops}!” 20Yahweh then gave a second message to Haggai on that same day. He said, 21“Tell Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, this for me: ‘It is going to be as if I am shaking the sky and the earth. 22It will seem that way because I am going to stop kingdoms from ruling over other kingdoms. I am going to make strong nations weak. I am going to do this by making the nations fight wars against each other. When they do, they will completely destroy one another’s armies.’ 23Tell Zerubbabel for me, Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, ‘After I destroy the armies of the other kingdoms, I am going to make you powerful, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant.’ Tell him for me, Yahweh, ‘Just as a king seals his orders with a signet ring, so I will use you to accomplish my purposes.’ Tell him for me, Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, ‘I am going to do this because I have chosen you!’”