Haggai

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,

1Darius was the king. In his second year, on the first day of the sixth month, God spoke. He gave his message to Haggai, a prophet, someone who tells people what God says. The message was for Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the governor, the leader of Judah. It was also for Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest, the chief priest.

2Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built.

2The LORD, who leads heaven's armies, said this. "These people say it is not yet time to build my house again."

Note"The LORD of hosts" means the LORD who commands the armies of heaven. It is a way of saying he is very powerful.

3Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,

3Then the LORD spoke again through Haggai the prophet. This is what he said.

4Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?

4"Is it time for you to live in your nice wooden houses? My house is still a pile of ruins."

Note"Cieled houses" means houses finished on the inside with wood panels. These were comfortable, well-built homes.

5Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.

5So the LORD, who leads heaven's armies, says this. "Think carefully about how you are living."

6Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

6"You plant many seeds, but you gather only a little food. You eat, but you are still hungry. You drink, but you are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but you never get warm. You earn money, and it slips through a bag full of holes."

7Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.

7The LORD, who leads heaven's armies, says it again. "Think carefully about how you are living."

8Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.

8"Go up into the hills. Bring back wood. Build my house. Then I will be happy with it, and people will honor me," says the LORD.

9Ye looked for much, and lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.

9"You hoped for a big harvest. It turned out small. What you brought home, I blew away. Why? says the LORD, who leads heaven's armies. Because my house is still in ruins. Meanwhile each of you hurries to work on your own house."

10Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.

10"That is why the sky above you holds back its dew. That is why the ground holds back its crops."

11And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.

11"I called for a long time with no rain. It came on the fields and the hills. It came on the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil. It came on everything the ground grows. It came on people and on farm animals. It came on all the work your hands do."

Note"Corn" in old English means grain of any kind, like wheat or barley. It does not mean corn on the cob.

12Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD.

12Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest, listened. So did all the people who were left. They obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of Haggai the prophet. They knew the LORD their God had sent him. And the people showed deep respect for the LORD.

13Then spake Haggai the LORD’s messenger in the LORD’s message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD.

13Then Haggai, the LORD's messenger, gave the LORD's message to the people. He said, "I am with you," says the LORD.

14And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,

14So the LORD stirred up the hearts of the people to work. He stirred up Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah. He stirred up Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest. He stirred up all the people who were left. They came and began working on the house of the LORD, who leads heaven's armies, their God.

15In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

15This was on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month. It was the second year that Darius was king.