Haggai

1Two prophets spoke to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. Their names were Haggai and Zechariah, the son of Iddo. They spoke in the name of the God of Israel.

Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.

NoteA prophet is a person who tells others what God says. Judah was the land around the city of Jerusalem. The Jews were the people who lived there.

2So Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak got up. They began to build God's house in Jerusalem again. God's prophets were right there helping them.

Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.

NoteGod's house means the temple, the building where people worshiped God. It had been knocked down many years before this. That is why they were building it again.

13So Tatnai the governor, Shetharboznai, and their fellow officers obeyed. They did exactly what King Darius had sent word to do, and they did it quickly.

Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily.

14The Jewish leaders kept building, and the work went well. Two prophets helped them, Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished the house as the God of Israel commanded. They also followed the orders of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.

And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

NoteA prophet was someone who told people what God said. Haggai and Zechariah spoke to the workers and kept them going.

15The house was finished on the third day of the month Adar. That was in the sixth year that King Darius ruled.

And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

NoteAdar was the last month of their year. It came near the end of our winter, around February and March.

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.

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,

NoteDarius was king of Persia, a huge and powerful country far away. Judah was a small land that his kingdom ruled. A governor was the leader put in charge of a land like Judah. Priests were the men who helped people worship God at his house. The high priest was the one in charge of all the other priests. The sixth month came near the end of summer.

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

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

NoteThe King James says "the LORD of hosts." Hosts is an old word for armies. God's house means the temple in Jerusalem. It was the special building where people came to worship God. Years before, an enemy army burned it down. The people were carried far away to another country. Now they had come home, but the temple was still a pile of stones.

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

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

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

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

NoteThe King James says "cieled houses." That means walls lined with smooth wooden boards. Wood like that cost a lot of money. Only a finished, comfortable house had it.

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

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

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."

Ye 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.

NotePeople carried their coins in a small cloth bag. They tied the bag to their belt. A bag with holes in it lost every coin.

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

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.

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.

Go 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.

NoteThere were no stores that sold wood. You walked up into the hills and cut down trees. Then you carried the logs all the way back.

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 runs to your own house."

Ye 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.

NoteA hot wind could dry a crop or blow the grain away. Here God says he was the one doing the blowing.

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

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

NoteIn that land almost no rain fell during the summer. Dew is the water that wets plants during the night. Farmers there needed that dew very much.

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."

And 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.

NoteThe King James word "corn" means grain, like wheat or barley. It does not mean yellow corn on a cob. Grain, wine, and olive oil were the three main foods there.

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. The LORD their God had sent him. And the people showed deep respect for the LORD.

Then 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.

Note"The remnant of the people" means the ones who were left. Many had died, and many stayed in the faraway country. Only a small group came home to Judah. The word "fear" here does not mean being scared. It means deep respect for someone very great.

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

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

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.

And 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,

NoteTo stir up someone's spirit means to make them want to act. The people had felt tired and slow about the work. Now they were ready to begin.

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

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

NoteThis was twenty-three days after Haggai's first message. The people started the work very quickly.

1It was the twenty-first day of the seventh month. God gave a message to Haggai. Haggai was a prophet, someone who told people what God said.

In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying,

NotePeople then counted months by the moon, not like our calendar. The seventh month came in the fall, after the harvest.

2God said, "Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the ruler of Judah. Speak to Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest, the chief priest. Speak to all the people who are left."

Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying,

NoteYears before, enemies had carried these people far away to Babylon. Some had come back home again. They were the ones who were left. Zerubbabel was their ruler, but a bigger king ruled over him.

3"Ask them: Who here saw this house, God's temple, when it was grand long ago? How does it look to you now? Does it look like nothing next to that?"

Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?

NoteLong ago King Solomon built a temple here for God. It was huge and shining with gold. Enemies knocked it down about seventy years before this day. Only a few very old people still remembered it.

4"But now be strong, Zerubbabel," says the LORD. "Be strong, Joshua the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land. Get to work. I am with you," says the LORD, the God who leads the armies of heaven.

Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:

NoteWhen you see LORD in big letters, it stands for God's own special name.

5"This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit is still here with you. Do not be afraid."

According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.

NoteLong ago God's people were slaves in the land of Egypt. God brought them out and promised to stay with them always.

6The LORD of heaven's armies says this: "Once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth. I will shake the sea and the dry land."

For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;

NoteTo shake the heavens and the earth means God will change everything. Even the strongest kingdoms will be shaken loose.

7"I will shake all the nations. They will come and bring their treasures. I will fill this house with glory, my shining greatness," says the LORD of heaven's armies.

And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

8"All the silver is mine. All the gold is mine," says the LORD of heaven's armies.

The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.

9"Later, the glory of this house will be greater than before," says the LORD of heaven's armies. "And in this place I will give peace," says the LORD of heaven's armies.

The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

NotePeace here means more than no fighting. It means everything is safe and whole and good. Glory means shining greatness.

10It was the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year that Darius was king. God gave another message to Haggai the prophet.

In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,

NoteDarius was the king of Persia, a huge kingdom far away. God's people lived under him, so they counted years by his reign.

11The LORD of heaven's armies said, "Ask the priests, the men who serve God at the temple, what the law says."

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying,

NoteThe law was the set of rules God gave his people long ago. Priests learned the rules and answered questions about them.

12"Say to them: A man carries meat given to God in a fold of his coat. The cloth then touches bread, soup, wine, oil, or any food. Does that food become holy?" The priests answered, "No."

If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No.

NoteHoly means set apart just for God, not for everyday use. Meat given to God was part of an animal brought to the temple. People wore long robes and folded up a bit of cloth to carry things, like a pocket.

13Then Haggai asked, "What if a man has touched a dead body? That makes him unclean. If he touches these foods, do they become unclean?" The priests answered, "Yes, they become unclean."

Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.

NoteUnclean did not mean dirty. It meant a person could not go near holy things for a while. Touching a dead body made someone unclean for seven days.

14Then Haggai said, "The LORD says these people and this nation are like that. Everything they make with their hands is unclean. What they bring to me there is unclean too."

Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

NoteWhat they bring to God means the gifts they burned on the altar. An altar is a big stone table for giving gifts to God.

15"Now please think carefully about the time before today. Think back to before one stone was set on another in the LORD's temple."

And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD:

NoteThe people had started building the temple again after many years. Before that, the ground lay empty and no work was done.

16"In those days a man came to a grain pile hoping for twenty baskets. He found only ten. A man came to the winepress for fifty jars of wine. He found only twenty."

Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty.

NoteEach basket held about as much grain as a big bucket. A winepress was a stone pit. People stomped on grapes in it to squeeze out the juice.

17"I made your crops dry up and turn moldy. I sent hail on all your hard work. Still you did not turn back to me," says the LORD.

I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD.

NoteMildew is gray fuzzy mold that spoils grain. Hail is lumps of ice that fall from the sky. Hail can smash a field of plants flat.

18"Think carefully about today and the days ahead. Today is the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Today the bottom stones of the LORD's temple were set in place. Think about it."

Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid, consider it.

NoteThe bottom stones are called the foundation. They go down first and hold up the whole building.

19"Is there any seed left in the barn? The grapevine, fig tree, pomegranate, and olive tree have grown no fruit yet. But from this day on, I will bless you."

Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.

NoteGrapes, figs, pomegranates and olives were their main crops. A pomegranate is a round red fruit full of juicy seeds.

20God gave Haggai one more message that same day, the twenty-fourth day of the month.

And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying,

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

Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;

22"I will turn over the thrones of kings. I will break the power of other nations. I will turn over their chariots, the carts they ride in battle. Horses and riders will fall. Each one will die by his own brother's sword."

And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.

NoteDying by his own brother's sword means the soldiers get mixed up. In the noise of battle they swing at their own side.

23"On that day," says the LORD of heaven's armies, "I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant. I will make you like my signet ring. I have chosen you," says the LORD of heaven's armies.

In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.

NoteA signet ring had a picture carved into it. A king pressed the ring into soft wax on a letter. The mark showed the letter really came from him. A king kept his ring safe on his own hand.