New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures Reference Bible

Haggai

1 In the second year of Darius the king,+ in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of Jehovah occurred by means of Haggai+ the prophet to Zerubbabel+ the son of Shealtiel,+ the governor of Judah,+ and to Joshua*+ the son of Jehozadak+ the high* priest, saying:

2 “This is what Jehovah of armies*+ has said, ‘As regards this people, they have said: “The time has not come, the time of the house of Jehovah, for [it] to be built.”’”+

3 And the word of Jehovah continued to come by means of Haggai the prophet, saying: 4 “Is it the time for YOU yourselves to dwell in YOUR paneled houses,+ while this house is waste?+ 5 And now this is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘Set YOUR heart upon YOUR ways.+ 6 YOU have sown much seed, but there is a bringing of little in.+ There is an eating, but it is not to satisfaction.+ There is a drinking, but not to the point of getting intoxicated. There is a putting on of clothes, but it is not with anyone’s getting warm; and he that is hiring himself out is hiring himself out for a bag having holes.’”+

7 “This is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘Set YOUR heart upon YOUR ways.’+

8 “‘Go up to the mountain,* and YOU must bring in lumber.+ And build the house,+ that I may take pleasure in it+ and I may be glorified,’+ Jehovah has said.”

9 “‘There was a looking for much, but here there was just a little;+ and YOU have brought [it] into the house, and I blew upon it+—for what reason?’+ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies. ‘By reason of my house that is waste, while YOU are on the run, each one in behalf of his own house.+ 10 Therefore over YOU [the] heavens kept back [their] dew, and the earth itself kept back its yield.+ 11 And I kept calling for dryness upon the earth,* and upon the mountains, and upon the grain, and upon the new wine,+ and upon the oil, and upon what the ground would bring forth, and upon earthling man,* and upon domestic animal, and upon all the toil of [the] hands.’”+

12 And Zerubbabel+ the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak+ the high priest,* and all the remaining ones of the people began to listen to the voice of Jehovah their God,*+ and to the words of Haggai+ the prophet, as Jehovah their God had sent him; and the people began to fear because of Jehovah.+

13 And Haggai the messenger*+ of Jehovah went on to say to the people according to the messenger’s commission from Jehovah,+ saying: “‘I am with YOU people,’+ is the utterance of Jehovah.”

14 And Jehovah proceeded to rouse up the spirit+ of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and the spirit* of Joshua+ the son of Jehozadak the high priest, and the spirit of all the remaining ones of the people; and they began to enter in and to do the work in the house of Jehovah of armies their God.+ 15 It was on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius+ the king.

2 In the seventh+ [month], on the twenty-first [day] of the month, the word of Jehovah occurred by means of Haggai+ the prophet, saying: 2 “Say, please, to Zerubbabel+ the son of Shealtiel,+ the governor of Judah,+ and to Joshua+ the son of Jehozadak+ the high priest, and to the remaining ones of the people, saying, 3 ‘Who is there among YOU that is remaining over who saw this house in its former glory?+ And how are YOU people seeing it now? Is it not, in comparison with that, as nothing in YOUR eyes?’+

4 “‘But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘and be strong,+ O Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest.’
“‘And be strong, all YOU people of the land,’* is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘and work.’+

“‘For I am with YOU people,’+ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies. 5 ‘[Remember] the thing* that I concluded* with YOU people when YOU came forth from Egypt,+ and [when] my spirit+ was standing in among YOU. Do not be afraid.’”+

6 “For this is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘Yet once—it is a little while+—and I am rocking the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry ground.’+

7 “‘And I will rock all the nations,* and the desirable things* of all the nations must come in;*+ and I will fill this house with glory,’+ Jehovah of armies has said.

8 “‘The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’+ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies.
9 “‘Greater will the glory of this later house become than [that of] the former,’+ Jehovah of armies has said.
   “‘And in this place I shall give peace,’+ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies.”

10 In the twenty-fourth [day] of the ninth [month], in the second year of Darius, the word of Jehovah occurred to Haggai+ the prophet, saying: 11 “This is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘Ask, please, the priests as to [the] law,+ saying: 12 “If a man* carries holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and he actually touches with his skirt bread or stew or wine or oil or any sort of food, will it become holy?”’”+
    And the priests proceeded to answer and say: “No!”

13 And Haggai went on to say: “If someone unclean by a deceased soul* touches any of these things, will it become unclean?”+
    In turn the priests answered and said: “It will become unclean.”

14 Accordingly Haggai answered and said: “‘That is how this people is, and that is how this nation is before me,’+ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘and that is how all the work of their hands is, and whatever they present there. It is unclean.’+

15 “‘But now, please, set YOUR heart+ [on this] from this day and forward, before there was the placing of a stone upon a stone in the temple* of Jehovah,+ 16 from when those things happened to be—one came to a heap of twenty [measures], and it proved to be ten; one came to the press vat to draw off fifty [measures] of the wine trough, and it proved to be twenty;+ 17 I struck YOU people with scorching+ and with mildew+ and with hail,+ even all the work of YOUR hands,+ and there was no one with YOU [turning] to me,’+ is the utterance of Jehovah—

18 “‘Set YOUR heart,+ please, [on this] from this day and forward, from the twenty-fourth [day] of the ninth [month], from the day that the foundation of the temple of Jehovah was laid;+ set YOUR heart [on this]: 19 Is there as yet the seed in the grain pit?*+ And as yet, the vine and the fig tree and the pomegranate tree and the olive tree—it has not borne, has it? From this day I shall bestow blessing.’”+

20 And the word of Jehovah proceeded to occur a second time to Haggai+ on the twenty-fourth [day] of the month,+ saying: 21 “Say to Zerubbabel the governor of Judah,+ ‘I am rocking the heavens and the earth.+ 22 And I shall certainly overthrow the throne of kingdoms and annihilate the strength of the kingdoms of the nations;+ and I will overthrow [the] chariot and its riders, and [the] horses and their riders will certainly come down,+ each one by the sword of his brother.’”+

23 “‘In that day,’ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies, ‘I shall take you, O Zerubbabel+ the son of Shealtiel,+ my servant,’ is the utterance of Jehovah; ‘and I shall certainly set you as a seal ring,+ because you are the one whom I have chosen,’+ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies.”+