Hagai 1:2

The Indifference of the People

1:2 The Lord who rules over all ¹  says this: “These people have said, ‘The time for rebuilding the Lord’s temple has not yet come.’” ² 

Hagai 2:1

The Glory to Come

2:1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, ³  the Lord spoke again through the prophet Haggai: ⁴ 

Hagai 2:6

2:6 Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says: ‘In just a little while ⁵  I will once again shake the sky ⁶  and the earth, the sea and the dry ground.

Hagai 2:8

2:8 ‘The silver and gold will be mine,’ says the Lord who rules over all.

Hagai 2:15

2:15 Now therefore reflect carefully on the recent past, ⁷  before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. ⁸ 

Hagai 2:20

Zerubbabel the Chosen One

2:20 Then the Lord spoke again to Haggai ⁹  on the twenty-fourth day of the month: ¹⁰ 

[1:2]  ¹ sn The epithet Lord who rules over all occurs frequently as a divine title throughout Haggai (see 1:5, 7, 9, 14; 2:4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 23). This name (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, yÿhvah tsÿva’ot), traditionally translated “Lord of hosts” (so KJV, NAB, NASB; cf. NIV, NLT “Lord Almighty”; NCV, CEV “Lord All-Powerful”), emphasizes the majestic sovereignty of the Lord, an especially important concept in the postexilic world of great human empires and rulers. For a thorough study of the divine title, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 123-57.

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “the time has not come, the time for the house of the Lord to be built” (similar KJV). A number of English versions refer to “rebuilding” (so NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT) since the reconstruction of Solomon’s temple is actually in view.

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “In the seventh [month], on the twenty-first day of the month.”

[2:1]  sn The seventh month was the month Tishri, according to the modern (Julian) calendar October 17, 520 b.c. The twenty-first day of Tishri marked the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Num 29:32-34). It also coincided with the date 440 years earlier (960 b.c.) when Solomon finished building his temple (1 Kgs 6:38; 8:2).

[2:1]  ⁴ tc Heb “the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying.” The MT has בְּיַד (bÿyad, “by the hand of” = “through” [so NAB, NIV, NLT] as in 1:1, 3); the Murabba’at Dead Sea text reads אֶל (’el, “to”), perhaps because the following command is given to the prophet.

[2:6]  ⁵ tc The difficult MT reading עוֹד אַחַת מְעַט הִיא (’od ’akhat mÿ’at hi’, “yet once, it is little”; cf. NAB “One moment yet, a little while”) appears as “yet once” in the LXX, omitting the last two Hebrew words. However, the point being made is that the anticipated action is imminent; thus the repetition provides emphasis.

[2:6]  ⁶ tn Or “the heavens.” The same Hebrew word, שָׁמַיִם (shamayim), may be translated “sky” or “heavens” depending on the context. Although many English versions translate the term as “heavens” here, the other three elements present in this context (earth, sea, dry ground) suggest “sky” is in view.

[2:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “and now set your heart from this day and upward.” The juxtaposition of מָעְלָה (ma’lah, “upward”) with the following מִטֶּרֶם (mitterem, “before”) demands a look to the past. Cf. ASV “consider from this day and backward.”

[2:15]  ⁸ sn Before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple is best taken as referring to the laying of the present temple’s foundation, sixteen years earlier (536 b.c.; see Ezra 3:8). Cf. NCV “before you started laying stones”; TEV “before you started to rebuild”; NLT “before you began to lay (started laying CEV) the foundation.”

[2:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai.” This Hebrew expression is like the one in 2:10 and is slightly different from the one in 1:1, 3; 2:1.

[2:20]  ¹⁰ sn Again, the twenty-fourth day of the month was Kislev 24 or December 18, 520 b.c. See v. 10.