Hagai 2:16

2:16 From that time ¹  when one came expecting a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures from it, there were only twenty.

Hagai 2:13

2:13 Then Haggai asked, “If a person who is ritually unclean because of touching a dead body ²  comes in contact with one of these items, will it become unclean?” The priests answered, “It will be unclean.”

Hagai 2:15

2:15 Now therefore reflect carefully on the recent past, ³  before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. ⁴ 

Hagai 2:12

2:12 If someone carries holy meat in a fold of his garment and that fold touches bread, a boiled dish, wine, olive oil, or any other food, will that item become holy?’” ⁵  The priests answered, “It will not.”

Hagai 2:22

2:22 I will overthrow royal thrones and shatter the might of earthly kingdoms. ⁶  I will overthrow chariots and those who ride them, and horses and their riders will fall as people kill one another. ⁷ 

Hagai 1:6

1:6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but are never filled. You drink, but are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but are not warm. Those who earn wages end up with holes in their money bags.’” ⁸ 

Hagai 2:2

2:2 “Ask the following questions to ⁹  Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ¹⁰  and the remnant of the people:

Hagai 1:14

1:14 So the Lord energized and encouraged ¹¹  Zerubbabel ¹²  son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ¹³  and the whole remnant of the people. ¹⁴  They came and worked on the temple of their God, the Lord who rules over all.

Hagai 1:12

The Response of the People

1:12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ¹⁵  along with the whole remnant of the people, ¹⁶  obeyed ¹⁷  the Lord their God. They responded favorably to the message of the prophet Haggai, who spoke just as the Lord their God had instructed him, ¹⁸  and the people began to respect the Lord. ¹⁹ 

Hagai 1:2

The Indifference of the People

1:2 The Lord who rules over all ²⁰  says this: “These people have said, ‘The time for rebuilding the Lord’s temple has not yet come.’” ²¹ 

Hagai 1:13

1:13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, spoke the Lord’s word to the people: ²²  “I am with you!” says the Lord.

Hagai 2:17

2:17 I struck all the products of your labor ²³  with blight, disease, and hail, and yet you brought nothing to me,’ ²⁴  says the Lord.

Hagai 1:11

1:11 Moreover, I have called for a drought that will affect the fields, the hill country, the grain, new wine, fresh olive oil, and everything that grows from the ground; it also will harm people, animals, and everything they produce.’” ²⁵ 

Hagai 2:4

2:4 Even so, take heart, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord. ‘Take heart, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and ²⁶  all you citizens of the land,’ ²⁷  says the Lord, ‘and begin to work. For I am with you,’ says the Lord who rules over all.

Hagai 2:14

2:14 Then Haggai responded, “‘The people of this nation are unclean in my sight,’ ²⁸  says the Lord. ‘And so is all their effort; everything they offer is also unclean. ²⁹ 

[2:16]  ¹ tn Heb “from their being,” idiomatic for “from the time they were then,” or “since the time.” Cf. KJV “Since those days were.”

[2:13]  ² tn Heb “unclean of a person,” a euphemism for “unclean because of a dead person”; see Lev 21:11; Num 6:6. Cf. NAB “unclean from contact with a corpse.”

[2:15]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.”

[2:12]  ⁵ sn This is probably not an appeal to the Torah (i.e., the Pentateuch) as such but to a priestly ruling (known in postbiblical Judaism as a pÿsaq din). There is, however, a Mosaic law that provides the basis for the priestly ruling (Lev 6:27).

[2:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “the kingdoms of the nations.” Cf. KJV “the kingdoms of the heathen”; NIV, NLT “foreign kingdoms.”

[2:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “and horses and their riders will go down, a man with a sword his brother”; KJV “every one by the sword of his brother.”

[1:6]  ⁸ tn Some translate “pockets” (so NLT) but the Hebrew word צְרוֹר (tsÿror) refers to a bag, pouch, or purse of money (BDB 865 s.v. צְרוֹר; HALOT 1054 s.v. צְרוֹר 1). Because coinage had been invented by the Persians and was thus in use in Haggai’s day, this likely is a money bag or purse rather than pouches or pockets in the clothing. Since in contemporary English “purse” (so NASB, NIV, NCV) could be understood as a handbag, the present translation uses “money bags.”

[2:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “say to”; NAB “Tell this to.”

[2:2]  ¹⁰ tn Many English versions have “Joshua (the) son of Jehozadak the high priest,” but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

[1:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “stirred up” (as in many English versions). Only one verb appears in the Hebrew text, but the translation “energized and encouraged” brings out its sense in this context. Cf. TEV “inspired”; NLT “sparked the enthusiasm of”; CEV “made everyone eager to work.”

[1:14]  sn It was God who initiated the rebuilding by providing the people with motivation and ability.

[1:14]  ¹² tn Heb “the spirit of Zerubbabel” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[1:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest” (as in many English versions), but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

[1:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the spirit of all the remnant of the people.” The Hebrew phrase שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם (shÿ’erit ha’am) in this postexilic context is used as a technical term to refer to the returned remnant; see the note on the phrase “the whole remnant of the people” in v. 12.

[1:12]  ¹⁵ tn Many English versions have “Joshua [the] son of Jehozadak, the high priest,” but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

[1:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “all the remnant of the people.” The Hebrew phrase שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם (shÿ’erit ha’am) in this postexilic context is used as a technical term to refer to the returned remnant (see Ezra 9:14; Isa 10:20-22; 11:11, 16; Jer 23:3; 31:7; and many other passages). Cf. TEV “all the people who had returned from the exile in Babylonia.”

[1:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “heard the voice of”; NAB “listened to the voice of.”

[1:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and according to the words of Haggai the prophet just as the Lord their God sent him.” Some English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV) take the last clause as causal: “because the Lord their God had sent him.”

[1:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and the people feared from before the Lord”; NASB “showed reverence for the Lord.”

[1:2]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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.

[1:13]  ²² tn Heb “Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, said by the message of the Lord to the people.” The Hebrew is highly repetitive; in keeping with contemporary English style this has been simplified in the translation.

[2:17]  ²³ tn Heb “you, all the work of your hands”; NRSV “you and all the products of your toil”; NIV “all the work of your hands.”

[2:17]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and there was not with you.” The context favors the idea that the harvests were so poor that the people took care of only themselves, leaving no offering for the Lord. Cf. KJV and many English versions “yet ye turned not to me,” understanding the phrase to refer to the people’s repentance rather than their failure to bring offerings.

[1:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “all the labor of hands” (similar KJV, NASB, NIV); cf. NAB “all that is produced by hand.”

[2:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and take heart.” Although emphatic, the repetition of the verb is redundant in contemporary English style and has been left untranslated.

[2:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the people of the land” (עַם הָאָרֶץ, ’am ha’arets); this is a technical term referring to free citizens as opposed to slaves.

[2:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “so this people, and so this nation before me.” In this context “people” and “nation” refer to the same set of individuals; the repetition is emphatic. Cf. CEV “this entire nation.”

[2:14]  ²⁹ sn The point here is that the Jews cannot be made holy by unholy fellowship with their pagan neighbors; instead, they and their worship will become corrupted by such associations.