Hag 1 | HCSB | STEP | In the second year of King Darius , on the first day of the sixth month , the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel , the governor of Judah , and to Joshua son of Jehozadak , the high priest :

‏ Haggai 1

Haggai

Command to Rebuild the Temple

1 In the second year of King Darius, ^{▼▼King of Persia reigned 522-486 b.c.
,} ^b on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through Haggai ^c the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, ^d the governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest: ^e

2 “The Lord of ^{▼▼Hosts/hosts: Military forces consisting of God's angels, sometimes including the sun, moon, and stars, and occasionally, Israel}Hosts says this: These people say: The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.” ^g

3 The word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, ^h while this house ^{▼▼= the temple} lies in ruins?” 5 Now, the Lord of Hosts says this: “Think carefully ^j about ^{▼▼Lit Place your heart on} your ways:

6 You have planted much
but harvested little.
You eat
but never have enough to be satisfied.
You drink
but never have enough to become drunk.
You put on clothes
but never have enough to get warm.
The wage earner puts his wages
into a bag with a hole in it.” ^l

7 The Lord of Hosts says this: “Think carefully about ^{▼▼Lit Place your heart on} your ways. 8 Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house. Then I will be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord. 9 “You expected much, but then it amounted to little. When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruined ^{▼▼Lit blew on} it. Why?” This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. “Because My house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.

10 So on your account, ^{▼▼Or So above you}
the skies have withheld the dew
and the land its crops. ^p
11 I have summoned a drought
on the fields and the hills,
on the grain, new wine, olive oil,
and whatever the ground yields,
on man and beast,
and on all that your hands produce.”

The People’s Response

12 Then Zerubbabel ^q son of Shealtiel, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the entire remnant of the people ^r obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. So the people ^{▼▼fear(s) God or the Lord/ the fear of the Lord: No single English word conveys every aspect of the word fear in this phrase. The meaning includes worshipful submission, reverential awe, and obedient respect to the covenant-keeping God of Israel.}feared the Lord. ^t

13 Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, delivered the Lord’s message to the people, “I am with you” ^u – this is the Lord’s declaration.

14 The Lord stirred up the spirit ^v of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the spirit of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. They began work on the house of ^{▼▼Yahweh/Yah: Or The Lord; the personal name of God in Hebrew; "Yah" is the shortened form of the name.}Yahweh of Hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.