Haggai 1
1 [I am], Haggai, a prophet. I received a message from Yahweh on August 29th, during the second year that Darius was the king [of Persia]. I told this message to Shealtiel’s son Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and to Jehozadak’s son Jeshua, the Supreme Priest.
In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, this message from the Lord came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest:
2 Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of heaven, told [me] that the people were saying that it was not yet time for them to rebuild Yahweh’s temple.
The Lord of hosts says: The people say that the time has not yet come to rebuild the temple of the Lord.
3 Then Yahweh gave me this message [to tell to the people of Jerusalem]:
Then this message from the Lord came to Haggai the prophet:
4 “It is not right [RHQ] for you to be living in luxurious houses while my temple is only ruins!
Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your own well-roofed houses, while this temple lies in ruins?
5 [I, ] Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of heaven, say this: Think about what is happening to you.
The Lord of hosts says: Consider your past experiences.
6 You have planted a lot [of seeds], but you are not getting many [crops] to harvest. You eat [food], but you never get enough. You drink [wine], but you are still thirsty. You wear clothes, but you do not stay warm. You earn money, [but things are very expensive], with the result that [it is as though] [MET] [your money disappears because] you are putting it in purses/pockets that have [big] holes in them.”
You sow much, but bring in little; you eat, but you do not have enough; you drink, but are not filled; you clothe yourselves, but not enough to be warm; and those who earn wages, put those wages in a bag with holes.
7 [So] this is what Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of heaven, says: “Think about what is happening to you.
The Lord of hosts says: Consider your experiences.
8 [Then] go up into the hills, [cut down trees, ] and bring timber [down here], and rebuild my temple. When you do that, I will be pleased, and I will be honored.
Go up to the mountains, and bring wood and rebuild the temple; then I will be pleased with it, and I will reveal my glory. The Lord says:
9 You expected [to harvest] plenty [of crops], but there were few [crops to harvest]. And when you brought the crops home, I caused them to spoil [IDM] quickly. The reason [that happened is that] my temple is a ruins, while each of you are busy building your own [beautiful] houses.
You looked for much, and it came to little; and when you brought the harvest home, I blew it away. Why? The Lord of hosts says: Because my temple lies in ruins, while you shelter in your own houses.
10 It is because of what you [are doing] that rain does not fall from the sky, and [as a result] there are no crops.
The heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit,
11 I have caused a (drought/severe lack of rain) on the hills and on your fields. The result has been that your grain [has withered], and your grapevines [MTY] and olive trees [MTY] and all your [other] crops have dried up. [Because of that, ] you and your cattle [do not have enough food], and the hard work that you have done will be for nothing.”
and I have called forth a drought upon the land and upon the mountains, and upon the grain and the new wine and the oil and upon that which the ground brings forth, and upon people and animals, and upon all the labor of your hands.
12 Then Zerubbabel and Jeshua and all the others of God’s people who were still alive obeyed the message that Yahweh our God had said, and they heeded the message that I had given them, because [they knew that] Yahweh our God had sent/appointed me. And the people revered Yahweh.
Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest, with all the rest of the people, obeyed the command of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him to them. They showed proper respect for the Lord.
13 Then [I], Haggai, who was Yahweh’s messenger, gave this message from Yahweh to the people: “I, Yahweh, declare that I am with you.”
Haggai, the prophet of the Lord, as the Lord commanded him, told the people: ‘The Lord says: I am with you.’
14 [So] Yahweh motivated Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the other people to want to rebuild the temple of our God, the Commander of the armies of angels. They gathered together and started to work to rebuild it.
And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest, and the spirit of all the rest of the people, so that they came and worked on the temple of the Lord of hosts, their God,
15 [They started work] on September 21st, during the second year that Darius was the king.
in the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month. In the second year of Darius the king,
