Haggai 1:1

Introduction

1:1 On the first day of the sixth month ¹  of King Darius’ ²  second year, the Lord spoke this message through the prophet Haggai ³  to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak: ⁴ 

Haggai 1:9

1:9 ‘You expected a large harvest, but instead ⁵  there was little, and when you brought it home it disappeared right away. ⁶  Why?’ asks the Lord who rules over all. ‘Because my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house! ⁷ 

Haggai 2:6

2:6 Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says: ‘In just a little while ⁸  I will once again shake the sky ⁹  and the earth, the sea and the dry ground.

Haggai 2:14

2:14 Then Haggai responded, “‘The people of this nation are unclean in my sight,’ ¹⁰  says the Lord. ‘And so is all their effort; everything they offer is also unclean. ¹¹ 

Haggai 2:18

2:18 ‘Think carefully about the past: ¹²  from today, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, ¹³  to the day work on the temple of the Lord was resumed, ¹⁴  think about it. ¹⁵ 

¹ sn The first day of the sixth month was Elul 1 according to the Jewish calendar; August 29, 520 b.c. according to the modern (Julian) calendar.

² sn King Darius is the Persian king Darius Hystaspes who ruled from 522-486 b.c.

³ tn Heb “the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet” (בְּיַד־חַגַּי, bÿyad-khaggay). This suggests that the prophet is only an instrument of the Lord; the Lord is to be viewed as the true author (see 1:3; 2:1; Mal 1:1).

⁴ tn The typical translation “Joshua (the) son of Jehozadak, the high priest” (cf. ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV) can be understood to mean that Jehozadak was high priest. However, Zech 3:1, 8 clearly indicates that Joshua was high priest (see also Ezra 5:1-2; cf. NAB). The same potential misunderstanding occurs in Hag 1:12, 14 and 2:2, where the same solution has been employed in the translation.

⁵ tn Heb “look!” (הִנֵּה, hinneh). The term, an interjection, draws attention to the point being made.

⁶ tn Heb “I blew it away” (so NRSV, TEV, NLT). The imagery here suggests that human achievements are so fragile and temporal that a mere breath from God can destroy them (see Ezek 22:20, 21; and Isa 40:7 with נָשַׁב, nashav).

⁷ tn Heb “and each of you runs to his own house”; NIV “is busy with”; TEV “is busy working on”; NCV “work hard for.”

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ 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.

¹³ 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.”

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁷ tn Heb “set your heart.” A similar expression occurs in v. 15.

¹⁸ sn The twenty-fourth day of the ninth month was Kislev 24 or December 18, 520. See v. 10. Here the reference is to “today,” the day the oracle is being delivered.

¹⁹ sn The day work…was resumed. This does not refer to the initial founding of the Jerusalem temple in 536 b.c. but to the renewal of construction three months earlier (see 1:15). This is clear from the situation described in v. 19 which accords with the food scarcities of that time already detailed in Hag 1:10-11.

²⁰ tn Heb “set your heart.” A similar expression occurs in v. 15 and at the beginning of this verse.