Haggai 1:14-15

1:14 So the Lord energized and encouraged ¹  Zerubbabel ²  son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ³  and the whole remnant of the people. ⁴  They came and worked on the temple of their God, the Lord who rules over all. 1:15 This took place on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month of King Darius’ second year. ⁵ 

Ezra 5:1-2

Tattenai Appeals to Darius

5:1 Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son ⁶  of Iddo ⁷  prophesied concerning the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem ⁸  in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 5:2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began ⁹  to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

Zechariah 8:9

8:9 “The Lord who rules over all also says, ‘Gather strength, you who are listening to these words today from the mouths of the prophets who were there at the founding of the house of the Lord who rules over all, ¹⁰  so that the temple might be built.

Zechariah 8:12

8:12 ‘for there will be a peaceful time of sowing, the vine will produce its fruit and the ground its yield, and the skies ¹¹  will rain down dew. Then I will allow the remnant of my people to possess all these things.

¹ 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.”

² tn Heb “the spirit of Zerubbabel” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

³ 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.

⁴ 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.

⁵ sn The twenty-fourth day of the sixth month of King Darius’ second year was September 21, 520 b.c., twenty-three days after the original command by Haggai to rebuild (1:1). The text does not state the reason for the delay, but it may have resulted from the pressing need to bring in the late summer harvest.

⁶ tn Aram “son.” According to Zech 1:1 he was actually the grandson of Iddo.

⁷ tn Aram “and Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo the prophet.”

⁸ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁹ tn Aram “arose and began.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a single concept.

¹⁰ sn These prophets who were there at the founding of the house of the Lord who rules over all included at least Haggai and Zechariah, and perhaps others. The founding referred to here is not the initial laying of the temple’s foundations in 536 b.c. (Ezra 3:8) but the resumption of work two years before the time of the present narrative (i.e., in 520 b.c.), as vv. 10-12 make clear.

¹¹ tn Or “the heavens” (so KJV, NAB, NIV). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “skies” depending on the context.