Haggai 2:14

2:14 Then Haggai responded, “‘The people of this nation are unclean in my sight,’ ¹  says the Lord. ‘And so is all their effort; everything they offer is also unclean. ² 

Haggai 2:22

2:22 I will overthrow royal thrones and shatter the might of earthly kingdoms. ³  I will overthrow chariots and those who ride them, and horses and their riders will fall as people kill one another. ⁴ 

¹ 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 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.

³ tn Heb “the kingdoms of the nations.” Cf. KJV “the kingdoms of the heathen”; NIV, NLT “foreign kingdoms.”

⁴ 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.”