2:10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Darius’ second year, 12 the Lord spoke again to the prophet Haggai: 13 2:11 “The Lord who rules over all says, ‘Ask the priests about the law. 14 2:12 If someone carries holy meat in a fold of his garment and that fold touches bread, a boiled dish, wine, olive oil, or any other food, will that item become holy?’” 15 The priests answered, “It will not.” 2:13 Then Haggai asked, “If a person who is ritually unclean because of touching a dead body 16 comes in contact with one of these items, will it become unclean?” The priests answered, “It will be unclean.”
2:14 Then Haggai responded, “‘The people of this nation are unclean in my sight,’ 17 says the Lord. ‘And so is all their effort; everything they offer is also unclean. 18 2:15 Now therefore reflect carefully on the recent past, 19 before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. 20 2:16 From that time 21 when one came expecting a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures from it, there were only twenty. 2:17 I struck all the products of your labor 22 with blight, disease, and hail, and yet you brought nothing to me,’ 23 says the Lord. 2:18 ‘Think carefully about the past: 24 from today, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, 25 to the day work on the temple of the Lord was resumed, 26 think about it. 27 2:19 The seed is still in the storehouse, isn’t it? And the vine, fig tree, pomegranate, and olive tree have not produced. Nevertheless, from today on I will bless you.’”
2:20 Then the Lord spoke again to Haggai 28 on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 29 2:21 Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah: ‘I am ready 30 to shake the sky 31 and the earth. 2:22 I will overthrow royal thrones and shatter the might of earthly kingdoms. 32 I will overthrow chariots and those who ride them, and horses and their riders will fall as people kill one another. 33 2:23 On that day,’ 34 says the Lord who rules over all, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant,’ 35 says the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring, 36 for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord who rules over all.” 37
1 tn Heb “this house in its earlier splendor”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “in its former glory.”
2 tn Heb “and take heart.” Although emphatic, the repetition of the verb is redundant in contemporary English style and has been left untranslated.
3 tn Heb “the people of the land” (עַם הָאָרֶץ, ’am ha’arets); this is a technical term referring to free citizens as opposed to slaves.
4 sn My spirit. It is theologically anachronistic to understand “spirit” here in the NT sense as a reference to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity; nevertheless during this postexilic period the conceptual groundwork was being laid for the doctrine of the Holy Spirit later revealed in the NT.
5 tc The MT of v. 5 reads “with the word which I cut with you when you went out from Egypt and my spirit [which] stands in your midst, do not fear.” BHS proposes emending “with the word” to זֹאת הַבְּרִית (zo’t habbÿrit, “this is the covenant”) at the beginning of the verse. The proposed emendation makes excellent sense and is expected with the verb כָּרַת (karat, “cut” or “make” a covenant), but it has no textual support. Most English versions (including the present translation) therefore follow the MT here.
6 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.
7 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.
8 tn Heb “all the nations.”
9 tn Though the subject here is singular (חֶמְדַּה, khemdah; “desire”), the preceding plural predicate mandates a collective subject, “desired (things)” or, better, an emendation to a plural form, חֲמֻדֹת (khamudot, “desirable [things],” hence “treasures”). Cf. ASV “the precious things”; NASB “the wealth”; NRSV “the treasure.” In the OT context this has no direct reference to the coming of the Messiah.
10 tn Heb “greater will be the latter splendor of this house than the former”; NAB “greater will be the future glory.”
11 tn In the Hebrew text there is an implicit play on words in the clause “in this place [i.e., Jerusalem] I will give peace”: in יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (yÿrushalayim) there will be שָׁלוֹם (shalom).
12 sn The twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Darius’ second year was Kislev 24 or December 18, 520
13 tn Heb “the word of the
14 tn Heb “Ask the priests a torah, saying”; KJV “concerning the law”; NAB “for a decision”; NCV “for a teaching”; NRSV “for a ruling.”
15 sn This is probably not an appeal to the Torah (i.e., the Pentateuch) as such but to a priestly ruling (known in postbiblical Judaism as a pÿsaq din). There is, however, a Mosaic law that provides the basis for the priestly ruling (Lev 6:27).
16 tn Heb “unclean of a person,” a euphemism for “unclean because of a dead person”; see Lev 21:11; Num 6:6. Cf. NAB “unclean from contact with a corpse.”
17 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.”
18 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.
19 tn Heb “and now set your heart from this day and upward.” The juxtaposition of מָעְלָה (ma’lah, “upward”) with the following מִטֶּרֶם (mitterem, “before”) demands a look to the past. Cf. ASV “consider from this day and backward.”
20 sn Before one stone was laid on another in the
21 tn Heb “from their being,” idiomatic for “from the time they were then,” or “since the time.” Cf. KJV “Since those days were.”
22 tn Heb “you, all the work of your hands”; NRSV “you and all the products of your toil”; NIV “all the work of your hands.”
23 tn Heb “and there was not with you.” The context favors the idea that the harvests were so poor that the people took care of only themselves, leaving no offering for the
24 tn Heb “set your heart.” A similar expression occurs in v. 15.
25 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.
26 sn The day work…was resumed. This does not refer to the initial founding of the Jerusalem temple in 536
27 tn Heb “set your heart.” A similar expression occurs in v. 15 and at the beginning of this verse.
28 tn Heb “and the word of the
29 sn Again, the twenty-fourth day of the month was Kislev 24 or December 18, 520
30 tn The participle here suggests an imminent undertaking of action (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “I am about to”). The overall language of the passage is eschatological, but eschatology finds its roots in the present.
31 tn See the note on the word “sky” in 2:6. Most English translations render the Hebrew term as “heavens” here.
32 tn Heb “the kingdoms of the nations.” Cf. KJV “the kingdoms of the heathen”; NIV, NLT “foreign kingdoms.”
33 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.”
34 sn The expression on that day appears as a technical eschatological term in a number of other OT passages (cf., e.g., Isa 2:11, 17, 20; 3:7, 18; Amos 8:3, 9; Hos 2:18, 21).
35 sn My servant. The collocation of “servant” and “chosen” bears strong messianic overtones. See the so-called “Servant Songs” and other messianic texts in Isaiah (Isa 41:8; 42:1; 44:4; 49:7).
36 sn The noun signet ring, used also to describe Jehoiachin (Jer 22:24-30), refers to a ring seal worn by a king or other important person and used as his signature. Zerubbabel was a grandson of King Jehoiachin (1 Chr 3:17-19; Matt 1:12); God once pronounced that none of Jehoiachin’s immediate descendants would rule (Jer 22:24-30), but here he reverses that judgment. Zerubbabel never ascended to such a lofty position of rulership; he is rather a prototype of the Messiah who would sit on David’s throne.
37 tn The repetition of the formula “says the