Exodus 5:17

5:17 But Pharaoh replied, ¹  “You are slackers! Slackers! ²  That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’

Amos 8:5

8:5 You say,

“When will the new moon festival ³  be over, ⁴  so we can sell grain?

When will the Sabbath end, ⁵  so we can open up the grain bins? ⁶ 

We’re eager ⁷  to sell less for a higher price, ⁸ 

and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! ⁹ 

Haggai 1:2-4

The Indifference of the People

1:2 The Lord who rules over all ¹⁰  says this: “These people have said, ‘The time for rebuilding the Lord’s temple has not yet come.’” ¹¹  1:3 So the Lord spoke through the prophet Haggai as follows: ¹²  1:4 “Is it right for you to live in richly paneled houses ¹³  while my temple is in ruins? ¹⁴ 

Malachi 1:7-10

1:7 You are offering improper sacrifices on my altar, yet you ask, ‘How have we offended you?’ By treating the table ¹⁵  of the Lord as if it is of no importance! 1:8 For when you offer blind animals as a sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer the lame and sick, ¹⁶  is that not wrong as well? Indeed, try offering them ¹⁷  to your governor! Will he be pleased with you ¹⁸  or show you favor?” asks the Lord who rules over all. 1:9 But now plead for God’s favor ¹⁹  that he might be gracious to us. ²⁰  “With this kind of offering in your hands, how can he be pleased with you?” asks the Lord who rules over all.

1:10 “I wish that one of you would close the temple doors, ²¹  so that you no longer would light useless fires on my altar. I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and I will no longer accept an offering from you.

Malachi 1:13

1:13 You also say, ‘How tiresome it is.’ You turn up your nose at it,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and instead bring what is stolen, lame, or sick. You bring these things for an offering! Should I accept this from you?” ²²  asks the Lord.

[5:17]  ¹ tn Heb “And he said.”

[5:17]  ² tn Or “loafers.” The form נִרְפִּים (nirpim) is derived from the verb רָפָה (rafah), meaning “to be weak, to let oneself go.”

[8:5]  ³ sn Apparently work was prohibited during the new moon festival, just as it was on the Sabbath.

[8:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “pass by.”

[8:5]  ⁵ tn The verb, though omitted in the Hebrew text, is supplied in the translation from the parallel line.

[8:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “sell grain.” Here “grain” could stand by metonymy for the bins where it was stored.

[8:5]  ⁷ tn Here and in v. 6 the words “we’re eager” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “to make small the ephah and to make great the shekel.” The “ephah” was a unit of dry measure used to determine the quantity purchased, while the “shekel” was a standard weight used to determine the purchase price. By using a smaller than standard ephah and a heavier than standard shekel, these merchants were able to increase their profit (“sell less for a higher price”) by cheating the buyer.

[8:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “and to cheat with deceptive scales”; NASB, NIV “dishonest scales”; NRSV “false balances.”

[1:2]  ¹⁰ sn The epithet Lord who rules over all occurs frequently as a divine title throughout Haggai (see 1:5, 7, 9, 14; 2:4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 23). This name (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, yÿhvah tsÿva’ot), traditionally translated “Lord of hosts” (so KJV, NAB, NASB; cf. NIV, NLT “Lord Almighty”; NCV, CEV “Lord All-Powerful”), emphasizes the majestic sovereignty of the Lord, an especially important concept in the postexilic world of great human empires and rulers. For a thorough study of the divine title, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 123-57.

[1:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the time has not come, the time for the house of the Lord to be built” (similar KJV). A number of English versions refer to “rebuilding” (so NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT) since the reconstruction of Solomon’s temple is actually in view.

[1:3]  ¹² tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying.” Cf. the similar expression in v. 1 and the note there.

[1:4]  ¹³ sn Richly paneled houses. Paneling is otherwise known in the OT only in connection with the temple (1 Kgs 6:9) and the royal palace (2 Kgs 7:3, 7). It implies decoration and luxury (cf. NCV “fancy houses”; TEV “well-built houses”; NLT “luxurious houses”). The impropriety of the people living in such lavish accommodations while the temple lay unfinished is striking.

[1:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Is it time for you, [yes] you, to live in paneled houses, while this house is in ruins”; NASB “lies desolate”; NIV “remains a ruin.”

[1:7]  ¹⁵ sn The word table, here a synonym for “altar,” has overtones of covenant imagery in which a feast shared by the covenant partners was an important element (see Exod 24:11). It also draws attention to the analogy of sitting down at a common meal with the governor (v. 8).

[1:8]  ¹⁶ sn Offerings of animals that were lame or sick were strictly forbidden by the Mosaic law (see Deut 15:21).

[1:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “it” (so NAB, NASB). Contemporary English more naturally uses a plural pronoun to agree with “the lame and sick” in the previous question (cf. NIV, NCV).

[1:8]  ¹⁸ tc The LXX and Vulgate read “with it” (which in Hebrew would be הֲיִרְצֵהוּ, hayirtsehu, a reading followed by NAB) rather than “with you” of the MT (הֲיִרְצְךָ, hayirtsÿkha). The MT (followed here by most English versions) is to be preferred because of the parallel with the following phrase פָנֶיךָ (fanekha, “receive you,” which the present translation renders as “show you favor”).

[1:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “seek the face of God.”

[1:9]  ²⁰ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav conjunction indicates purpose (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[1:10]  ²¹ sn The rhetorical language suggests that as long as the priesthood and people remain disobedient, the temple doors may as well be closed because God is not “at home” to receive them or their worship there.

[1:13]  ²² tn Heb “from your hand,” a metonymy of part (the hand) for whole (the person).