Haggai 1:8

1:8 Go up to the hill country and bring back timber to build ¹  the temple. ²  Then I will be pleased and honored,’ ³  says the Lord.

Haggai 2:22

2:22 I will overthrow royal thrones and shatter the might of earthly kingdoms. ⁴  I will overthrow chariots and those who ride them, and horses and their riders will fall as people kill one another. ⁵ 

Haggai 1:5

1:5 Here then is what the Lord who rules over all says: ‘Think carefully about what you are doing. ⁶ 

Haggai 1:7

The Instruction of the People

1:7 “Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says: ‘Pay close attention to these things also. ⁷ 

Haggai 2:21

2:21 Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah: ‘I am ready ⁸  to shake the sky ⁹  and the earth.

Haggai 2:6

2:6 Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says: ‘In just a little while ¹⁰  I will once again shake the sky ¹¹  and the earth, the sea and the dry ground.

Haggai 2:15

2:15 Now therefore reflect carefully on the recent past, ¹²  before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. ¹³ 

[1:8]  ¹ tn Heb “and build the house” (so NIV, NRSV), with “house” referring specifically to the temple here.

[1:8]  ² sn The temple was built primarily of stone, so the timber here refers to interior paneling (see v. 4) and perhaps to scaffolding (see Ezra 5:8; 6:4).

[1:8]  ³ tn The Hebrew verb אֶכָּבְדָ (’ekkavda) appears to be a defectively written cohortative (“that I may be glorified”). The cohortatives (note that the preceding אֶרְצֶה, ’ertseh, “I will be pleased,” may also be taken as cohortative) indicate purpose/result (cf. NIV, NRSV “so that”; CEV “so”) following the imperatives of v. 8a (“go up,” “bring back,” “build”).

[2:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “the kingdoms of the nations.” Cf. KJV “the kingdoms of the heathen”; NIV, NLT “foreign kingdoms.”

[2:22]  ⁵ 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.”

[1:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “Set your heart upon your ways” (see 2:15, 18); traditionally “Consider your ways” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB).

[1:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Set your heart upon your ways”; see v. 5.

[2:21]  ¹³ 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.

[2:21]  ¹⁴ tn See the note on the word “sky” in 2:6. Most English translations render the Hebrew term as “heavens” here.

[2:6]  ¹⁶ 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.

[2:6]  ¹⁷ 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.

[2:15]  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.”

[2:15]  ²⁰ sn Before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple is best taken as referring to the laying of the present temple’s foundation, sixteen years earlier (536 b.c.; see Ezra 3:8). Cf. NCV “before you started laying stones”; TEV “before you started to rebuild”; NLT “before you began to lay (started laying CEV) the foundation.”