Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah: ‘I am ready ¹  to shake the sky ²  and the earth.

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.

Then the Lord spoke again to Haggai ¹  on the twenty-fourth day of the month: ² 

From that time ¹  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.

‘Do not fear, because I made a promise to your ancestors when they left Egypt, and my spirit ¹  even now testifies to you.’ ² 

“Ask the following questions to ¹  Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ²  and the remnant of the people:

“Is it right for you to live in richly paneled houses ¹  while my temple is in ruins? ² 

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

On the first day of the sixth month ¹  of King Darius’ ²  second year, the Lord spoke this message through the prophet Haggai ³  to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak: ⁴ 

I struck all the products of your labor ¹  with blight, disease, and hail, and yet you brought nothing to me,’ ²  says the Lord.

Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, spoke the Lord’s word to the people: ¹  “I am with you!” says the Lord.

‘Who among you survivors saw the former splendor of this temple? ¹  How does it look to you now? Isn’t it nothing by comparison?

On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Darius’ second year, ¹  the Lord spoke again to the prophet Haggai: ² 

Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ¹  along with the whole remnant of the people, ²  obeyed ³  the Lord their God. They responded favorably to the message of the prophet Haggai, who spoke just as the Lord their God had instructed him, ⁴  and the people began to respect the Lord. ⁵ 

‘You expected a large harvest, but instead ¹  there was little, and when you brought it home it disappeared right away. ²  Why?’ asks the Lord who rules over all. ‘Because my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house! ³ 

‘Think carefully about the past: ¹  from today, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, ²  to the day work on the temple of the Lord was resumed, ³  think about it. ⁴ 

Even so, take heart, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord. ‘Take heart, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and ¹  all you citizens of the land,’ ²  says the Lord, ‘and begin to work. For I am with you,’ says the Lord who rules over all.

You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but are never filled. You drink, but are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but are not warm. Those who earn wages end up with holes in their money bags.’” ¹ 

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

The Lord who rules over all ¹  says this: “These people have said, ‘The time for rebuilding the Lord’s temple has not yet come.’” ²