Haggai 1

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,

Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.

Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying,

Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?

Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.

Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.

Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.

Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.

Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.

And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord.

Then spake Haggai the Lord’s messenger in the Lord’s message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord.

And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,

In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

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Haggai 1:1

“In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,”

Study Summary

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest—the dating and addressees establish the historical context: the Babylonian exile's end, the return under Persian sponsorship, and the beginning of temple reconstruction. The dual leadership (civil governor and high priest) reflects the restored community's structure. The prophecy's concern is the recovery and completion of the LORD's house.

Community Reflections

Ruth Kim (test user)14h ago

Redemption and restoration — Haggai 1

The imagery here is agricultural — the original audience would have immediately understood the metaphor of sowing, waiting, and harvesting.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. The Hebrew word used here carries a richness that English can't fully capture. God is faithful in every circumstance.. I love how this passage doesn't shy away from the difficulty of obedience. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. Today it speaks comfort; a year ago it spoke conviction.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. Following God is costly, but the reward is eternal.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. This is one of those passages that reads differently in every season of life. Their context of persecution gives these words a weight we often…