In the ^asecond year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of ¹Yahweh came by the hand of ^bHaggai the prophet to ^cZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^dgovernor of Judah, and to ^eJoshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus says Yahweh of ¹hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of Yahweh to be rebuilt.”’” 3 Then the word of Yahweh came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses while this house ^alies waste?” 5 So now, thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Set your heart to consider your ways! 6 You have ^asown much, but bring in little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is ¹not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”

7 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Set your heart to consider your ways! 8 Go up to the ¹mountains and bring wood and ^arebuild the house of God, that I may be ^bpleased with it and be ^cglorified,” says Yahweh. 9 “^aYou look for much, but behold, it comes to little; and you bring it home, and I ^bblow it away. Why?” declares Yahweh of hosts, “Because of My house which ^clies waste, while each of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the ^asky has restrained ¹its dew and the earth has restrained its produce. 11 And I called for a ^1adrought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on ^bmen, on cattle, and on ^call the labor of ²your hands.”

12 Then ^aZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and ^bJoshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, ^clistened to the voice of Yahweh their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as Yahweh their God had sent him. And the people ^dfeared Yahweh. 13 Then Haggai, the ^amessenger of Yahweh, spoke by the commissioned message of Yahweh to the people saying, “‘^bI am with you,’ declares Yahweh.” 14 So Yahweh stirred up the spirit of ^aZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^bgovernor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the ^cremnant of the people; and they came and ^ddid work on the house of Yahweh of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.

In the ^asecond year of ¹Darius the king of Persia, on the first day of the sixth month (Aug 29, 520 B.C.), the word of the LORD came by ^bHaggai the prophet to ^cZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^dgovernor of Judah, and to ^eJoshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘These people say, “The time has not come that the LORD’S house (temple) should be ¹rebuilt.”’” Ezra 1:1-6; 4:1-6, 24; 5:1-3 3 Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to live in your expensive paneled houses while this house of the LORD ^alies in ruins?” 5 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways and thoughtfully reflect on your conduct! 6 You have ^aplanted much, but you harvest little; you eat, but you do not have enough; you drink, but you do not have enough to be intoxicated; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns wages earns them just to put them in a bag with holes in it because God has withheld His blessing.”

7 Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways and thoughtfully reflect on your conduct! 8 Go up to the hill country, bring lumber and ^arebuild My house (temple) , that I may be ^bpleased with it and be ^cglorified,” says the LORD accepting it as done for My glory. 9 “^aYou look for much harvest, but it comes to little; and even when you bring that home, I ^bblow it away. Why?” says the LORD of hosts. “Because of My house, which ^clies in ruins while each of you runs to his own house eager to enjoy it. 10 Therefore, because of you that is, your sin and disobedience the ^aheavens withhold the dew and the earth withholds its produce. 11 I called for a ^adrought on the land and the hill country, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on ^bmen, on cattle, and on ^call the labor of your hands.”

12 Then ^aZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and ^bJoshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people who had returned from exile, listened carefully and ^cobeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, since the LORD their God had sent him. And the people reverently ^dfeared the LORD. 13 Then Haggai, the LORD’S ^amessenger, spoke the LORD’S message to the people saying, “‘^bI am with you,’ declares the LORD.” 14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of ^aZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^bgovernor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the ^cremnant of the people; and they came and ^dworked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, 15 on the ¹twenty-fourth day of the sixth month (Sept 21, 520 B.C.) in the second year of Darius the king.