On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came by ^aHaggai the prophet, saying, 2 “Speak now to ^aZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^bgovernor of Judah, and to ^cJoshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the ^dremnant of the people, saying, 3 ‘Who is ^aleft among you who saw this ¹temple in its ^bformer glory? And how do you see it now? ²Does it not seem to you like nothing ³in comparison? 4 But now ^1atake courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work; for ^bI am with you,’ declares the LORD of armies. 5 ‘As for the ^1apromise which I ²made you when you came out of Egypt, ³My ^bSpirit remains in your midst; ^cdo not fear!’ 6 For this is what the LORD of armies says: ‘^aOnce more ¹in a ^blittle while, I am going to ^cshake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 I will shake ^aall the nations; and ¹they will come with the ^bwealth of all nations, and I will ^cfill this house with glory,’ says the LORD of armies. 8 ‘The ^asilver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the LORD of armies. 9 ‘The latter ^aglory of this house will be greater than the ^bformer,’ says the LORD of armies, ‘and in this place I will give ^cpeace,’ declares the LORD of armies.”

10 On the ^atwenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 “The LORD of armies says this: ‘^aNow ask the priests for a ¹ruling: 12 If someone carries ^aholy meat in the ¹fold of his garment, and touches bread with ²this fold, or touches cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” And the priests answered, “No.” 13 Then Haggai said, “^aIf one who is unclean from a ¹corpse touches any of these things, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.” 14 Then Haggai responded and said, “‘^aSo is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean. 15 But now, do ^1aconsider from this day ²onward: before one ^bstone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD, 16 ¹from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty ²measures, there would be only twenty. 17 I struck you and every work of your hands with ^ascorching wind, mildew, and hail; ¹yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares the LORD. 18 ‘Do ^1aconsider from this day ²onward, from the ^btwenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the LORD was ^cfounded, ³consider: 19 Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not produced fruit. Yet from this day on I will ^abless you.’”

20 Then the word of the LORD came a second time to Haggai on the ^atwenty-fourth day of the month, saying, 21 “Speak to ^aZerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to ^bshake the heavens and the earth. 22 And I will ^aoverthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the ^bpower of the kingdoms of the ¹nations; and I will ^coverthrow the chariots and their riders, and the ^dhorses and their riders will go down, ^eevery one by the sword of another.’ 23 ‘On that day,’ declares the LORD of armies, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will make you like a ^1asignet ring, for ^bI have chosen you,’” declares the LORD of armies.

On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came by ^aHaggai the prophet saying, 2 “Speak now to ^aZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^bgovernor of Judah, and to ^cJoshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the ^dremnant of the people saying, 3 ‘Who is ^aleft among you who saw this ¹temple in its ^bformer glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not ²seem to you like nothing ³in comparison? 4 But now ^1atake courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work; for ^bI am with you,’ declares the LORD of hosts. 5 ‘As for the ^1apromise which I ²made you when you came out of Egypt, ³My ^bSpirit is abiding in your midst; ^cdo not fear!’ 6 For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘^aOnce more ¹in a ^blittle while, I am going to ^cshake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 I will shake ^aall the nations; and ¹they will come with the ^bwealth of all nations, and I will ^cfill this house with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts. 8 ‘The ^asilver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the LORD of hosts. 9 ‘The latter ^aglory of this house will be greater than the ^bformer,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give ^cpeace,’ declares the LORD of hosts.”

10 On the ^atwenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘^aAsk now the priests for a ¹ruling: 12 If a man carries ^aholy meat in the ¹fold of his garment, and touches bread with ²this fold, or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” And the priests answered, “No.” 13 Then Haggai said, “^aIf one who is unclean from a ¹corpse touches any of these, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.” 14 Then Haggai said, “‘^aSo is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean. 15 But now, do ^1aconsider from this day ²onward: before one ^bstone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD, 16 ¹from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty ²measures, there would be only twenty. 17 I smote you and every work of your hands with ^ablasting wind, mildew and hail; ¹yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares the LORD. 18 ‘Do ^1aconsider from this day ²onward, from the ^btwenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the LORD was ^cfounded, ³consider: 19 Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will ^abless you.’”

20 Then the word of the LORD came a second time to Haggai on the ^atwenty-fourth day of the month, saying, 21 “Speak to ^aZerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to ^bshake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will ^aoverthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the ^bpower of the kingdoms of the ¹nations; and I will ^coverthrow the chariots and their riders, and the ^dhorses and their riders will go down, ^eeveryone by the sword of another.’ 23 ‘On that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will make you like a ^1asignet ring, for ^bI have chosen you,’” declares the LORD of hosts.

On the twenty-first day of the ¹seventh month (Oct 17, 520 B.C., the second year of Darius king of Persia) , the word of the LORD came by the prophet ^aHaggai, saying, 2 “Speak now to ^aZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^bgovernor of Judah, and to ^cJoshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the ^dremnant of the people, saying, 3 ‘Who is ^aleft among you who saw this ¹house (temple) in its ^bformer glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison? 4 But now ^abe courageous, Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD, ‘be courageous also, Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and be courageous, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work; for ^bI am with you,’ declares the LORD of hosts. 5 ‘As for the ^apromise which I made with you when you came out of Egypt, My ^bSpirit stands firm and immovable and continues with you; ^cdo not fear!’ 6 For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘^aOnce more, in a ^blittle while, I am going to ^cshake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. Heb 12:26 7 I will shake ^aall the nations; and they will come with the desirable and ^bprecious things of all nations, and I will ^cfill this house with glory and splendor,’ says the LORD of hosts. Is 60:5; Matt 2:1-12 8 ‘The ^asilver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the LORD of hosts. 9 ‘The latter ^1aglory of this house will be greater than the ^bformer,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and in this place I shall give the ultimate ^cpeace and prosperity,’ declares the LORD of hosts.”

10 On the ^atwenty-fourth day of the ninth month (Dec 18, 520 B.C.), in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘^aAsk the priests for a ruling: 12 If a man carries ^ameat that is holy because it has been offered in sacrifice to God in the fold of his garment, and he touches bread, or cooked food, or wine, or oil, or any kind of food with this fold, does what he touches become holy dedicated exclusively to God’s service?’” And the priests answered, “No!” ¹Holiness is not transferrable. 13 Then Haggai said, “^aIf one who is ceremonially unclean because of contact with a corpse touches any of these articles of food, will it be unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will be unclean.” Ceremonial uncleanness, like sin, is infectious. 14 Then Haggai answered, “‘^aSo is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there on the altar is unclean because they who offer it are unclean. 15 But now, do ^aconsider what will happen from this day forward: before one ^bstone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD, 16 from that time when one came to a grain heap expecting twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures, there would be only twenty. 17 I struck you and the work of your hands with ^ascorching wind, mildew, and hail; yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares the LORD. 18 ‘^aDo consider from this day forward, from the ^btwenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the LORD was ^cfounded, consider: 19 Is the seed still in the barn? As to the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree—they have not produced. Yet from this day on I will ^abless you in the harvest of your crops.’”

20 And again the word of the LORD came to Haggai on the ^atwenty-fourth day of the month (Dec 18, 520 B.C.), saying, 21 “Speak to ^1aZerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to ^bshake the heavens and the earth. Hag 2:6; Matt 1:12, 13 22 I will in the distant future ^aoverthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the ^bpower of the kingdoms of the ungodly nations; and I will ^coverthrow the chariots and those who ride in them, and the ^dhorses and their riders will go down, ^eevery one by the sword of his brother annihilating one another. Dan 2:34, 35, 44, 45; Rev 19:11-21 23 On that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will make you through the Messiah, your descendant like a ^1asignet ring, for ^bI have chosen you as the one with whom to renew My covenant to David’s line,’” declares the LORD of hosts. 2+@Sam 7:12, 16