The Beauty of the Temple

2 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month [^COct. 17, 520 bc; Tishri 21 on the Hebrew calendar; the same date Solomon finished the temple 440 years earlier (960 bc); 1 Kin. 6:38; 8:2], the Lord spoke his word through Haggai the prophet, saying, ² “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest [1:1], and to the ·rest of the people who are left alive [remnant of the people; 1:12]. Say, ³ ‘Do any of you remember ·how great the Temple was [the former glory of this house] before it was destroyed? What does it look like now? Doesn’t it seem like nothing to you?’ ⁴ But the Lord says, ‘Zerubbabel, be ·brave [strong]. Also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, be ·brave [strong]. And all you people who live in the land, be ·brave [strong],’ says the Lord. ‘Work, because I am with you,’ says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts]. ⁵ ‘I made a promise to you when you came out of Egypt, and my Spirit ·is still with [remains among] you. So don’t be afraid.’

⁶ “This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] says: ‘In a short time I will once again shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. ⁷ I will shake all the nations, and ·they will bring their wealth [^Lthe treasures of the nations shall come]. Then I will fill this ·Temple [^Lhouse] with glory [^CGod’s manifest presence],’ says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts]. ⁸ ‘The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’ says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts]. ⁹ ‘The ·new Temple [^Lglory of this second/latter house] will be greater than the one before,’ says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts]. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts].”

¹⁰ On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month [^CDecember 18, 520 bc; Kislev 24 on the Hebrew calendar] in the second year Darius was king, the Lord spoke his word to Haggai the prophet, saying, ¹¹ “This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] says: ‘Ask the priests ·for a teaching [about the law; for guidance/instruction]. ¹² Suppose a person carries in the fold of his clothes some meat made holy for the Lord. If that fold touches bread, ·cooked food [stew], wine, olive oil, or some other food, will that be made holy?’”

The priests answered, “No.”

¹³ Then Haggai said, “If a person who is ·unclean [^Cceremonially] from touching a dead body touches any of these foods, will the food become unclean, too?”

The priests answered, “Yes, it would become unclean.”

¹⁴ Then Haggai answered, “The Lord says, ‘This is also true for the people of this nation. They are ·unclean [defiled], and everything they do with their hands is unclean to me. Whatever they offer at the altar is also ·unclean [defiled].

¹⁵ “‘·Think about [Consider; ^LSet your heart on] this from now on! Think about how it was before you started laying stones on top of stones to build the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord. ¹⁶ A person used to come to a ·pile of grain expecting to find twenty basketfuls [^Lheap of twenty measures/ephahs], but there were only ten. And a person used to come to the wine vat to take out fifty ·jarfuls [measures; ^Lbaths], but only twenty were there. ¹⁷ I ·destroyed your work [struck all the work of your hands] with ·diseases [blight], mildew, and hail, but you still did not come back to me,’ says the Lord. ¹⁸ ‘It is the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month [December 18, 520 bc; Kislev 24 on the Hebrew calendar], the day in which the people finished working on the foundation of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord. From ·now [^Lthis day] on, think about these things: ¹⁹ Do you have seeds for crops still in the barn? Your vines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not given fruit yet. But from ·now [^Lthis day] on I will bless you!’”

The Lord Makes a Promise to Zerubbabel

²⁰ Then the Lord spoke his word a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month [December 18, 520 bc; Kislev 24 on the Hebrew calendar]. He said, ²¹ “Tell Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. ²² I will ·destroy [overthrow] the ·foreign [^Lthrones of] kingdoms and ·take away [shatter] the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will destroy the chariots and their riders. The horses will fall with their riders, ·as people kill each other with swords [^Leach one by the sword of his brother].’ ²³ The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts] says, ‘On that day I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will make you ·important like [^Llike] my signet ring, because I have chosen you!’ says the Lord All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts].”