The Builders Encouraged

2 On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by ^(A)Haggai the prophet, saying, ² “Speak now to ^(B)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^(C)governor of Judah, and to ^(D)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the ^(E)remnant of the people, saying, ³ ‘Who is ^(F)left among you who saw this ^[a]temple in its ^(G)former glory? And how do you see it now? ^[b]Does it not seem to you like nothing ^[c]in comparison? ⁴ But now ^[d](H)take 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 ^(I)I am with you,’ declares the Lord of armies. ⁵ ‘As for the ^[e](J)promise which I ^[f]made you when you came out of Egypt, ^[g]My ^(K)Spirit remains in your midst; ^(L)do not fear!’ ⁶ For this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘^(M)Once more ^[h]in a ^(N)little while, I am going to ^(O)shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. ⁷ I will shake ^(P)all the nations; and ^[i]they will come with the ^(Q)wealth of all nations, and I will ^(R)fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of armies. ⁸ ‘The ^(S)silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of armies. ⁹ ‘The latter ^(T)glory of this house will be greater than the ^(U)former,’ says the Lord of armies, ‘and in this place I will give ^(V)peace,’ declares the Lord of armies.”

¹⁰ On the ^(W)twenty-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: ‘^(X)Now ask the priests for a ^[j]ruling: ¹² If someone carries ^(Y)holy meat in the ^[k]fold of his garment, and touches bread with ^[l]this fold, or touches cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” And the priests answered, “No.” ¹³ Then Haggai said, “^(Z)If one who is unclean from a ^[m]corpse touches any of these things, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.” ¹⁴ Then Haggai responded and said, “‘^(AA)So 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 ^[n](AB)consider from this day ^[o]onward: before one ^(AC)stone was placed on another in the temple of the Lord, ^16 [p]from 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 ^[q]measures, there would be only twenty. ¹⁷ I struck you and every work of your hands with ^(AD)scorching wind, mildew, and hail; ^[r]yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares the Lord. ¹⁸ ‘Do ^[s](AE)consider from this day ^[t]onward, from the ^(AF)twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the Lord was ^(AG)founded, ^[u]consider: 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 ^(AH)bless you.’”

²⁰ Then the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the ^(AI)twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, ²¹ “Speak to ^(AJ)Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to ^(AK)shake the heavens and the earth. ²² And I will ^(AL)overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the ^(AM)power of the kingdoms of the ^[v]nations; and I will ^(AN)overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the ^(AO)horses and their riders will go down, ^(AP)every 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 ^[w](AQ)signet ring, for ^(AR)I have chosen you,’” declares the Lord of armies.