Haggai 2:23 New English Translation
23 On that day,’[a] says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant,’[b] says the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring,[c] for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”[d]
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- Haggai 2:23 sn The expression on that day appears as a technical eschatological term in a number of other OT passages (cf., e.g., Isa 2:11, 17, 20; 3:7, 18; Amos 8:3, 9; Hos 2:18, 21).
- Haggai 2:23 sn My servant. The collocation of “servant” and “chosen” bears strong messianic overtones. See the so-called “Servant Songs” and other messianic texts in Isaiah (Isa 41:8; 42:1; 44:4; 49:7).
- Haggai 2:23 sn The noun signet ring, used also to describe Jehoiachin (Jer 22:24-30), refers to a ring seal worn by a king or other important person and used as his signature. Zerubbabel was a grandson of King Jehoiachin (1 Chr 3:17-19; Matt 1:12); God once pronounced that none of Jehoiachin’s immediate descendants would rule (Jer 22:24-30), but here he reverses that judgment. Zerubbabel never ascended to such a lofty position of rulership; he is rather a prototype of the Messiah who would sit on David’s throne.
- Haggai 2:23 tn The repetition of the formula “says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies” in v. 23 emphasizes the solemn and divine nature of the promise.
New English Translation (NET)
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