Haggai Tells His People to Rebuild the Lord’s Temple

1 A message from the Lord came to Haggai the prophet. Haggai gave it to Zerubbabel and Joshua. Zerubbabel was governor of Judah and the son of Shealtiel. Joshua was high priest and the son of Jozadak. The message came on the first day of the sixth month of the second year that Darius was king of Persia. Here is what Haggai said.

² Here is what the Lord who rules over all says. “The people of Judah say, ‘It’s not yet time to rebuild the Lord’s temple.’ ”

³ So the message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, ⁴ “My temple is still destroyed. But you are living in your houses that have beautiful wooden walls.”

⁵ The Lord who rules over all says, “Think carefully about how you are living. ⁶ You have planted many seeds. But the crops you have gathered are small. So you eat. But you never have enough. You drink. But you are never full. You put on your clothes. But you are not warm. You earn your pay. But it will not buy everything you need.”

⁷ He continues, “Think carefully about how you are living. ⁸ Go up into the mountains. Bring logs down. Use them to rebuild the temple, my house. Then I will enjoy it. And you will honor me,” says the Lord. ⁹ “You expected a lot. But you can see what a small amount it turned out to be. I blew away what you brought home. I’ll tell you why,” announces the Lord who rules over all. “Because my temple is still destroyed. In spite of that, each one of you is busy with your own house. ¹⁰ So because of what you have done, the heavens have held back the dew. And the earth has not produced its crops. ¹¹ I ordered the rain not to fall on the fields and mountains. Then the ground did not produce any grain. There were not enough grapes to make fresh wine. The trees did not bear enough olives to make oil. People and cattle suffered. All your hard work failed.”

¹² Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel. Joshua the high priest was the son of Jozadak. They obeyed the Lord their God. So did all the Lord’s people who were still left alive. The Lord had given his message to them through me. He had sent me to speak to them. And the people had respect for him.

¹³ Haggai was the Lord’s messenger. So Haggai gave the Lord’s message to the people. He told them, “The Lord announces, ‘I am with you.’ ” ¹⁴ So the Lord stirred up the spirits of Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and Joshua the high priest. The Lord also stirred up the rest of the people to help them. Then everyone began to work on the temple of the Lord who rules over all. He is their God. ¹⁵ It was the 24th day of the sixth month.

The New Temple Will Be Beautiful

In the second year of King Darius,