In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of Jehovah by Haggai the prophet, saying,
Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes as nothing?
Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith Jehovah; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith Jehovah, and work: for I am with you, saith Jehovah of hosts,
{Or, Remember the word &c.}according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, and my Spirit {Or. abideth}abode among you: fear ye not.
For thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
and I will shake all nations; and {Or, the things desired (Hebrew: desire) of all nations shall come}the precious things of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith Jehovah of hosts.
The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith Jehovah of hosts.
The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, saith Jehovah of hosts; and in this place will I give peace, saith Jehovah of hosts.
In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of Jehovah by Haggai the prophet, saying,
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying,
If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any food, shall it become holy? And the priests answered and said, No.
Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by reason of a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.
Then answered Haggai and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith Jehovah; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.
And now, I pray you, consider from this day and backward, before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of Jehovah.
{Hebrew: since those days were.}Through all that time, when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when one came to the winevat to draw out fifty vessels, there were but twenty.
I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the work of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah.
Consider, I pray you, from this day and backward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, since the day that the foundation of Jehovah's temple was laid, consider it.
Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, the vine, and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree have not brought forth; from this day will I bless you.
And the word of Jehovah came the second time unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying,
Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;
and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
In that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith Jehovah, and will make thee as a signet; for I have chosen thee, saith Jehovah of hosts.
Querverweise zu Haggai 2,17 Hag 2,17
Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did {Or, blow it away}blow upon it. Why? saith Jehovah of hosts. Because of my house that lieth waste, while ye run every man to his own house.
Behold, to-morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the day it was founded even until now.
Now therefore send, hasten in thy cattle and all that thou hast in the field; for every man and beast that shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.
He that feared the word of Jehovah among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:
and he that regarded not the word of Jehovah left his servants and his cattle in the field.
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch forth thy hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.
And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and Jehovah sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down unto the earth; and Jehovah rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
So there was hail, and fire {Or, flashing continually amidst}mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.
Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: Jehovah is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
Entreat Jehovah; for there hath been enough of these {Hebrew: voices (or, thunderings) of God.}mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.
And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto Jehovah; the thunders shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know that the earth is Jehovah's.
And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the grain, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands.
And in the time {Or, that he distressed him}of his distress did he trespass yet more against Jehovah, this same king Ahaz.
And Joseph was the governor over the land; he it was that sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves to him with their faces to the earth.
Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one; as a tempest of hail, a destroying storm, as a tempest of mighty waters overflowing, will he cast down to the earth {Or, with violence}with the hand.
He gave also their increase unto the caterpillar,And their labor unto the locust.
But they that are godless in heart lay up anger:They cry not for help when he bindeth them.
And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for there was an interpreter between them.
Jehovah hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy grain to be food for thine enemies; and foreigners shall not drink thy new wine, for which thou hast labored:
Yet the people have not turned unto him that smote them, neither have they sought Jehovah of hosts.
And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the lodging-place, he espied his money; and, behold, it was in the mouth of his sack.
But the {Hebrew: shame. See chapter 11:13; Hosea 9:10}shameful thing hath devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
Therefore he poured upon him the fierceness of his anger, and the strength of battle; and it set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.
Jehovah will smite thee with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and with {Or, as otherwise read, drought}the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
O Jehovah, {Hebrew: are not thine eyes upon.}do not thine eyes look upon {Or, faithfulness}truth? thou hast stricken them, but they were not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive {Or, instruction}correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their {Hebrew: gates.}cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;
Thus saith Jehovah, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not walk therein.
If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemies besiege them in the land of their {Hebrew: gates.}cities; whatsoever plague or whatsoever sickness there be;
And I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet; but they said, We will not hearken.
Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as {In 2 Kings 19:26, grain blasted.}a field of grain before it is grown up.
Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah: Shall men fall, and not rise up again? Shall one turn away, and not return?
Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repenteth him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one {Or, turneth away in his course}turneth to his course, as a horse that rusheth headlong in the battle.
Yea, the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle-dove and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the law of Jehovah.
I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: the multitude of your gardens and your vineyards and your fig-trees and your olive-trees hath the palmer-worm devoured: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.
Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are {Hebrew: sprinkled.}here and there upon him, and he knoweth it not.
And the {Or, excellency}pride of Israel doth testify to his face: yet they have not returned unto Jehovah their God, nor sought him, for all this.
So two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water, and were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.
I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: the multitude of your gardens and your vineyards and your fig-trees and your olive-trees hath the palmer-worm devoured: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.
I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, {Hebrew: with the captivity of your horses.}and have carried away your horses; and I have made the stench of your camp to come up even into your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.
I have overthrown cities among you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a brand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.
Jehovah was sore displeased with your fathers.
Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Return unto me, saith Jehovah of hosts, and I will return unto you, saith Jehovah of hosts.
Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets cried, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Return ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith Jehovah.
Thus hath Jehovah of hosts spoken, saying, Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother;
and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the sojourner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.
But they refused to hearken, and {Or, turned a stubborn shoulder}pulled away the shoulder, and {Or, made their ears heavy See Isaiah 6:10.}stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which Jehovah of hosts had sent by his Spirit by the former prophets: therefore there came great wrath from Jehovah of hosts.
And it is come to pass that, as he cried, and they would not hear, so they shall cry, and I will not hear, said Jehovah of hosts;
And I gave her time that she should repent; and she willeth not to repent of her fornication.
And the rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not {See marginal note on chapter 3:9}worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk:
and they repented not of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.