Hagai 2:5-8

2:5 ‘Do not fear, because I made a promise to your ancestors when they left Egypt, and my spirit ¹  even now testifies to you.’ ²  2:6 Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says: ‘In just a little while ³  I will once again shake the sky ⁴  and the earth, the sea and the dry ground. 2:7 I will also shake up all the nations, and they ⁵  will offer their treasures; ⁶  then I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord who rules over all. 2:8 ‘The silver and gold will be mine,’ says the Lord who rules over all.

Hagai 2:20

Zerubbabel the Chosen One

2:20 Then the Lord spoke again to Haggai ⁷  on the twenty-fourth day of the month: ⁸ 

[2:5]  ¹ sn My spirit. It is theologically anachronistic to understand “spirit” here in the NT sense as a reference to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity; nevertheless during this postexilic period the conceptual groundwork was being laid for the doctrine of the Holy Spirit later revealed in the NT.

[2:5]  ² tc The MT of v. 5 reads “with the word which I cut with you when you went out from Egypt and my spirit [which] stands in your midst, do not fear.” BHS proposes emending “with the word” to זֹאת הַבְּרִית (zo’t habbÿrit, “this is the covenant”) at the beginning of the verse. The proposed emendation makes excellent sense and is expected with the verb כָּרַת (karat, “cut” or “make” a covenant), but it has no textual support. Most English versions (including the present translation) therefore follow the MT here.

[2:6]  ³ tc The difficult MT reading עוֹד אַחַת מְעַט הִיא (’od ’akhat mÿ’at hi’, “yet once, it is little”; cf. NAB “One moment yet, a little while”) appears as “yet once” in the LXX, omitting the last two Hebrew words. However, the point being made is that the anticipated action is imminent; thus the repetition provides emphasis.

[2:6]  ⁴ tn Or “the heavens.” The same Hebrew word, שָׁמַיִם (shamayim), may be translated “sky” or “heavens” depending on the context. Although many English versions translate the term as “heavens” here, the other three elements present in this context (earth, sea, dry ground) suggest “sky” is in view.

[2:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “all the nations.”

[2:7]  ⁶ tn Though the subject here is singular (חֶמְדַּה, khemdah; “desire”), the preceding plural predicate mandates a collective subject, “desired (things)” or, better, an emendation to a plural form, חֲמֻדֹת (khamudot, “desirable [things],” hence “treasures”). Cf. ASV “the precious things”; NASB “the wealth”; NRSV “the treasure.” In the OT context this has no direct reference to the coming of the Messiah.

[2:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai.” This Hebrew expression is like the one in 2:10 and is slightly different from the one in 1:1, 3; 2:1.

[2:20]  ⁸ sn Again, the twenty-fourth day of the month was Kislev 24 or December 18, 520 b.c. See v. 10.