Hagai 1:4

1:4 “Is it right for you to live in richly paneled houses ¹  while my temple is in ruins? ² 

Hagai 2:5

2:5 ‘Do not fear, because I made a promise to your ancestors when they left Egypt, and my spirit ³  even now testifies to you.’ ⁴ 

Hagai 2:22

2:22 I will overthrow royal thrones and shatter the might of earthly kingdoms. ⁵  I will overthrow chariots and those who ride them, and horses and their riders will fall as people kill one another. ⁶ 

Hagai 2:4

2:4 Even so, take heart, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord. ‘Take heart, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and ⁷  all you citizens of the land,’ ⁸  says the Lord, ‘and begin to work. For I am with you,’ says the Lord who rules over all.

[1:4]  ¹ sn Richly paneled houses. Paneling is otherwise known in the OT only in connection with the temple (1 Kgs 6:9) and the royal palace (2 Kgs 7:3, 7). It implies decoration and luxury (cf. NCV “fancy houses”; TEV “well-built houses”; NLT “luxurious houses”). The impropriety of the people living in such lavish accommodations while the temple lay unfinished is striking.

[1:4]  ² tn Heb “Is it time for you, [yes] you, to live in paneled houses, while this house is in ruins”; NASB “lies desolate”; NIV “remains a ruin.”

[2:5]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[2:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “the kingdoms of the nations.” Cf. KJV “the kingdoms of the heathen”; NIV, NLT “foreign kingdoms.”

[2:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “and horses and their riders will go down, a man with a sword his brother”; KJV “every one by the sword of his brother.”

[2:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and take heart.” Although emphatic, the repetition of the verb is redundant in contemporary English style and has been left untranslated.

[2:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “the people of the land” (עַם הָאָרֶץ, ’am ha’arets); this is a technical term referring to free citizens as opposed to slaves.