Hagai 1:6

1:6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but are never filled. You drink, but are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but are not warm. Those who earn wages end up with holes in their money bags.’” ¹ 

Hagai 2:16

2:16 From that time ²  when one came expecting a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures from it, there were only twenty.

Hagai 1:9

1:9 ‘You expected a large harvest, but instead ³  there was little, and when you brought it home it disappeared right away. ⁴  Why?’ asks the Lord who rules over all. ‘Because my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house! ⁵ 

Hagai 1:13

1:13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, spoke the Lord’s word to the people: ⁶  “I am with you!” says the Lord.

Hagai 2:8

2:8 ‘The silver and gold will be mine,’ says the Lord who rules over all.

Hagai 1:14

1:14 So the Lord energized and encouraged ⁷  Zerubbabel ⁸  son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ⁹  and the whole remnant of the people. ¹⁰  They came and worked on the temple of their God, the Lord who rules over all.

Hagai 1:12

The Response of the People

1:12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, ¹¹  along with the whole remnant of the people, ¹²  obeyed ¹³  the Lord their God. They responded favorably to the message of the prophet Haggai, who spoke just as the Lord their God had instructed him, ¹⁴  and the people began to respect the Lord. ¹⁵ 

Hagai 2:14

2:14 Then Haggai responded, “‘The people of this nation are unclean in my sight,’ ¹⁶  says the Lord. ‘And so is all their effort; everything they offer is also unclean. ¹⁷ 

[1:6]  ¹ tn Some translate “pockets” (so NLT) but the Hebrew word צְרוֹר (tsÿror) refers to a bag, pouch, or purse of money (BDB 865 s.v. צְרוֹר; HALOT 1054 s.v. צְרוֹר 1). Because coinage had been invented by the Persians and was thus in use in Haggai’s day, this likely is a money bag or purse rather than pouches or pockets in the clothing. Since in contemporary English “purse” (so NASB, NIV, NCV) could be understood as a handbag, the present translation uses “money bags.”

[2:16]  ² tn Heb “from their being,” idiomatic for “from the time they were then,” or “since the time.” Cf. KJV “Since those days were.”

[1:9]  ³ tn Heb “look!” (הִנֵּה, hinneh). The term, an interjection, draws attention to the point being made.

[1:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “I blew it away” (so NRSV, TEV, NLT). The imagery here suggests that human achievements are so fragile and temporal that a mere breath from God can destroy them (see Ezek 22:20, 21; and Isa 40:7 with נָשַׁב, nashav).

[1:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “and each of you runs to his own house”; NIV “is busy with”; TEV “is busy working on”; NCV “work hard for.”

[1:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, said by the message of the Lord to the people.” The Hebrew is highly repetitive; in keeping with contemporary English style this has been simplified in the translation.

[1:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “stirred up” (as in many English versions). Only one verb appears in the Hebrew text, but the translation “energized and encouraged” brings out its sense in this context. Cf. TEV “inspired”; NLT “sparked the enthusiasm of”; CEV “made everyone eager to work.”

[1:14]  sn It was God who initiated the rebuilding by providing the people with motivation and ability.

[1:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “the spirit of Zerubbabel” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[1:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest” (as in many English versions), but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

[1:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and the spirit of all the remnant of the people.” The Hebrew phrase שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם (shÿ’erit ha’am) in this postexilic context is used as a technical term to refer to the returned remnant; see the note on the phrase “the whole remnant of the people” in v. 12.

[1:12]  ¹¹ tn Many English versions have “Joshua [the] son of Jehozadak, the high priest,” but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

[1:12]  ¹² tn Heb “all the remnant of the people.” The Hebrew phrase שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם (shÿ’erit ha’am) in this postexilic context is used as a technical term to refer to the returned remnant (see Ezra 9:14; Isa 10:20-22; 11:11, 16; Jer 23:3; 31:7; and many other passages). Cf. TEV “all the people who had returned from the exile in Babylonia.”

[1:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “heard the voice of”; NAB “listened to the voice of.”

[1:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and according to the words of Haggai the prophet just as the Lord their God sent him.” Some English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV) take the last clause as causal: “because the Lord their God had sent him.”

[1:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and the people feared from before the Lord”; NASB “showed reverence for the Lord.”

[2:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “so this people, and so this nation before me.” In this context “people” and “nation” refer to the same set of individuals; the repetition is emphatic. Cf. CEV “this entire nation.”

[2:14]  ¹⁷ sn The point here is that the Jews cannot be made holy by unholy fellowship with their pagan neighbors; instead, they and their worship will become corrupted by such associations.