Haggai2
English Standard Version
1In the month, on the day of the , the of the Lord came the of the ,
2 to the of , of , and to the of , the , and to all the of the , and ,
3 is among you in its ? do you it ? Is it in your ?
4Yet be , O , the Lord. Be , O , of , the . Be , you of the , the Lord. , am you, the Lord of ,
5 to the I with you when you came of . My in your . .
6 the Lord of : more, in a , I will the and the and the and the .
7And I will , so that the of shall come , and I will with , the Lord of .
8The is mine, and the is mine, the Lord of .
9The of shall be the , the Lord of . And in I will , the Lord of .
10On the day of the month, in the of , the of the Lord the ,
11 the Lord of : the about the :
12 in the of his and with his or or or or kind of , does it become ? The and , .
13Then , someone who is by contact with a of , does it ? The and , It does .
14Then and , is it with , and with this me, the Lord, and with of their . And what they there is .
15 then, from this . was in the of the Lord,
16how did you fare? When one to a of measures, there were but . When one to the to , there were but .
17I you and the of your with and with and with , yet you did turn to me, the Lord.
18 from this , from the of the month. the that the of the Lord ’s was , :
19Is the in the ? , the , the , the , and the have . But on I will you.
20The of the Lord came a time to on the day of the ,
21 to , of , , am about to the and the ,
22and to the of . I am about to the of the of the , and the and their . And the and their shall , every by the of his .
23On that , the Lord of , I will you, O my , the of , the Lord, and you like a , for I have you, the Lord of .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Haggai 2.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Greater glory promised to the second temple than to the first. (1–9). Their sins hindered the work. (10–19). The kingdom of Christ foretold. (20–23).
vv1-9
Those who are hearty in the Lord's service shall receive encouragement to proceed. But they could not build such a temple then, as Solomon built. Though our gracious God is pleased if we do as well as we can in his service, yet our proud hearts will scarcely let us be pleased, unless we do as well as others, whose abilities are far beyond ours. Encouragement is given the Jews to go on in the work notwithstanding. They have God with them, his Spirit and his special presence. Though he chastens their transgressions, his faithfulness does not fail. The Spirit still remained among them. And they shall have the Messiah among them shortly; “He that should come.” Convulsions and changes would take place in the Jewish church and state, but first should come great revolutions and commotions among the nations. He shall come, as the Desire of all nations; desirable to all nations, for in him shall all the earth be blessed with the best of blessings; long expected and desired by all believers. The house they were building should be filled with glory, very far beyond Solomon's temple. This house shall be filled with glory of another nature. If we have silver and gold, we must serve and honour God with it, for the property is his. If we have not silver and gold, we must honour him with such as we have, and he will accept us. Let them be comforted that the glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former, in what would be beyond all the glories of the first house, the presence of the Messiah, the Son of God, the Lord of glory, personally, and in human nature. Nothing but the presence of the Son of God, in human form and nature, could fulfil this. Jesus is the Christ, is He that should come, and we are to look for no other. This prophecy alone is enough to silence the Jews, and condemn their obstinate rejection of Him, concerning whom all their prophets spake. If God be with us, peace is with us. But the Jews under the latter temple had much trouble; but this promise is fulfilled in that spiritual peace which Jesus Christ has by his blood purchased for all believers. All changes shall make way for Christ to be desired and valued by all nations. And the Jews shall have their eyes opened to behold how precious He is, whom they have hitherto rejected.
vv10-19
Many spoiled this good work, by going about it with unholy hearts and hands, and were likely to gain no advantage by it. The sum of these two rules of the law is, that sin is more easily learned from others than holiness. The impurity of their hearts and lives shall make the work of their hands, and all their offerings, unclean before God. The case is the same with us. When employed in any good work, we should watch over ourselves, lest we render it unclean by our corruptions. When we begin to make conscience of duty to God, we may expect his blessing; and whoso is wise will understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. God will curse the blessings of the wicked, and make bitter the prosperity of the careless; but he will sweeten the cup of affliction to those who diligently serve him.
vv20-23
The Lord will preserve Zerubbabel and the people of Judah, amidst their enemies. Here is also foretold the establishment and continuance of the kingdom of Christ; by union with whom his people are sealed with the Holy Ghost, sealed with his image, thus distinguished from all others. Here also is foretold the changes, even to that time when the kingdom of Christ shall overthrow and occupy the place of all the empires which opposed his cause. The promise has special reference to Christ, who descended from Zerubbabel in a direct line, and is the sole Builder of the gospel temple. Our Lord Jesus is the Signet on God's right hand, for all power is given to him, and derived from him. By him, and in him, all the promises of God are yea and amen. Whatever changes take place on earth, all will promote the comfort, honour, and happiness of his servants.
Key Words
שְׁבִיעִי: seventh
חֹדֶשׁ: the new moon; by implication, a month
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
יָד: a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etc.),
חַגַּי: Chaggai, a Hebrew prophet
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
נָא: 'I pray', 'now', or 'then'; added mostly to verbs (in the Imperative or Future), or to interjections, occasionally to an adverb or conjunction
זְרֻבָּבֶל: Zerubbabel, an Israelite
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל: Shealtiel, an Israelite
Cross References
Haggai 2Explicitly quotes and interprets the shaking of heaven and earth as introducing Christ's unshakeable kingdom.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Records the elders weeping at the visual inferiority of the second temple's foundation compared to the first.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB, John Calvin
Prophesies the Lord suddenly coming to His temple, fulfilling the promise of filling this house with glory.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Reverses the curse on Coniah (Jehoiachin), making his descendant Zerubbabel a chosen signet ring again.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Warns against despising the day of small things regarding Zerubbabel's temple building.
Supported by JFB
Defines the priestly duty to teach the distinction between the holy and the unholy/unclean.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Sets forth the specific Levitical laws regarding defilement by contact with a dead body.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Reinforces that the restoration succeeds not by human might, but by God's remaining Spirit.
Supported by JFB
The ultimate fulfillment of the temple's glory, as the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Parallels the principle that to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Explains the economic and agricultural curses previously sent due to their neglect of God's house.
Supported by John Calvin
Predicts God breaking and consuming all earthly kingdoms to establish His everlasting kingdom.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The original Sinai covenant promise that God would dwell among Israel as their God.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Affirms God's absolute ownership of the earth's wealth, echoing 'the silver and gold are mine.'
Supported by Matthew Henry