Haggai 1 - 2 - Legacy Standard Bible

Haggai 1 - 2

The Commission to Rebuild the Temple

In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of Yahweh came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of Yahweh to be rebuilt.”’” 3 Then the word of Yahweh came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses while this house lies waste?” 5 So now, thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Set your heart to consider your ways! 6 You have sown much, but bring in little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.” 7 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Set your heart to consider your ways! 8 Go up to the mountains and bring wood and rebuild the house of God, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says Yahweh. 9 “You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; and you bring it home, and I blow it away. Why?” declares Yahweh of hosts, “Because of My house which lies waste, while each of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the sky has restrained its dew and the earth has restrained its produce. 11 And I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands.” 12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, listened to the voice of Yahweh their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as Yahweh their God had sent him. And the people feared Yahweh. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of Yahweh, spoke by the commissioned message of Yahweh to the people saying, “‘I am with you,’ declares Yahweh.” 14 So Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work on the house of Yahweh of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.

The Glory of Yahweh Will Fill the Temple

On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of Yahweh came by the hand of Haggai the prophet saying, 2 “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, 3 ‘Who among you remains who saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes? 4 But now, be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares Yahweh, ‘be strong also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land, be strong,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ declares Yahweh of hosts. 5 ‘As for the promise which I cut with you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is standing in your midst; do not fear!’ 6 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Once more—in a little while—I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the desirable things of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says Yahweh of hosts. 8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ declares Yahweh of hosts. 9 ‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says Yahweh of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares Yahweh of hosts.” 10 On the twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Ask now the priests about the law: 12 If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches bread with this fold or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” And the priests answered, “No.” 13 Then Haggai said, “If one who is unclean from a corpse touches any of these, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.” 14 Then Haggai answered and said, “‘So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they bring near to Me there is unclean. 15 But now, oh set your heart to consider from this day onward: from before one stone was set on another in the temple of Yahweh, 16 from when it was that one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, then there would be only ten; and from when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty troughs full, then there would be only twenty. 17 I struck you and every work of your hands with scorching wind, mildew, and hail; yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares Yahweh. 18 ‘Oh set your heart to consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of Yahweh was founded, set your heart to consider: 19 Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you.’”

Yahweh Chooses Zerubbabel

20 Then the word of Yahweh came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, 21 “Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the horses and their riders will go down, everyone by the sword of another.’ 23 ‘On that day,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,’” declares Yahweh of hosts.

Revelation 13

The Beast from the Sea

And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. 2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain fatally, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth marveled and followed after the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” 5 And there was given to him a mouth speaking great boasts and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 And it was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. 8 And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.

The Beast from the Earth

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and he was speaking as a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 And he does great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which were given to him to do in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the wound of the sword and has come to life. 15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, that they be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 and that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of man; and his number is 666.

Ecclesiastes 12

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days happen and the years draw near in which you will say, “I have no delight in them”; 2 before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; 3 in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and valiant men bend down, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dark; 4 and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly. 5 Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blooms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home, but the mourners go about in the street. 6 Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is broken and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; 7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. 8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

9 In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find delightful words and words of truth written uprightly. 11 The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 But in addition to this, my son, be warned: the making of many books is endless, and much devotion to books is wearying to the flesh. 13 The end of the matter, all that has been heard: fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the end of the matter for all mankind. 14 For God will bring every work to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.