Zephaniah 3 - Haggai 2

New International Version

Jerusalem

3 Woe to the city of oppressors,^(A)
    rebellious^(B) and defiled!^(C)
²She obeys^(D) no one,
    she accepts no correction.^(E)
She does not trust^(F) in the Lord,
    she does not draw near^(G) to her God.
³Her officials within her
    are roaring lions;^(H)
her rulers are evening wolves,^(I)
    who leave nothing for the morning.^(J)
⁴Her prophets are unprincipled;
    they are treacherous people.^(K)
Her priests profane the sanctuary
    and do violence to the law.^(L)
⁵The Lord within her is righteous;^(M)
    he does no wrong.^(N)
Morning by morning^(O) he dispenses his justice,
    and every new day he does not fail,^(P)
    yet the unrighteous know no shame.^(Q)

Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant

⁶“I have destroyed nations;
    their strongholds are demolished.
I have left their streets deserted,
    with no one passing through.
Their cities are laid waste;^(R)
    they are deserted and empty.
⁷Of Jerusalem I thought,
    ‘Surely you will fear me
    and accept correction!’^(S)
Then her place of refuge^[a] would not be destroyed,
    nor all my punishments come upon^[b] her.
But they were still eager
    to act corruptly^(T) in all they did.
⁸Therefore wait^(U) for me,”
    declares the Lord,
    “for the day I will stand up to testify.^[c]
I have decided to assemble^(V) the nations,^(W)
    to gather the kingdoms
and to pour out my wrath^(X) on them—
    all my fierce anger.^(Y)
The whole world will be consumed^(Z)
    by the fire of my jealous anger.

Restoration of Israel’s Remnant

⁹“Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,
    that all of them may call^(AA) on the name of the Lord^(AB)
    and serve^(AC) him shoulder to shoulder.
¹⁰From beyond the rivers of Cush^[d]^(AD)
    my worshipers, my scattered people,
    will bring me offerings.^(AE)
¹¹On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame^(AF)
    for all the wrongs you have done to me,^(AG)
because I will remove from you
    your arrogant boasters.^(AH)
Never again will you be haughty
    on my holy hill.^(AI)
¹²But I will leave within you
    the meek^(AJ) and humble.
The remnant of Israel
    will trust^(AK) in the name of the Lord.
¹³They^(AL) will do no wrong;^(AM)
    they will tell no lies.^(AN)
A deceitful tongue
    will not be found in their mouths.^(AO)
They will eat and lie down^(AP)
    and no one will make them afraid.^(AQ)”

¹⁴Sing, Daughter Zion;^(AR)
    shout aloud,^(AS) Israel!
Be glad and rejoice^(AT) with all your heart,
    Daughter Jerusalem!
¹⁵The Lord has taken away your punishment,
    he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;^(AU)
    never again will you fear^(AV) any harm.^(AW)
¹⁶On that day
    they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
    do not let your hands hang limp.^(AX)
¹⁷The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.^(AY)
He will take great delight^(AZ) in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,^(BA)
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”^(BB)

¹⁸“I will remove from you
    all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
    which is a burden and reproach for you.
¹⁹At that time I will deal
    with all who oppressed^(BC) you.
I will rescue the lame;
    I will gather the exiles.^(BD)
I will give them praise^(BE) and honor
    in every land where they have suffered shame.
²⁰At that time I will gather you;
    at that time I will bring^(BF) you home.
I will give you honor^(BG) and praise^(BH)
    among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes^[e]^(BI)
    before your very eyes,”
says the Lord.

A Call to Build the House of the Lord

1 In the second year of King Darius,^(BJ) on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai^(BK) to Zerubbabel^(BL) son of Shealtiel, governor^(BM) of Judah, and to Joshua^(BN) son of Jozadak,^[f]^(BO) the high priest:^(BP)

²This is what the Lord Almighty^(BQ) says: “These people^(BR) say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.^(BS)’”

³Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:^(BT) ⁴“Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses,^(BU) while this house remains a ruin?^(BV)”

⁵Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought^(BW) to your ways. ⁶You have planted much, but harvested little.^(BX) You eat, but never have enough.^(BY) You drink, but never have your fill.^(BZ) You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages,^(CA) only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

⁷This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought^(CB) to your ways. ⁸Go up into the mountains and bring down timber^(CC) and build my house, so that I may take pleasure^(CD) in it and be honored,^(CE)” says the Lord. ⁹“You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little.^(CF) What you brought home, I blew^(CG) away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin,^(CH) while each of you is busy with your own house. ¹⁰Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld^(CI) their dew^(CJ) and the earth its crops.^(CK) ¹¹I called for a drought^(CL) on the fields and the mountains,^(CM) on the grain, the new wine,^(CN) the olive oil^(CO) and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.^(CP)”

¹²Then Zerubbabel^(CQ) son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant^(CR) of the people obeyed^(CS) the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared^(CT) the Lord.

¹³Then Haggai,^(CU) the Lord’s messenger,^(CV) gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with^(CW) you,” declares the Lord. ¹⁴So the Lord stirred up^(CX) the spirit of Zerubbabel^(CY) son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak,^(CZ) the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant^(DA) of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, ¹⁵on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.^(DB)

The Promised Glory of the New House

In the second year of King Darius,^(DC) 2 ¹on the twenty-first day of the seventh month,^(DD) the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:^(DE) ²“Speak to Zerubbabel^(DF) son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak,^[g]^(DG) the high priest, and to the remnant^(DH) of the people. Ask them, ³‘Who of you is left who saw this house^(DI) in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?^(DJ) ⁴But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong,^(DK) Joshua son of Jozadak,^(DL) the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with^(DM) you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ⁵‘This is what I covenanted^(DN) with you when you came out of Egypt.^(DO) And my Spirit^(DP) remains among you. Do not fear.’^(DQ)

⁶“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while^(DR) I will once more shake the heavens and the earth,^(DS) the sea and the dry land. ⁷I will shake all nations, and what is desired^(DT) by all nations will come, and I will fill this house^(DU) with glory,^(DV)’ says the Lord Almighty. ⁸‘The silver is mine and the gold^(DW) is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ⁹‘The glory^(DX) of this present house^(DY) will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,^(DZ)’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

Blessings for a Defiled People

¹⁰On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month,^(EA) in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai: ¹¹“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Ask the priests^(EB) what the law says: ¹²If someone carries consecrated meat^(EC) in the fold of their garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, olive oil or other food, does it become consecrated?^(ED)’”

The priests answered, “No.”

¹³Then Haggai said, “If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?”

“Yes,” the priests replied, “it becomes defiled.^(EE)”

¹⁴Then Haggai said, “‘So it is with this people^(EF) and this nation in my sight,’ declares the Lord. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer^(EG) there is defiled.

¹⁵“‘Now give careful thought^(EH) to this from this day on^[h]—consider how things were before one stone was laid^(EI) on another in the Lord’s temple.^(EJ) ¹⁶When anyone came to a heap^(EK) of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat^(EL) to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty.^(EM) ¹⁷I struck all the work of your hands^(EN) with blight,^(EO) mildew and hail,^(EP) yet you did not return^(EQ) to me,’ declares the Lord.^(ER) ¹⁸‘From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought^(ES) to the day when the foundation^(ET) of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought: ¹⁹Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate^(EU) and the olive tree have not borne fruit.^(EV)

“‘From this day on I will bless^(EW) you.’”

Zerubbabel the Lord’s Signet Ring

²⁰The word of the Lord came to Haggai^(EX) a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month:^(EY) ²¹“Tell Zerubbabel^(EZ) governor of Judah that I am going to shake^(FA) the heavens and the earth. ²²I will overturn^(FB) royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms.^(FC) I will overthrow chariots^(FD) and their drivers; horses and their riders^(FE) will fall, each by the sword of his brother.^(FF)

²³“‘On that day,^(FG)’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant^(FH) Zerubbabel^(FI) son of Shealtiel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring,^(FJ) for I have chosen you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”