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The Builders Encouraged

¹ On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came by ^(C1)Haggai the prophet, saying,² "Speak now to ^(C1)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^(C1)governor of Judah, and to ^(C1)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the ^(C2)remnant of the people, saying,³ 'Who is ^(C1)left among you who saw this ^(F1)temple in its ^(C2)former glory? And how do you see it now? ^(F2)Does it not seem to you like nothing ^(F3)in comparison?⁴ 'But now ^(F1)(C1)take courage, Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD, 'take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,' declares the LORD, 'and work; for ^(C2)I am with you,' declares the LORD of armies.⁵ 'As for the ^(F1)(C1)promise which I ^(F2)made you when you came out of Egypt, ^(F3)My ^(C2)Spirit remains in your midst; ^(C3)do not fear!'⁶ "For this is what the LORD of armies says: '^(C1)Once more ^(F1)in a ^(C2)little while, I am going to ^(C3)shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land.⁷ 'I will shake ^(C1)all the nations; and ^(F1)they will come with the ^(C2)wealth of all nations, and I will ^(C3)fill this house with glory,' says the LORD of armies.⁸ 'The ^(C1)silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,' declares the LORD of armies.⁹ 'The latter ^(C1)glory of this house will be greater than the ^(C2)former,' says the LORD of armies, 'and in this place I will give ^(C3)peace,' declares the LORD of armies."

¹⁰ On the ^(C1)twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying,¹¹ "The LORD of armies says this: '^(C1)Now ask the priests for a ^(F1)ruling:¹² 'If someone carries ^(C1)holy meat in the ^(F1)fold of his garment, and touches bread with ^(F2)this fold, or touches cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?'" And the priests answered, "No."¹³ Then Haggai said, "^(C1)If one who is unclean from a ^(F1)corpse touches any of these things, will the latter become unclean?" And the priests answered, "It will become unclean."¹⁴ Then Haggai responded and said, "'^(C1)So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,' declares the LORD, 'and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.¹⁵ 'But now, do ^(F1)(C1)consider from this day ^(F2)onward: before one ^(C2)stone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD,^16 (F1)from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty ^(F2)measures, there would be only twenty.¹⁷ 'I struck you and every work of your hands with ^(C1)scorching wind, mildew, and hail; ^(F1)yet you did not come back to Me,' declares the LORD.¹⁸ 'Do ^(F1)(C1)consider from this day ^(F2)onward, from the ^(C2)twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the LORD was ^(C3)founded, ^(F1)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 produced fruit. Yet from this day on I will ^(C1)bless you.'"

²⁰ Then the word of the LORD came a second time to Haggai on the ^(C1)twenty-fourth day of the month, saying,²¹ "Speak to ^(C1)Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, 'I am going to ^(C2)shake the heavens and the earth.²² 'And I will ^(C1)overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the ^(C2)power of the kingdoms of the ^(F1)nations; and I will ^(C3)overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the ^(C4)horses and their riders will go down, ^(C5)every one by the sword of another.'²³ 'On that day,' declares the LORD of armies, 'I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,' declares the LORD, 'and I will make you like a ^(F1)(C1)signet ring, for ^(C2)I have chosen you,'" declares the LORD of armies.