Haggai 1:6

New Living Translation

You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
You have planted many seeds, but you have gathered only a few crops. You have food to eat, but not enough to get full. You have something to drink, but not enough to get drunk. You have some clothes to wear, but not enough to keep warm. You earn a little money, but you don't know where it all goes. It's as though there is a hole in your pocket!'"

New American Standard Bible
"You have sown much, only to harvest 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 there is not enough for anyone to get warm; and the one who earns, earns wages to put into a money bag full of holes."

New Century Version
You have planted much, but you harvest little. You eat, but you do not become full. You drink, but you are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but you are not warm enough. You earn money, but then you lose it all as if you had put it into a purse full of holes."

Update Bible Version
You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but you don't have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but there is none warm; and he that earns wages, earns wages [to put it] into a bag with holes.

Webster's Bible Translation
Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe yourselves, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages [to put it] into a bag with holes.

Amplified Bible
"You have planted much, but you harvest little; you eat, but you do not have enough; you drink, but you do not have enough to be intoxicated; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns wages earns them just to put them in a bag with holes in it [because God has withheld His blessing]."

English Standard Version
You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

World English Bible
You have sown much, and bring in little. You eat, but you don't have enough. You drink, but you aren't filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm, and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes in it."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Ye han sowe myche, and brouyte in litil; ye han etun, and ben not fillid; ye han drunke, and ye ben not ful of drynk; ye hiliden you, and ye ben not maad hoote; and he that gaderide hiris, sente tho in to a sak holid, ether brokun.

English Revised Version
Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

Berean Standard Bible
You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through."

Contemporary English Version
You harvest less than you plant, you never have enough to eat or drink, your clothes don't keep you warm, and your wages are stored in bags full of holes.

American Standard Version
Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

Bible in Basic English
Much has been planted, but little got in; you take food, but have not enough; you take drink, but are not full; you are clothed, but no one is warm; and he who gets payment for his work, gets it to put it into a bag full of holes.

Complete Jewish Bible
You sow much but bring in little; you eat but aren't satisfied; you drink but never have enough; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who works for a living earns wages that are put in a bag full of holes.'"

Darby Translation
Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but are not satisfied; ye drink, but are not filled with drink; ye clothe yourselves, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages for a bag with holes.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Ye have sown much, and brought in little, ye eat, but ye have not enough, ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink, ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages for a bag with holes.

King James Version (1611)
Yee haue sowen much and bring in litle: ye eate, but ye haue not inough: yee drinke, but yee are not filled with drinke: yee cloth you, but there is none warme: and hee that earneth wages, earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

New Life Bible
You have planted much, but gather little. You eat, but there is not enough to fill you. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothing, but no one is warm enough. You earn money, but put it into a bag with holes."

New Revised Standard
You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and you that earn wages earn wages to put them into a bag with holes.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Ye haue sowen much, and bring in litle: ye eate, but ye haue not ynough: ye drinke, but ye are not filled: ye clothe you, but ye be not warme: and he that earneth wages, putteth the wages into a broken bagge.

George Lamsa Translation
You have sown much and stored little: you eat, but you never are satisfied; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but you are not warm; and he who trades among you, earns wages to put it into a bag with holes.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Ye have sown much, but have brought in little, have eaten, and not been filled, have drunk, and not been satisfied with drink, have clothed you, and none hath been warm, - and, he that hath hired himself out, hath put his wages into a bag with holes.

Douay-Rheims Bible
You have sowed much, and brought in little: you have eaten, but have not had enough: you have drunk, but have not been filled with drink: you have clothed yourselves, but have not been warmed: and he that hath earned wages, put them into a bag with holes.

Revised Standard Version
You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Ye haue sowen much, but ye bryng litle in: ye eate, but ye haue not inough: ye drinke, but ye are not filled: ye cloth you, but ye be not warme: and he that earneth wages, putteth the wages into a broken bagge.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Ye have sown much, but brought in little; ye have eaten, and are not satisfied; ye have drunk, and are not satisfied with drink, ye have clothed yourselves, and have not become warm thereby: and he that earns wages has gathered them into a bag full of holes.

Good News Translation
You have planted much grain, but have harvested very little. You have food to eat, but not enough to make you full. You have wine to drink, but not enough to get drunk on! You have clothing, but not enough to keep you warm. And workers cannot earn enough to live on.

Christian Standard Bible®
You have planted muchbut harvested little.You eatbut never have enough to be satisfied.You drinkbut never have enough to be happy.You put on clothesbut never have enough to get warm.The wage earner puts his wagesinto a bag with a hole in it.”

Hebrew Names Version
You have sown much, and bring in little. You eat, but you don't have enough. You drink, but you aren't filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm, and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes in it."

King James Version
Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

Lexham English Bible
You have sown much but have harvested little. You have eaten without being satisfied; you have drunk without being satiated; you have worn clothes without being warm; the one who earns wages puts it in a pouch with holes.'

Literal Translation
You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but are not satisfied; you drink, but not to be filled; you dress, but there is no warmth to one. Yea, one hiring out himself hires out himself for a bag of holes.

Young's Literal Translation
Ye have sown much, and brought in little, To eat, and not to satiety, To drink, and not to drunkenness, To clothe, and none hath heat, And he who is hiring himself out, Is hiring himself for a bag pierced through.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
ye sowe moch, but ye bringe litle in: Ye eate, but ye haue not ynough: ye drinke, but ye are not fylled: ye decke youre selues, but ye are not warme: & he yt earneth eny wage, putteth it in a broken purse.

New English Translation
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.'"

New King James Version
"You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"You have sown much, but harvest 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 purse with holes."

Legacy Standard Bible
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."

Contextual Overview

¹ On August 29 of the second year of King Darius's reign, the Lord gave a message through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ² "This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says: The people are saying, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord .'" ³ Then the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: ⁴ "Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? ⁵ This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says: Look at what's happening to you! ⁶ You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes! ⁷ "This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says: Look at what's happening to you! ⁸ Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord . ⁹ You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses. ¹⁰ It's because of you that the heavens withhold the dew and the earth produces no crops.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

have: Haggai 1:9, Haggai 2:16, Leviticus 26:20, Deuteronomy 28:38-40, 2 Samuel 21:1, Psalms 107:34, Isaiah 5:10, Jeremiah 14:4, Hosea 4:10, Hosea 8:7, Joel 1:10-13, Amos 4:6-9, Micah 6:14, Micah 6:15, Zechariah 8:10, Malachi 2:2, Malachi 3:9-11

eat: Leviticus 26:26, 1 Kings 17:12, Job 20:22, Jeremiah 44:18, Ezekiel 4:16, Ezekiel 4:17

with holes: Heb. pierced through, Job 20:28, Zechariah 5:4

Reciprocal: Leviticus 26:16 - and ye shall Deuteronomy 11:15 - eat and be full Deuteronomy 28:17 - General Psalms 107:37 - which may Psalms 132:15 - bless her provision Proverbs 11:24 - but Ecclesiastes 11:6 - thou knowest Isaiah 65:23 - shall Jeremiah 12:13 - sown Daniel 1:15 - their Hosea 2:9 - take Amos 4:8 - but Amos 5:11 - ye have built Matthew 14:20 - were Luke 12:33 - provide

Cross-References

Genesis 1:5
God called the light "day" and the darkness "night." And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.

Genesis 1:6
Then God said, "Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth."

Genesis 1:7
And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens.

Genesis 1:8
God called the space "sky." And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.

Genesis 1:11
Then God said, "Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came." And that is what happened.

Genesis 1:12
The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:13
And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.

Genesis 1:14
Then God said, "Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years.

Genesis 1:20
Then God said, "Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind."

Genesis 1:22
Then God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Ye have sown much, and bring in little,.... Contrary to what is usually done; the seed that is sown is but little, in, comparison of what springs up, is reaped, and gathered into the barn; which commonly affords seed again to the sower, and bread to the eater; but here much land was tilled, and a great deal of seed was sown in it; but a thin crop was produced, little was gathered into the barn; a blessing being withheld from the earth, and from their labours, because of their sins, which they would do well to think of, and the cause of it:

ye eat, but ye have not enough; what the earth did yield, and which they gathered in, they made food of, and ate of it; yet it was not sufficient to satisfy their hunger; or it was not blessed for their nourishment; or they had a canine appetite in judgment given them, so that they were never satisfied: or, it was "not for fulness" q; they were not filled with it to satisfaction, but still craved more; and yet, it may be, durst not eat more, if they had it, lest they should want the next day:

ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; or, "not to inebriation" r; it was not sufficient to quench their thirst, much less to make them merry and; cheerful: the vines produced such a small quantity of grapes, and those so little wine, that they had not enough to drink, at least could not drink freely, but sparingly, lest it should be all spent before another vintage came:

ye clothe you, but there is none warm; or, "but" it is "not for heat to him" s; to anyone; so rigorous the season, so extreme the cold, that his clothes will not keep him warm, even though the climate was, naturally and usually hot:

and he that earneth wages earneth wages [to put it] into a bag with holes; or, "pierced through" t; if a man is hired as a labourer, and gets much wages, and brings it home, and lays it up; or if he trades and merchandises, and has great gains by it, and thinks to amass great riches; yet, what through losses, and the dreariness of provisions, and the many ways he has for the spending of his money, it is as if he put it into a bag full of holes, and it ran through as fast as put into it; signifying hereby that all his pains and labour were in vain.

q לשבעה "ad satietatem", Calvin, De Dieu; "ad saturitatem", Munster. r לשכרה "ad ebrietatem", Tigurine version, Vatablus, Calvin, De Dieu. s ואין לחם לו "et non est ad calorem ei", De Dieu; "sed nemo ita ut sit calor ipsi", Junius Tremellius, Piscator "ut calefiat ei", Burkius. t נקוב "pertusum", V. L. Munster, Tigurine version, Vatablus, Junius Tremellius, Piscator "perforatum", Munster, Varenius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ye have sown much - The prophet expresses the habitualness of these visitations by a vivid present. He marks no time and so expresses the more vividly that it was at all times. It is one continually present evil. “Ye have sown much and there is a bringing in little; there is eating and not to satisfy; there is drinking and not to exhilarate; there is clothing and not to be warm It is not for the one or the other years, as, since the first year of Darius Hystaspis; it is one continued visitation, coordinate with one continued negligence. As long as the sin lasted, so long the punishment. The visitation itself was twofold; impoverished harvests, so as to supply less sustenance; and various indisposition of the frame, so that what would, by God’s appointment in nature, satisfy, gladden, warm, failed of its effect. “And he that laboreth for hire, gaineth himself hire into a bag full of holes” (literally “perforated.”) The labor pictured is not only fruitless, but wearisome and vexing. There is a seeming result of all the labor, something to allure hopes; but immediately it is gone. The pagan assigned a like baffling of hope as one of the punishments of hell , “Better and wiser to seek to be blessed by God, Who bestoweth on us all things. And this will readily come to those who choose to be of the same mind with Him and prefer what is for His glory to their own. For so saith the Saviour Himself to us Matthew 6:33, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

“He loses good deeds by evil acts, who takes account of his good works, which he hits before his eyes, and forgets the faults which creep in between; or who, after what is good, returns to what is vain and evil” . “Money is seen in the pierced bag, when it is cast in, but when it is lost, it is not seen. They then who look how much they give, but do not weigh how much they gain wrongly, cast their rewards into a pierced bag. Looking to the Hope of their confidence they bring them together; not looking, they lose them.”

“They lose the fruit of their labor, by not persevering to the end, or by seeking human praise, or by vain glory within, not keeping spiritual riches under the guardianship of humility. Such are vain and unprofitable men, of whom the Saviour saith, Matthew 6:2. ‘Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. ‘“

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 6. Ye have sown much — God will not bless you in any labour of your hands, unless you rebuild his temple and restore his worship. This verse contains a series of proverbs; no less than five in the compass of a few lines.