Haggai 2:14

New Living Translation

Then Haggai responded, "That is how it is with this people and this nation, says the Lord . Everything they do and everything they offer is defiled by their sin.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
Then Haggai said, "This is what the Lord God said: ‘This is also true for the people of this nation. They were not pure and holy before me. So anything they did with their hands and anything they offered at the altar became unclean.

New American Standard Bible
Then Haggai responded and said, "'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.

New Century Version
Then Haggai answered, "The Lord says, ‘This is also true for the people of this nation. They are unclean, and everything they do with their hands is unclean to me. Whatever they offer at the altar is also unclean.

Update Bible Version
Then Haggai answered and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, says Yahweh; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then answered Haggai, and said, So [is] this people, and so [is] this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so [is] every work of their hands; and that which they offer there [is] unclean.

Amplified Bible
Then Haggai answered, "'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 [on the altar] is unclean [because they who offer it are unclean].

English Standard Version
Then Haggai answered and said, "So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord , and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean.

World English Bible
Then Haggai answered, "'So is this people, and so is this nation before me,' says Yahweh; 'and so is every work of their hands. That which they offer there is unclean.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Aggei answeride, and seide, So is this puple, and so is this folc bifor my face, seith the Lord, and so is al werk of her hondis; and alle thingis whiche thei offren there, schulen be defoulid.

English Revised Version
Then answered Haggai and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

Berean Standard Bible
Then Haggai replied: "So is this people, and so is this nation before Me, declares the LORD, and so is every work of their hands; and whatever they offer there is defiled.

Contemporary English Version
So the Lord told Haggai to say: That's how it is with this entire nation. Everything you do and every sacrifice you offer is unacceptable to me.

American Standard Version
Then answered Haggai and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith Jehovah; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

Bible in Basic English
Then Haggai said, So is this people and so is this nation before me, says the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and the offering they give there is unclean.

Complete Jewish Bible
Hagai then said, "‘That is the condition of this people, that is the condition of this nation before me,' says Adonai , ‘and that is the condition of everything their hands produce; so that anything they offer there is unclean.

Darby Translation
Then answered Haggai and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith Jehovah, and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then answered Haggai, and said: 'So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

King James Version (1611)
Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord, and so is euery worke of their hands, and that which they offer there, is vncleane.

New Life Bible
Then Haggai said, "‘So are these people, and so is this nation before Me,' says the Lord. ‘And so is everything they have made. What they give there is unclean.

New Revised Standard
Haggai then said, So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, says the Lord ; and so with every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then answered Haggai, and sayd, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord: and so are all the workes of their hands, and that which they offer here, is vncleane.

George Lamsa Translation
Then answered Haggai and said, So is this people and so is this generation before me, says the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then answered Haggai and said, So, is this people and, so, is this nation before me, Declareth Yahweh, and, so, is every work of their hands, - therefore, whatsoever they offer there, is, defiled.

Douay-Rheims Bible
(2-15) And Aggeus answered, and said: So is this people, and so is this nation before my face, saith the Lord, and so is all the work of their hands: and all that they have offered there, shall be defiled.

Revised Standard Version
Then Haggai said, "So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, says the LORD; and so with every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then Haggeus aunswered, and sayde: So is this people, and so is this nation before me sayth the Lord, and so is al the worke of their handes: & that which they offer there is vncleane.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Aggaeus said, If a defiled person who is unclean by reason of a dead body, touch any of these, shall it be defiled? And the priests answered and said, It shall be defiled.

Good News Translation
Then Haggai said, "The Lord says that the same thing applies to the people of this nation and to everything they produce; and so everything they offer on the altar is defiled."

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Haggai replied, “So is this people, and so is this nation before me—this is the Lord’s declaration. And so is every work of their hands; even what they offer there is defiled.

Hebrew Names Version
Then Haggai answered, "'So is this people, and so is this nation before me,' says the LORD; 'and so is every work of their hands. That which they offer there is unclean.

King James Version
Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord ; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

Lexham English Bible
And Haggai answered and said, "‘So it is with this people, and with this nation before me,' declares Yahweh, ‘and so it is with every kind of work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.

Literal Translation
And Haggai answered and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before Me, declares Jehovah. And so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

Young's Literal Translation
And Haggai answereth and saith, `So [is] this people, and so [is] this nation before Me -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- and so [is] every work of their hands, and that which they bring near there -- it is unclean.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The prestes gaue answere & sayed: yee, it shall be vnclene. The Aggeus answered, and sayde: Euen so is this people & this nacion before me, saieth ye LORDE: and so are all the workes of their hodes, yee and all that they offre, is vnclene.

THE MESSAGE
Then Haggai said, "‘So, this people is contaminated. Their nation is contaminated. Everything they do is contaminated. Whatever they do for me is contaminated.' God says so.

New English Translation
Then Haggai responded, "‘The people of this nation are unclean in my sight,' says the Lord . ‘And so is all their effort; everything they offer is also unclean.

New King James Version
Then Haggai answered and said, ""So is this people, and so is this nation before Me,' says the LORD, "and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Haggai said, " '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.

Legacy Standard Bible
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.

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ On December 18 of the second year of King Darius's reign, the Lord sent this message to the prophet Haggai: ¹¹ "This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says. Ask the priests this question about the law: ¹² ‘If one of you is carrying some meat from a holy sacrifice in his robes and his robe happens to brush against some bread or stew, wine or olive oil, or any other kind of food, will it also become holy?'" The priests replied, "No." ¹³ Then Haggai asked, "If someone becomes ceremonially unclean by touching a dead person and then touches any of these foods, will the food be defiled?" And the priests answered, "Yes." ¹⁴ Then Haggai responded, "That is how it is with this people and this nation, says the Lord . Everything they do and everything they offer is defiled by their sin. ¹⁵ Look at what was happening to you before you began to lay the foundation of the Lord 's Temple. ¹⁶ When you hoped for a twenty-bushel crop, you harvested only ten. When you expected to draw fifty gallons from the winepress, you found only twenty. ¹⁷ I sent blight and mildew and hail to destroy everything you worked so hard to produce. Even so, you refused to return to me, says the Lord . ¹⁸ "Think about this eighteenth day of December, the day when the foundation of the Lord 's Temple was laid. Think carefully. ¹⁹ I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

So is this people: Haggai 1:4-11, Proverbs 15:8, Proverbs 21:4, Proverbs 21:27, Proverbs 28:9, Isaiah 1:11-15, Titus 1:15, Jude 1:23

and that: Ezra 3:2, Ezra 3:3

Reciprocal: Numbers 5:3 - defile not Joshua 7:12 - they were Ecclesiastes 5:6 - destroy Isaiah 52:11 - touch Malachi 3:9 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 10:11
From there he expanded his territory to Assyria, building the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth-ir, Calah,

Genesis 10:22
The descendants of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

Genesis 15:18
So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, "I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River—

Genesis 25:18
Ishmael's descendants occupied the region from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. There they lived in open hostility toward all their relatives.

Deuteronomy 1:7
It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions—the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills, the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River.

Deuteronomy 11:24
Wherever you set foot, that land will be yours. Your frontiers will stretch from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

Daniel 10:4
On April 23, as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River,

Revelation 9:14
And the voice said to the sixth angel who held the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then answered Haggai, and said,.... To the priests, and before the people; and made an application of these things to them, which was the thing in view in putting the questions:

So [is] this people, and so [is] this nation before me, saith the Lord; not only those people that were present and at work at the temple, but those that were absent, even the whole body of the people; who, though they were pure in their own eyes, yet were not so before the Lord; who knew their hearts, and the spring of all their actions; what were their ends and views in all they did: as a garment carrying in it holy flesh could not sanctify other things touched by it that were common and profane, but left them as they were; so their ritual devotions, and externally holy actions, did not and could not sanctify their impure hearts, but left them as unclean as before; nor did they sanctify their common mercies, their bread, pottage, wine, and oil: and, on the other hand, as an impure person made everything impure he touched; so they, being impure in heart, all their actions, even their religious ones, were impure also, as follows:

and so [is] every work of their hands; and that which they offer there [is] unclean; pointing at the altar, which they had built, and offered sacrifice on ever since they came out of Babylon, though the temple was not yet built, Ezra 3:3 but all their outward religious services, and all the sacrifices they offered up, were in the Lord's account impure and abominable, as well as themselves; coming from an unsanctified heart, and offered up with unclean hands, and without repentance towards God, and faith in Christ; and living in other respects in disobedience to God, and especially while they neglected the building of the temple; satisfying themselves with offering sacrifices on the altar, when the house of God lay desolate; which is the principal thing respected, as appears by what follows.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ask now the priests concerning the law - The priests answer rightly, that, by the law, insulated unholiness spread further than insulated holiness. The flesh of the sacrifice hallowed whatever it should touch, but not further; but the human being, who was defiled by touching a dead body, defiled all he might touch Numbers 19:22. Haggai does not apply the first part; namely, that the worship on the altar which they reared, while they neglected the building of the temple, did not hallow. The possession of a truly tiring does not counterbalance disobedience. Contrariwise, one defilement defiled the whole man and all which he touched, according to that James 2:10, “whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

In the application, the two melt into one, for the holy thing, namely, the altar which they raised out of fear on their return, so far from hallowing the land or people by the sacrifices offered thereon, was itself defiled. “This people” and “this nation” (not “My people”) since they in act disowned Him. “Whatever they offer there,” i. e., on that altar, instead of the temple which God commanded, is unclean, offending Him who gave all.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Haggai 2:14. Then answered Haggai - So is this people — As an unclean man communicates his uncleanness to every thing he touches, so are ye unclean; and whatever ye have hitherto done is polluted in the sight of God. For your neglect of my temple has made you unclean, as if you had contracted legal pollution by touching a dead body.