Christ by his coming shall make the latter temple more glorious than the former. The blessing of God shall reward their labour in building. God’s promise to Zorobabel.

¹ On the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of king Darius, they began.¹

1. 2:1They began: The phrase “they began” is not found in the Latin text. It is implied by the wording of the last part of verse 1:14, and by 2:1. Challoner uses the same translation, ending verse 2:1 with “they began.”

² And in the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the Lord came, by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying:¹

1. 2:2The phrase ‘vigesima et prima mensis’ is not found in translation in the version of the Challoner Douay-Rheims used as a guide in this translation.(Conte)

³ Speak to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Jesus the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remainder of the people, saying:

⁴ Who is left among you, who saw this house in its first glory? And how do you see it now? Is it not, in comparison to that, as nothing in your eyes?

⁵ And now be strengthened, Zerubbabel, says the Lord. And be strengthened, Jesus the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And be strengthened, all people of the land, says the Lord of hosts. For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts.

⁶ And act according to the word that I planted with you when you departed from the land of Egypt. And my Spirit will be in your midst. Do not be afraid.

⁷ For thus says the Lord of hosts: There is yet one brief time, and I will move heaven and earth, and the sea and the dry land.

⁸ And I will move all nations. And the Desired of all nations will arrive. And I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.¹

1. 2:8The Desired of all nations is the Christ, the Messiah. The words ET VENIET DESIDERATUS are in all capital letters in some editions of the Vulgate.(Conte)

⁹ Mine is the silver, and mine is the gold, says the Lord of hosts.

¹⁰ Great shall be the glory of this house, the last more than the first, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place, I will bestow peace, says the Lord of hosts.¹

1. 2:10Or, ‘of this last house more than the first.’ The Church in Jerusalem and the New Vatican in Rome will not be destroyed until the time of the Antichrist, just before the Return of the true Christ.(Conte)

¹¹ On the twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of king Darius, the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet, saying:

¹² Thus says the Lord of hosts: the priests question the law, saying:

¹³ If a man will have carried sanctified flesh in the pocket of his garment, and the top of it touches his bread, or appetizer, or wine, or oil, or any food, shall it be sanctified? But the priests responded by saying, “No.”

¹⁴ And Haggai said, “If the polluted in soul will have touched any of all these things, shall it be contaminated?” And the priests responded and said, “It shall be contaminated.”¹

1. 2:14By occasion of a soul: That is, by having touched the dead; in which case, according to the prescription of the law, Num. 19.13, 22, a person not only became unclean himself, but made every thing that he touched unclean. The prophet applies all this to the people, whose souls remained unclean by neglecting the temple of God; and therefore were not sanctified by the flesh they offered in sacrifice: but rather defiled their sacrifices by approaching to them in the state of uncleanness.(Challoner)

¹⁵ And Haggai answered and he said: Such is this people, and such is this nation before my face, says the Lord, and such is all the work of their hands. And so all that they have offered there has been contaminated.

¹⁶ And now, consider in your hearts, from this day and beyond, before stone may be placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord:

¹⁷ when you approached a pile of twenty measures, and they became ten, and you entered to the press, to press out fifty bottles, and they became twenty,

¹⁸ how I struck you with a burning wind, and a mildew, and a hailstorm, all the works of your hand, yet there was no one among you who returned to me, says the Lord.

¹⁹ Set your hearts from this day and into the future, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundations of the temple of the Lord have been uttered, and place it upon your heart.¹

1. 2:19The verb ‘have been uttered’ could also be rendered ‘have been cast’ or ‘have been thrown.’ The somewhat unusual translation ‘uttered’ is used here for several reasons. The foundations of the Church include the Word of God, which is uttered by God, as well as Tradition and the teachings of the Magisterium, each of can be said to be uttered by God. Also, the Church itself is an image of Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. The Second Person can be said to be uttered by the First Person within the Trinity.(Conte)

²⁰ Has the seed been germinated yet? And has the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree still not flourished? From this day on, I will bless you.

²¹ And the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai, on the twenty-fourth of the month, saying:

²² Speak to Zerubbabel the governor of Judah, saying: I will move both heaven and earth.¹

1. 2:22Or, ‘I will move heaven and earth together.’(Conte)

²³ And I will overturn the throne of kingdoms, and I will crush the strength of the kingdom of the Gentiles. And I will overturn the four-horse chariot, and its rider; and the horses and their riders shall be brought down, a man by the sword of his brother.¹

1. 2:23The four-horse chariot, in the modern context, refers to various types of motor vehicles.(Conte)

The Prophecy of Haggai

²⁴ In that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, my servant, says the Lord, and will set you like a seal, for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts.¹

1. 2:24O Zorobabel: This promise principally relates to Christ, who was of the race of Zorobabel.(Challoner)