Then Haggai said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me: So is it refers to the principle of holiness and defilement taught by the priests in verses 11-13. The Good News Translation phrase “the same thing” may also be rendered as “the same principle.” Good News Translation does not have anything equivalent to before me, which is probably an accidental omission. This can be expressed in natural English in various ways such as “in my sight” (New American Bible, New English Bible, New International Version), “as I see it” (Jerusalem Bible), and “in my view” (New Jerusalem Bible). Revised English Bible translates it as “In my view,” but by its word order makes it seem that these words refer to the prophet himself. This is unintended and misleading, and translators should avoid any similar error. This sentence may also be rendered as “Then Haggai said, ‘The way the LORD sees things, the same principle applies to the people of this nation.’ ”
The phrases with this people, and with this nation have given rise to considerable discussion. The expression this people was used in 1.2 as a reproachful way of speaking about the returned exiles, and there is nothing in the present context to suggest that it has a different meaning here. Translators should attempt to use demonstratives or other vocabulary that conveys the idea of reproach. This nation, however, translates a Hebrew word (goy) that is generally used of gentiles, as in verse 7. Some scholars think that in using it here, Haggai is referring to the Samaritans, whose offer to help rebuild the Temple was rejected at about this time (Ezra 4.1-3). The Samaritans were the descendants of the people of the northern kingdom of Israel who had not been taken into captivity when Samaria was captured by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. They had intermarried with the colonists whom the Assyrians had brought in from elsewhere to replace the captives, and because of this, they had come to worship the LORD alongside the gods of these other peoples (2 Kgs 17.24-34). For this reason the returned exiles in Jerusalem considered them religiously impure, and refused to let them help with rebuilding the Temple. This refusal led to a long and bitter rivalry between the two peoples which was still strong in New Testament times (compare John 4.9; 8.48).
If Haggai is indeed referring to the Samaritans here, then his words could be taken as supplying a theological basis for the refusal of Samaritan help with the rebuilding: the Jews would be defiled by the impurity of the Samaritan religion, and consequently so would the Temple. However, if Haggai is referring to the Samaritans here, it is very strange that he does so in such an indirect way, and does not name them clearly. So it seems more likely that the words people and nation both refer to the Jews. Recent writers such as Meyers & Meyers, Verhoef, Merrill, and Redditt (1995) have been heavily in favor of this view. The use of nation in this sense could then carry a rebuke, and suggest that the Jews were behaving as though they were gentiles (compare Zeph 2.1). Good News Translation accepts this interpretation and translates “the people of this nation,” clearly referring to the Jews; Contemporary English Version is similar with “this entire nation.”
Says the LORD: These words occur in the middle of what he actually says. This arrangement is not possible in many languages, and translators may prefer to follow the example of Good News Translation and put their equivalent expression at the beginning of the quotation. Translators should note that the function of the expression at this point is to mark a climax.
And so with every work of their hands: So repeats the application of the principle of holiness and defilement from the previous verse. Every work of their hands refers in this context to agricultural work (compare 1.11; 2.17) and Good News Translation brings this out with the expression “everything they produce.” Alternatively translators may say, “everything they try to grow” (compare verse 17 where Good News Translation translates the same Hebrew phrase in a similar way). Another way of rendering this phrase is “all the crops they produce.”
What they offer there is unclean: This is the end result of the defilement. With the word there we can picture Haggai pointing to the altar (Ezra 3.2) standing among the ruins of Solomon’s Temple. Good News Translation expresses this understanding clearly and says “so everything they offer on the altar is defiled.” Assuming the Jews are the people spoken of, the defilement arises from their previous slackness in rebuilding the Temple, and from the worldly attitude of mind which caused it (compare 2.15-17). Translators may also express this clause as “So everything they offer on the altar will be unacceptable to the LORD” or “So the LORD will not accept anything that they offer on the altar.”
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Haggai. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .