This verse consists of five statements each accompanied by a contrasting one. Together, these statements describe vividly the difficult economic conditions of Haggai’s own day.

First of all the people have sown much, and harvested little, that is to say crops have been poor. In areas where grain is not grown, it may be necessary for translators to use a more general expression such as “You have planted [or, sown] many crops [or, much seed], but few of them have grown,” or even “You harvest less crops than you plant.” Instead of “planted much grain,” the British edition of Good News Translation has “sown much corn,” but the meaning is the same.

The second statement expresses the result of the first: you eat, but you never have enough. In some languages this could be expressed as “You have a little food to eat, but you are still hungry when you have eaten it.” In areas where the term for “food” in general is “rice,” “yam,” “sago,” or the name of some other staple food, that word may be used; for example, “You have rice to eat, but not enough to make you full.”

The third statement moves on to consider another result of poor crops: you drink, but you never have your fill. Good News Translation makes the object clear: “You have wine to drink, but not enough to get drunk on!” Haggai is not suggesting that the people ought to have got drunk, but rather is mocking them because they did not have enough wine to get drunk on if they had wanted to. It is probably better not to speak about getting drunk. This statement may be translated in a manner parallel with the previous one: “You have a little wine to drink, but you are still thirsty when you have drunk it [or, you cannot slake your thirst].” Compare New Living Translation “You have wine to drink, but not enough to satisfy your thirst.” In cultures where wine made from grapes is unknown, some local alcoholic beverage such as “palm wine” can be used in the translation. It would be wrong, however, to use “water” in this context.

The fourth statement turns from food to clothes: you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. The people did not suffer the shame of going naked, but nevertheless their clothes were not enough to keep them warm in the cold months of winter, as Good News Translation makes clear. Translators could also say, “You wrap yourselves up, but cannot keep warm” or “your clothes don’t keep you warm” (Contemporary English Version).

The fifth statement deals with the general economic situation, and is expressed as a metaphor: he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes. What this means is that because food, wine, and clothing are scarce, prices are rising faster than wages, and the cost of living is continually increasing. Few parts of the world today have not experienced the same conditions (nowadays called “inflation”), and most translators should have no difficulty in finding suitable vocabulary. Good News Translation drops the metaphor and expresses the meaning in plain language as “workers cannot earn enough to live on.” In many languages “workers” would be rendered as “people who work for pay.”

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 .

In Hebrew this verse is identical with verse 5 except that it does not repeat the word “Now” at the beginning (see the comments on verse 5). As in verse 5, many translators may find it more natural style to omit the clause Thus says the LORD of hosts. Nevertheless, as in verse 5, translators should be aware that the formula indicates the beginning of a new paragraph, as is correctly shown in Revised Standard Version. They should indicate this by the appropriate means in their own language.

Consider how you have fared: Good News Translation translates with a negative question, as in verse 5. In verse 5 the words “what is happening” (Good News Translation) point forward to verse 6; in verse 7 the words “why this has happened” (Good News Translation) point backward to verse 6. This arrangement does not reflect the discourse structure of the Hebrew, and cannot be recommended. In fact the words here in verse 7 also point forward to what follows in verses 8-9. In some languages it will be appropriate to repeat the same words in verses 5 and 7, as the Hebrew does (so also New International Version, Revised English Bible). In others some variation may be better style. At any rate, it seems probable that in a number of languages, a command will sound more natural here than a negative question, as in Good News Translation; for example, “Look at your way of life.”

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 .

This verse presents the challenge that the LORD gives the people through the prophet: they must again give priority to rebuilding the Temple. The logical connection with the previous verse is not stated, but the commands in this verse can be seen as a result of the command in verse 7.

Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house: Go up in certain languages will be rendered as “You must go up.” The Good News Translation use of the word “Now” stresses that this command follows on from the people reconsidering their way of life, and will bring the solution to their problems. Other ways of saying this are “So, go up,” or even “So, you must go up.” In order to rebuild the Temple, the people needed adequate materials. Sufficient stone would have been available locally from the ruins of the Temple destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 (see the comments on 2.15). But at that time the city had been set on fire (2 Kgs 25.9), and the wood used in the former Temple and palace had been destroyed. However, at that period the hills around Jerusalem were well wooded (compare Neh 8.15), and so Haggai instructs the people to Go up to the hills in order to bring wood, or as the Good News Translation American edition says to “get lumber.” In many parts of the world, second language users of English will be more familiar with the term “timber,” as used in the British and Australian editions of Good News Translation. In languages that have to use a verb more detailed in meaning than bring, it is possible to say “cut down trees” or “saw trees.” In cultures where people live higher up the hills than the forests grow, it may sound odd to talk about going up to the hills to get wood. In such situations translators may wish to add a footnote to explain that Jerusalem was at a lower altitude than the forests.

The purpose of getting this wood was to build the house, or as Good News Translation puts it more clearly, “rebuild the Temple.” Translators could even say “rebuild my house.” See the comments on verse 1 for the translation of the house or “the Temple.” Though the main parts of the Temple would be built of stone, wood was necessary for roof beams and for wall paneling. Some timber was also placed between the layers of stone in the walls (Ezra 5.8) to give some flexibility and thus to minimize damage in times of earthquake.

That I may take pleasure in it: When the building was completed, the LORD would take pleasure in it or as Good News Translation says more simply, “be pleased.” In some languages this clause may be rendered as “Then my heart/liver will feel good.”

And that I may appear in my glory: The final verb is literally “I will be glorified,” as in the King James Version (King James Version) and Revised Version. Scholars are uncertain about the exact interpretation of this clause. One possibility is that I may appear in my glory (Revised Standard Version) or “where I can show my glory” (New English Bible); see also 1 Kgs 8.10-11. This interpretation seems to fit best with the previous verb, take pleasure. In this context glory may be translated “splendor” or “majesty.” Another possibility, which a majority of modern translators and commentators prefer, takes the verb to mean “I will receive glory,” that is, through the worship of the people. This is the interpretation followed in Good News Translation “I … will be worshiped as I should be.” In languages that have no passive, translators could express this as “the people will worship me as they should.” Alternative models for this clause together with the previous one are “Then I will be pleased and reveal my glory” or “Then I will be pleased and the people will worship me as they should.”

The verse closes in Hebrew with the words says the LORD. Good News Translation omits these words (as in verses 5, 7 and 9) in order to treat 1.4-11 as a single unbroken speech. In Hebrew these words probably mark a climax in the argument, and translators should try to show this by some appropriate linguistic device in their language, such as “It is I, the LORD, who say so.”

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 .

After giving the command to start rebuilding the Temple, Haggai develops the theme of the bad harvests the people had experienced (compare verse 6).

You have looked for much, and, lo, it came to little: Good News Translation makes the object clear, and drops the old-fashioned expression lo, “You hoped for large harvests, but they turned out to be small.” The function of lo is to mark focus on the reversal of expectation. In some languages this focus could be kept more clearly by saying, “but after all, they turned out to be small.” In areas where grain is not grown, translators could use a more general expression and say, “you hoped for good crops.” The expression “turned out to be” is idiomatic in English. An alternative model could be “but you received only small crops,” or in languages where “fruit” is used generally for all kinds of crops, “but you received little fruit.” The whole sentence may be expressed as “You hoped to get a lot of fruit, but instead you received [or, gathered] very little.”

When you brought it home, I blew it away: Even the small amounts of grain that the people harvested had not been safe. I blew it away is a figurative expression whose meaning is uncertain. It may mean that because the harvest was not enough for the people’s needs, it was quickly used up, as though it had been blown away (as in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1. Edition, Contemporary English Version). Or it may mean that the LORD blew upon it in judgment, and spoiled it (by means of blight or mildew; compare 2.17). This meaning is expressed in the Good News Translation footnote as “I spoiled it,” and is found also in Moffatt, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, and New English Bible/Revised English Bible. This interpretation seems preferable, as it relates more directly to the action of the LORD, and translators are advised to follow it. An alternative translation model, then, is the following: “You brought the crops [or, grain/fruit] home, but I spoiled them” or .”.. but I caused them to spoil.”

The LORD then asks the question Why? and supplies his own answer: Because of my house that lies in ruins, while you busy yourselves each with his own house. Why may also be rendered “Why did I do that?” (Good News Translation; similarly Contemporary English Version). For the omission in Good News Translation of says the LORD of hosts, see the comments on verses 2 and 5. The discourse function of the phrase at this point is to mark the end of the first half of the paragraph. For my house lies in ruins, see the comments on verse 4. You busy yourselves each with his own house is literally “ye run every man to his own house” (Revised Version). This could mean either “each of you has a house that he can run to” (New English Bible; similarly The New American Bible [New American Bible], New Jewish Publication Society Version [New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh]) or more probably “each of you is busily concerned about his own house.” Good News Translation prefers this second meaning with “every one of you is busy working on his own house” (similarly New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version). For the use of the verb “to run” in the sense of “be concerned about,” compare Pro 1.16 and 6.18 in Revised Standard Version.

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 .

The opening word Therefore marks the beginning of the second half of the paragraph.

The heavens above you have withheld the dew: In ancient times, the formation of dew by condensation was not understood and it was thought that dew came down from the sky like rain. In cultures where such a belief is held today, it would be possible to translate literally, but otherwise there is no need to mention the heavens. Translators could say simply, “There has been no dew.”

Translators should note that the Hebrew here says dew rather than “rain” (Good News Translation). Some versions have followed a different form of the text for the rendering of “rain.” Of modern versions Good News Translation, Bible de Jérusalem, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible and Bible en français courant choose to do this. However, it does not seem necessary to make any such change. Dew was an important source of moisture especially during the rainless summer months, and without it, the crops would wither. This fits with verse 9, where Haggai stated that the people had “hoped for large harvests” (Good News Translation). If the rain had not fallen earlier in the year, there would have been no basis for such hope. However, if it was only the dew that was lacking, there would have been early hope for a large harvest, but final disappointment as the crops withered just before they were ripe. Translators are advised to retain dew (as Hebrew Old Testament Text Project and Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommend, and as Revised Standard Version and many other versions do), but if there is difficulty in finding vocabulary for talking about dew, they could use a more general term like “moisture” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Revised English Bible). In some cultures it will be necessary to express this as something like the following: “There is no moisture on the plants in the morning.” It is in the early morning that dew appears, and then when the sun rises it evaporates.

Because of the lack of dew, the earth has withheld its produce or, as Good News Translation expresses it more directly, “nothing can grow,” meaning “no plants can grow” or “the plants wither and die.” Contemporary English Version puts it briefly and clearly as “your harvest fails.”

Earlier prophets had taught that poor crops were a sign of the LORD’s displeasure (compare Amos 4.6-9) and the people of Haggai’s day should have known this without needing to be told again.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• That is why there is no moisture [or, dew] on the plants in the morning, and the plants wither and die.

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 .

The Hebrew says literally I have called for a drought upon the land and the hills (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version [New Revised Standard Version]). Good News Translation expresses more clearly the fact that what the LORD called for had actually happened, by saying, “I have brought drought….” Translators may also express this as “I have caused your [plural] fields and hills to dry up,” or even combine the two terms; for example, “I have caused the land everywhere to dry up.” There is a play on words in Hebrew between the word for drought and the word translated “in ruins” in verses 4 and 9. This drought affected the whole land, including the hills, where the rainfall was normally greatest. The concept of drought may be translated “I have forbidden the sky [or, clouds] to drop rain.”

The Hebrew goes on to speak of the drought affecting the crops themselves, the grain, the new wine, the oil. Grain, wine and olive oil were (and still are) three of the main crops in Israel. Grain was used to make the staple food, bread. Wine was the principal drink in a country where water supplies were neither very plentiful nor very pure. See the comments on verse 6 for the translation of wine. Oil made by squeezing the juice from olives was used for cooking and for lamp fuel, as well as for rubbing on the body.

Since the opening part of the verse spoke of places (the land and the hills), Good News Translation translates the references to crops in terms of the places there they grow, “grainfields” (British edition “cornfields”; Australian edition “wheatfields”), “vineyards, and olive orchards.” In certain cultures it may be necessary to borrow the terms “grape” (or, “vine”) and “olive” and translate “vineyards” and “olive orchards” as “trees that produce fruit called grapes and trees that produce fruit called olives” or “vine tree farms and olive tree farms.” Translators are at liberty to speak of the crops themselves (as Revised Standard Version and most modern translations do), the places where they grow (see Good News Translation), or the trees that produce the fruit, whichever sounds more natural in their language. If they speak of the crops, and have terms for different kinds of wine, they should note that the term used here means new wine (Revised Standard Version; similarly New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, New International Version), that is, wine which had not fermented for a long period.

Haggai sums up the effect of the drought upon agriculture with a general expression, upon what the ground brings forth, or, as Good News Translation says, “on every crop the ground produces.” He then moves on to say, upon men and cattle, and upon all their labors. Cattle refers not just to cows, but to domestic animals of all kinds, especially including sheep and goats. Domestic animals such as oxen were used in agricultural work like plowing and threshing. Good News Translation expresses this more clearly by saying, “on people and animals, on everything you try to grow.” Contemporary English Version has “your animals and you yourselves. All your hard work will be for nothing.” Some languages, like Hebrew, may have a term for domestic (as opposed to wild) animals, and if so this is an appropriate place to use it.

Though the meanings of the parts of this verse are fairly simple, the whole verse can become rather complicated if translated in a single sentence as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. Translators may prefer to break the verse up into more than one sentence.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:

• I have brought a drought on your [plural] fields and on the hills. It has affected your crops of grain, wine, olive oil and everything else that the ground produces. It has affected both people and animals, and spoiled all your [plural] attempts to grow food.

• I have caused your [plural] fields and hills to dry up. The lack of moisture in the morning [or, dew] has affected your crops of grain, wine, olive oil, and everything else that grows. It has also caused trouble for both you and your animals, and made it impossible for you to grow food.

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 .

For comments on Zerubbabel and Joshua, see the notes on verse 1. Good News Translation does not repeat their titles. The Hebrew text itself repeats only Joshua’s title, the high priest. Translators should include or omit the titles here according to the usage of their own language. For comments on the translation of high priest, see the notes on verse 1.

With all the remnant of the people: The expression all the remnant of the people may mean either “all the people who had returned from the exile in Babylonia” (Good News Translation) or possibly “all the people who had not gone into exile” (Good News Translation footnote). Most commentators accept the first interpretation as more probable, and translators are recommended to follow it. However, the real point of the expression here is not to distinguish between different groups among the people, but to distinguish the people as a whole from their two leaders. Translators could therefore say simply “all the rest of the people” (Moffatt, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). In some languages it will be necessary to use an explanatory clause for “exile in Babylonia”; for example, “had returned from Babylonia where they had been prisoners.”

The entire people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him; that is to say, they “did what the LORD their God told them to do” (Good News Translation). In this way they showed a notable change of attitude from that shown by the people to the prophets before the exile. Compare Amos 7.10-13; Micah 2.6-7; Zech 1.4. In certain languages a literal translation of the phrase their God will mean that the people owned God. In such cases we may express the LORD their God as “the LORD, the God that they worshiped.” See the notes on verse 1 for the translation of prophet. The expression as the LORD their God had sent him is rather awkward in English and Good News Translation has translated it as “the LORD’s messenger,” borrowing the expression that occurs in the next verse. Many translators will also find a noun convenient at this point. Contemporary English Version has a more helpful model for this part of this verse: “obeyed the LORD’s message spoken by his prophet Haggai.” This makes it clear that the voice of the LORD their God and the words of Haggai the prophet are not two separate things.

And the people feared before the LORD: Feared when combined with the LORD often means “respected” in the Old Testament, as in Contemporary English Version “and they started showing proper respect for the LORD.” In the present context it could also be taken to mean “afraid,” as in Good News Translation (similarly New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible). If taken in this sense, it may be expressed idiomatically in many languages; for example, “their livers shivered” or “their hearts/livers fell.”

It will be helpful in many languages to break this verse up into two or more sentences as Good News Translation has done. In Good News Translation the clause obeyed the voice of the LORD their God is made into one sentence, and the clause the people feared is linked with the obedience to the words of Haggai the prophet as cause and effect. The example of Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 2. Edition is probably better than Good News Translation. It says that the people “recognized that God had sent the prophet to them, and so were afraid because they had not honored the LORD fittingly.” For a suggested translation model of this verse and the next, see the notes on verse 13.

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 .

Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD’s message: The expression the messenger of the LORD is not applied elsewhere to a prophet, though it is applied to a priest in Mal 2.7. Good News Translation has just used an identical expression in the previous verse, and does not repeat it here. It is probably better not to follow the example of Good News Translation at this point.

The change of heart by the people enabled the prophet to give them next a word of encouragement. Its content was simple: I am with you, says the LORD. The you here is of course plural. It is not clear why Good News Translation has expressed this in the future “I will be with you.” No other modern English version does this, and translators are recommended to use a present tense. The message itself was one that had often been given by the LORD to encourage his people, such as Jacob (Gen 28.15), Moses (Exo 3.12), Joshua (Josh 1.5), Gideon (Jdg 6.16), and Jeremiah (Jer 1.8).

The last part of the message says the LORD is translated in an emphatic way by Good News Translation as “that is my promise.” Other ways of expressing emphasis could be “declares the LORD” (New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “I, the LORD, say this” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 2. Edition). Translators may also say, “I give you my firm promise that I am always with you.” In this case the quotation formula is part of a second degree quotation, and so it does not have a discourse level function in terms of the structure of the paragraph.

An alternative translation model for verses 12 and 13 is:

• Then Zerubbabel and Joshua the High Priest, along with all the other people who had returned from Babylonia, did what the LORD their God commanded them to do. They realized that God had sent the prophet Haggai, so they were afraid and obeyed him. Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, told the people that the LORD promised, “I am with you.”

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 .