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 .