The prophet now switches from questions to commands, and this change gives reason to begin a new paragraph at this point in languages that prefer short paragraphs. The word translated Yet now is the same word that begins 1.5 (“Now therefore”) and 2.15 (“now”), and marks movement to the next stage of an argument.

In Hebrew this verse is composed of a separate command each to Zerubbabel, to Joshua, and to all you people of the land, to take courage. In this instance Joshua’s ancestry and position is repeated but not Zerubbabel’s. Translators should repeat this information (as Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 2. Edition, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) or not (as Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1. Edition), depending on what sounds most natural in their language. The first and third commands (to Zerubbabel and to the people) to take courage are followed by the formula says the LORD. This probably has an emphatic function (see 1.13), and translators should try to preserve this by using some form or construction that is emphatic in their language. It is unlikely, however, that this function will be kept simply by repeating the formula as the Hebrew does. Good News Translation restructures the verse considerably. Instead of giving three separate commands to the people concerned, it translates with a single command to “any of you.” This avoids the repetition of names that sounds clumsy in English; but in some languages such repetition may help to convey the emphatic feeling of the Hebrew. People of the land refers to the common people in general, not just agricultural workers.

Good News Translation turns the positive command, take courage, into a negative one, “don’t be discouraged.” In English this is appropriate to the situation described in the previous verse, but translators may of course put the command in either a positive form (as Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) or a negative form (as Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) according to what sounds best in their own language. In certain languages “discouraged” will be expressed idiomatically; for example, “Don’t let your heart lose power/fall.” Contemporary English Version uses a positive form with “But cheer up!”

Work, for I am with you: The message continues with the command to work, that is to rebuild the Temple. It concludes by repeating the assurance given earlier in 1.13, for I am with you (see the comments there). If it is necessary to provide an object for work, translators may say, “Work on the Temple.”

In Hebrew the verse ends with a longer quotation formula, says the LORD of hosts. This formula occurs again in verse 8, and at the end of verse 9, and in each place it functions to mark the end of a discourse unit. Translators who do not read Hebrew should be aware that the Hebrew phrase used in verses 4 and 8, and at the end of verse 9 (neʾum YHWH tsevaʾoth) is not the same as the clause used in verse 7 and in the middle of verse 9 (ʾamar YHWH tsevaʾoth), even though they are translated identically in Revised Standard Version. This second clause has a different discourse function, namely marking a climax (see 1.8, where there is only ʾamar YHWH [“says the LORD”]). A fuller discussion can be found in Clark’s article “Discourse Structure in Haggai” in the k Journal of Translation and Textlinguisticsk*. In handling such formulas, there are two extremes that translators should avoid. On the one hand they should not just mechanically repeat a formula in their language whenever it occurs in the Hebrew (as Revised Standard Version does). On the other hand they should not dismiss these formulas as if they were meaningless repetition (as Contemporary English Version does). Rather translators should try to preserve the function of each formula by whatever means is appropriate in their language. This is a challenging task and requires both careful thought and a sensitive awareness of the resources of the language at the discourse level. Good News Translation translates these formulas only once, at the end of verse 9. In this way, it is able to treat the whole of 2.3-9 as a single speech without any interruption from repeated quotation expressions. This is similar to the way similar material was treated in 1.5-9 (see the comments on 1.2). In English this eliminates repetition that sounds very unnatural, but it also loses something of the focus and emphasis which are in the Hebrew. Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente all reduce the number of times the quotation formulas are translated, but not as much as Good News Translation does. Perhaps they come closer to indicating the intention of the Hebrew. For LORD of hosts, see 1.2.

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 .