Haggai 2:6

2:6 Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says: ‘In just a little while ¹  I will once again shake the sky ²  and the earth, the sea and the dry ground.

Haggai 2:21-22

2:21 Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah: ‘I am ready ³  to shake the sky ⁴  and the earth. 2:22 I will overthrow royal thrones and shatter the might of earthly kingdoms. ⁵  I will overthrow chariots and those who ride them, and horses and their riders will fall as people kill one another. ⁶ 

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¹ tc The difficult MT reading עוֹד אַחַת מְעַט הִיא (’od ’akhat mÿ’at hi’, “yet once, it is little”; cf. NAB “One moment yet, a little while”) appears as “yet once” in the LXX, omitting the last two Hebrew words. However, the point being made is that the anticipated action is imminent; thus the repetition provides emphasis.

² tn Or “the heavens.” The same Hebrew word, שָׁמַיִם (shamayim), may be translated “sky” or “heavens” depending on the context. Although many English versions translate the term as “heavens” here, the other three elements present in this context (earth, sea, dry ground) suggest “sky” is in view.

³ tn The participle here suggests an imminent undertaking of action (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “I am about to”). The overall language of the passage is eschatological, but eschatology finds its roots in the present.

⁴ tn See the note on the word “sky” in 2:6. Most English translations render the Hebrew term as “heavens” here.

⁵ tn Heb “the kingdoms of the nations.” Cf. KJV “the kingdoms of the heathen”; NIV, NLT “foreign kingdoms.”

⁶ tn Heb “and horses and their riders will go down, a man with a sword his brother”; KJV “every one by the sword of his brother.”