Haggai 1:12-14

The Response of the People

1:12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, 1  along with the whole remnant of the people, 2  obeyed 3  the Lord their God. They responded favorably to the message of the prophet Haggai, who spoke just as the Lord their God had instructed him, 4  and the people began to respect the Lord. 5  1:13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, spoke the Lord’s word to the people: 6  “I am with you!” says the Lord. 1:14 So the Lord energized and encouraged 7  Zerubbabel 8  son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, 9  and the whole remnant of the people. 10  They came and worked on the temple of their God, the Lord who rules over all.

1 tn Many English versions have “Joshua [the] son of Jehozadak, the high priest,” but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

2 tn Heb “all the remnant of the people.” The Hebrew phrase שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם (shÿ’erit ha’am) in this postexilic context is used as a technical term to refer to the returned remnant (see Ezra 9:14; Isa 10:20-22; 11:11, 16; Jer 23:3; 31:7; and many other passages). Cf. TEV “all the people who had returned from the exile in Babylonia.”

3 tn Heb “heard the voice of”; NAB “listened to the voice of.”

4 tn Heb “and according to the words of Haggai the prophet just as the Lord their God sent him.” Some English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV) take the last clause as causal: “because the Lord their God had sent him.”

5 tn Heb “and the people feared from before the Lord”; NASB “showed reverence for the Lord.”

6 tn Heb “Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, said by the message of the Lord to the people.” The Hebrew is highly repetitive; in keeping with contemporary English style this has been simplified in the translation.

7 tn Heb “stirred up” (as in many English versions). Only one verb appears in the Hebrew text, but the translation “energized and encouraged” brings out its sense in this context. Cf. TEV “inspired”; NLT “sparked the enthusiasm of”; CEV “made everyone eager to work.”

sn It was God who initiated the rebuilding by providing the people with motivation and ability.

8 tn Heb “the spirit of Zerubbabel” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

9 tn Heb “the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest” (as in many English versions), but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

10 tn Heb “and the spirit of all the remnant of the people.” The Hebrew phrase שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם (shÿ’erit ha’am) in this postexilic context is used as a technical term to refer to the returned remnant; see the note on the phrase “the whole remnant of the people” in v. 12.