Haggai 1:9-11

1:9 ‘You expected a large harvest, but instead 1  there was little, and when you brought it home it disappeared right away. 2  Why?’ asks the Lord who rules over all. ‘Because my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house! 3  1:10 This is why the sky 4  has held back its dew and the earth its produce. 5  1:11 Moreover, I have called for a drought that will affect the fields, the hill country, the grain, new wine, fresh olive oil, and everything that grows from the ground; it also will harm people, animals, and everything they produce.’” 6 

1 tn Heb “look!” (הִנֵּה, hinneh). The term, an interjection, draws attention to the point being made.

2 tn Heb “I blew it away” (so NRSV, TEV, NLT). The imagery here suggests that human achievements are so fragile and temporal that a mere breath from God can destroy them (see Ezek 22:20, 21; and Isa 40:7 with נָשַׁב, nashav).

3 tn Heb “and each of you runs to his own house”; NIV “is busy with”; TEV “is busy working on”; NCV “work hard for.”

4 tn The Hebrew text has “over you” (so KJV), but this is redundant in contemporary English and has been left untranslated.

5 sn This linkage of human sin to natural disaster is reminiscent of the curse brought upon the earth by Adam’s disobedience (Gen 3:17-19; see Rom 8:20-22).

6 tn Heb “all the labor of hands” (similar KJV, NASB, NIV); cf. NAB “all that is produced by hand.”