Haggai 2:3

‘Who among you survivors saw the former splendor of this temple? ¹  How does it look to you now? Isn’t it nothing by comparison?

‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?

‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?

Is there anyone who can remember this house––the Temple––as it was before? In comparison, how does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all!

'Is there anyone here who saw the Temple the way it used to be, all glorious? And what do you see now? Not much, right?

Who is there still among you who saw this house in its first glory? and how do you see it now? is it not in your eyes as nothing?

Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing?

‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing?

‘Who among you survivors saw the former splendor of this temple? ¹  How does it look to you now? Isn’t it nothing by comparison?

¹ tn Heb “this house in its earlier splendor”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “in its former glory.”

sn Solomon’s temple was demolished in 586 b.c., 66 years prior to Haggai’s time. There surely would have been some older people who remembered the former splendor of that magnificent structure and who lamented the contrast to the small, unimpressive temple they were building (see Ezra 3:8-13).