¹ In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying,

² Say now to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, ruler of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the rest of the people,

³ 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?

⁴ But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land, says the Lord, and get to work: for I am with you, says the Lord of armies:

⁵ The agreement which I made with you when you came out of Egypt, and my spirit, are with you still; have no fear.

⁶ For this is what the Lord of armies has said: In a short time I will make a shaking of the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land;

⁷ And I will make a shaking of all the nations, and the desired things of all nations will come: and I will make this house full of my glory, says the Lord of armies.

⁸ The silver is mine and the gold is mine, says the Lord of armies.

⁹ The second glory of this house will be greater than the first, says the Lord of armies: and in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of armies.

¹⁰ On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying,

¹¹ These are the words of the Lord of armies: Put now a point of law to the priests, saying,

¹² If anyone has some holy flesh folded in the skirt of his robe, will bread or soup or wine or oil or any other food be made holy if touched by his skirt? And the priests answering said, No.

¹³ Then Haggai said, Will any of these be made unclean by the touch of one who is unclean through touching a dead body? And the priests answering said, It will be made unclean.

¹⁴ Then Haggai said, So is this people and so is this nation before me, says the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and the offering they give there is unclean.

¹⁵ And now, give thought, looking back from this day to the time before one stone was put on another in the Temple of the Lord:

¹⁶ How, when anyone came to a store of twenty measures, there were only ten: when anyone went to the wine-store to get fifty vessels full, there were only twenty.

¹⁷ And I sent burning and wasting and a rain of ice-drops on all the works of your hands; but still you were not turned to me, says the Lord.

¹⁸ And now, give thought; looking on from this day, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the time when the base of the Lord's house was put in its place, give thought to it.

¹⁹ Is the seed still in the store-house? have the vine and the fig-tree, the pomegranate and the olive-tree, still not given their fruit? from this day I will send my blessing on you.

²⁰ And the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai, on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying,

²¹ Say to Zerubbabel, ruler of Judah, I will make a shaking of the heavens and the earth,

²² Overturning the power of kingdoms; and I will send destruction on the strength of the kingdoms of the nations; by me war-carriages will be overturned with those who are in them; and the horses and the horsemen will come down, everyone by the sword of his brother.

²³ In that day, says the Lord of armies, I will take you, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and will make you as a jewelled ring: for I have taken you to be mine, says the Lord of armies.

¹ And he said to Moses, Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, and Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the chiefs of Israel; and give me worship from a distance.

² And Moses only may come near to the Lord; but the others are not to come near, and the people may not come up with them.

³ Then Moses came and put before the people all the words of the Lord and his laws: and all the people, answering with one voice, said, Whatever the Lord has said we will do.

⁴ Then Moses put down in writing all the words of the Lord, and he got up early in the morning and made an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

⁵ And he sent some of the young men of the children of Israel to make burned offerings and peace-offerings of oxen to the Lord.

⁶ And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins; draining out half of the blood over the altar.

⁷ And he took the book of the agreement, reading it in the hearing of the people: and they said, Everything which the Lord has said we will do, and we will keep his laws.

⁸ Then Moses took the blood and let it come on the people, and said, This blood is the sign of the agreement which the Lord has made with you in these words.

⁹ Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the chiefs of Israel went up:

¹⁰ And they saw the God of Israel; and under his feet there was, as it seemed, a jewelled floor, clear as the heavens.

¹¹ And he put not his hand on the chiefs of the children of Israel: they saw God, and took food and drink.

¹² And the Lord said to Moses, Come up to me on the mountain, and take your place there: and I will give you the stones on which I have put in writing the law and the orders, so that you may give the people knowledge of them.

¹³ Then Moses and Joshua his servant got up; and Moses went up into the mountain of God.

¹⁴ And he said to the chiefs, Keep your places here till we come back to you: Aaron and Hur are with you; if anyone has any cause let him go to them.

¹⁵ And Moses went up into the mountain, and it was covered by the cloud.

¹⁶ And the glory of the Lord was resting on Mount Sinai, and the cloud was over it for six days; and on the seventh day he said Moses' name out of the cloud.

¹⁷ And the glory of the Lord was like a flame on the top of the mountain before the eyes of the children of Israel.

¹⁸ And Moses went up the mountain, into the cloud, and was there for forty days and forty nights.