The Meaning of Haggai 1:2 Explained

Haggai 1:2

KJV: Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built.

YLT: Thus spake Jehovah of Hosts, saying: This people! -- they have said, 'The time hath not come, The time the house of Jehovah is to be built.'

Darby: Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that Jehovah's house should be built.

ASV: Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, This people say, It is not the time for us to come, the time for Jehovah's house to be built.

Discover Haggai 1:2

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Haggai 1:2?

MEANING: What does Haggai 1:2 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Haggai 1:2 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Haggai 1:2?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thus speaketh  the LORD  of hosts,  saying,  This people  say,  The time  is not come,  the time  that the LORD'S  house  should be built. 

What does Haggai 1:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Haggai announced that his message came from Yahweh of armies, Almighty Yahweh. This title appears14times in Haggai and265 times in the Hebrew Bible. "Yahweh" occurs34times in the38 verses of Haggai. The Lord told Zerubbabel and Joshua that the Israelites were saying that the time was not right to rebuild the temple. By referring to them as "these people" rather than "my people," the Lord was distancing Himself from them. Construction on the temple had begun16 years earlier but had ceased due to opposition from the Israelites" neighbors who were mostly Samaritans ( Ezra 3:8-13; Ezra 4:1-5; Ezra 4:24). When the Jews considered resuming construction, most of them said it was not yet the right time. Contrast David"s great desire to build a house for the Lord ( 2 Samuel 7:2). Their decision may have rested on the continuing threat from their neighbors. Or perhaps they felt that to finish the temple then would violate Jeremiah"s prediction of a70-year captivity ( Jeremiah 25:11-12; Jeremiah 29:10). Another possibility is that they thought God Himself would finish it ( Ezekiel 40-48). [1]
"To refuse to build the [2] house was at best saying that it did not matter whether the Lord was present with them. At worst it was presuming on divine grace, that the Lord would live with his people even though they willfully refused to fulfill the condition of his indwelling that he had laid down." [3]
"The need to rebuild is urgent, because temples in their world are the center for administering the political, economic, judicial, social, and religious life of the nation. In other words, rebuilding I AM"s temple would symbolize his rule over the life of his people and his prophesied rule of the world (cf. Zechariah 1:14-17)." [4]
Today many Christians do not do God"s will because they feel the time is not precisely right.
"Too often we make excuses when we ought to be making confessions and obeying the Lord. We say, "It"s not time for an evangelistic crusade," "It"s not time for the Spirit to bring revival," "It"s not time to expand the ministry." We act as though we fully understand "the times and the seasons" that God has ordained for His people, but we don"t understand them ( Acts 1:6-7)." [5]

Context Summary

Haggai 1:1-11 - Selfish And Shortsighted Thrift
Zerubbabel is the Sheshbazzar of Ezra 1:8. He was of the royal line, and appointed governor by Cyrus. Josedech was son of Seraiah, high priest when Jerusalem was taken, 2 Kings 25:18-21. The returned exiles had been experiencing a succession of bad seasons. They had sown much, and reaped little; their money ran out of the bag as quickly as they put it in; a drought lay on all the land, and the reason for it was to be found in the neglected Temple. How frequently our disasters and losses in business arise from our failure to remember God's cause. We say that we have not the time, cannot afford the money, and see no necessity for setting apart the Lord's Day or the daily period for meditation and prayer. Did we see things as they really are, we should find that this is false economy, and wastes more than we save. "There is that which withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." The mower does not waste time when he stops to whet his scythe. [source]

Chapter Summary: Haggai 1

1  The time when Haggai prophesied
2  He reproves the people for neglecting the building of the house
7  He incites them to the building
12  He promises them, being forward, God's assistance

What do the individual words in Haggai 1:2 mean?

thus speaks Yahweh of hosts saying people this says not the time has come the house of Yahweh to rebuild -
כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֛ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת לֵאמֹ֑ר הָעָ֤ם הַזֶּה֙ אָֽמְר֔וּ לֹ֥א עֶת־ בֹּ֛א בֵּ֥ית יְהוָ֖ה לְהִבָּנֽוֹת פ

כֹּ֥ה  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֛ר  speaks 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֥ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
צְבָא֖וֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
לֵאמֹ֑ר  saying 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הָעָ֤ם  people 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
הַזֶּה֙  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
אָֽמְר֔וּ  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
עֶת־  the  time 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: עֵת  
Sense: time.
בֹּ֛א  has  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
בֵּ֥ית  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יְהוָ֖ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
לְהִבָּנֽוֹת  to  rebuild 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Nifal, Infinitive construct
Root: בָּנָה  
Sense: to build, rebuild, establish, cause to continue.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation

What are the major concepts related to Haggai 1:2?

Loading Information...

Similar Scriptures for Haggai 1:2

Nehemiah 4:10 [4]
Numbers 13:31 [3]
Ezra 4:23-2 [3]
Ecclesiastes 9:10 [2]
Ecclesiastes 11:4 [2]
Song of Solomon 5:2-3 [2]
Proverbs 26:13-16 [2]
Proverbs 29:25 [2]
Proverbs 22:13 [2]
read less