The Meaning of Haggai 2:17 Explained

Haggai 2:17

KJV: I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD.

YLT: I have smitten you with blasting, And with mildew, and with hail -- All the work of your hands, And there is none of you with Me, An affirmation of Jehovah.

Darby: I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the work of your hands; and ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah.

ASV: I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the work of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I smote  you with blasting  and with mildew  and with hail  in all the labours  of your hands;  yet ye [turned] not to me, saith  the LORD. 

What does Haggai 2:17 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord had used hot winds, mildew, and hail to smite the people and what they had planted, but they still did not repent (cf. Amos 4:9). Hot winds posed problems for crops because of the dry heat, and mildew created other problems because of excessive moisture. Perhaps these conditions are a merism describing polar opposites that together mean all types of weather-related problems. [1] Hail, one of the plagues on Egypt ( Exodus 9:13-35), caused severe damage to unprotected crops.

Context Summary

Haggai 2:10-23 - God's Judgment Upon The Nations
Two months after the foregoing prophecy, the prophet again remonstrated with the people for still neglecting the Temple, though they appear to have maintained religious rites. As the holy flesh did not sanctify what it touched, so religious observance did not compensate for neglecting the Temple; such neglect would make their service unclean, Haggai 2:14. The earnest toils of the people had met with persistent unsuccess because God was against them, but from the moment of their repentance He would bless them, Haggai 2:18-19. Amid all the upheavals described in Haggai 2:7 the Jews would be preserved, and their safety guaranteed. Disturbances preceded the Savior's first advent, as they will the second; but amid the shaking and overthrowing that are ushering in the new era, let us not fear. All that cannot be shaken will remain; and as God remembered Noah amid the tossings of the deluge, He will care for us, not because of our deserts, but because of His grace. We did not choose Him, but He us [source]

Chapter Summary: Haggai 2

1  He encourages the people to the work,
4  by promise of greater glory to the second temple than was in the first
10  In the type of holy things and unclean he shows their sins hindered the work
20  God's promise to Zerubbabel

What do the individual words in Haggai 2:17 mean?

I struck you with blight and mildew and hail - in all the labors of your hands and yet not you did [turn] to Me says Yahweh
הִכֵּ֨יתִי אֶתְכֶ֜ם בַּשִּׁדָּפ֤וֹן וּבַיֵּֽרָקוֹן֙ וּבַבָּרָ֔ד אֵ֖ת כָּל־ מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה יְדֵיכֶ֑ם וְאֵין־ אֶתְכֶ֥ם אֵלַ֖י נְאֻם־ יְהוָֽה

הִכֵּ֨יתִי  I  struck 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
בַּשִּׁדָּפ֤וֹן  with  blight 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שְׁדֵפָה 
Sense: blighted or blasted thing, blighted, blasted.
וּבַיֵּֽרָקוֹן֙  and  mildew 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יֵרָקֹון  
Sense: mildew, paleness, lividness.
וּבַבָּרָ֔ד  and  hail 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בָּרָד  
Sense: hail.
אֵ֖ת  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
כָּל־  in  all 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה  the  labors 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מַעֲשֶׂה  
Sense: deed, work.
יְדֵיכֶ֑ם  of  your  hands 
Parse: Noun, fdc, second person masculine plural
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
וְאֵין־  and  yet  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
אֶתְכֶ֥ם  you  did  [turn] 
Parse: Direct object marker, second person masculine plural
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
אֵלַ֖י  to  Me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָֽה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.