AGGEUS was one of those that returned from the captivity of
Babylon, in the first year of the reign of king Cyrus. He
was sent by the Lord, in the second year of the reign of
king Darius, the son of Hystaspes, to exhort Zorobabel the
prince of Juda, and Jesus the high priest, to the building
of the temple; which they had begun, but left off again
through the opposition of the Samaritans. In consequence of
this exhortation they proceeded in the building and finished
the temple. And the prophet was commissioned by the Lord to
assure them that this second temple should be more glorious
than the former, because the Messiah should honour it with
his presence: signifying withal how much the church of the
New Testament should excel that of the Old Testament.
Aggeus Chapter 1
The people are reproved for neglecting to build the temple.
They are encouraged to set about the work.
1:1. In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth
month, in the first day of the month, the word of the Lord
came by the hand of Aggeus the prophet, to Zorobabel the son
of Salathiel, governor of Juda, and to Jesus the son of
Josedec the high priest, saying:
1:2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, saying: This people
saith: The time is not yet come for building the house of
the Lord.
1:3. And the word of the Lord came by the hand of Aggeus the
prophet, saying:
1:4. Is it time for you to dwell in ceiled houses, and this
house lie desolate?
1:5. And now thus saith the Lord of hosts: Set your hearts
to consider your ways.
1:6. You have sowed much, and brought in little: you have
eaten, but have not had enough: you have drunk, but have not
been filled with drink: you have clothed yourselves, but
have not been warmed: and he that hath earned wages, put
them into a bag with holes.
1:7. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Set your hearts upon your
ways:
1:8. Go up to the mountain, bring timber, and build the
house: and it shall be acceptable to me, and I shall be
glorified, saith the Lord.
1:9. You have looked for more, and behold it became less,
and you brought it home, and I blowed it away: why, saith
the Lord of hosts? because my house is desolate, and you
make haste every man to his own house.
1:10. Therefore the heavens over you were stayed from giving
dew, and the earth was hindered from yielding her fruits:
1:11. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the
mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the wine, and upon
the oil, and upon all that the ground bringeth forth, and
upon men, and upon beasts, and upon all the labour of the
hands.
1:12. Then Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and Jesus the son
of Josedec the high priest, and all the remnant of the
people hearkened to the voice of the Lord their God, and to
the words of Aggeus the prophet, as the Lord their God sent
him to them: and the people feared before the Lord.
1:13. And Aggeus the messenger of the Lord, as one of the
messengers of the Lord, spoke, saying to the people: I am
with you, saith the Lord.
1:14. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zorobabel the
son of Salathiel governor of Juda, and the spirit of Jesus
the son of Josedec the high priest, and the spirit of all
the rest of the people: and they went in, and did the work
in the house of the Lord of Hosts their God.
Aggeus Chapter 2
Christ by his coming shall make the latter temple more
glorious than the former. The blessing of God shall reward
their labour in building. God's promise to Zorobabel.
2:1. In the four and twentieth day of the month, in the
sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king, they
began.
2:2. And in the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by
the hand of Aggeus the prophet, saying:
2:3. Speak to Zorobabel the son of Salathiel the governor of
Juda, and to Jesus the son of Josedec the high priest, and
to the rest of the people, saying:
2:4. Who is left among you, that saw this house in its first
glory? and how do you see it now? is it not in comparison to
that as nothing in your eyes?
2:5. Yet now take courage, O Zorobabel, saith the Lord, and
take courage, Jesus the son of Josedec the high priest, and
take courage, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord of
hosts: and perform (for I am with you, saith the Lord of
hosts)
2:6. The word that I convenanted with you when you came out
of the land of Egypt: and my spirit shall be in the midst of
you: fear not.
2:7. For thus saith the Lord of hosts: Yet one little while,
and I will move the heaven and the earth, and the sea, and
the dry land.
2:8. And I will move all nations: AND THE DESIRED OF ALL
NATIONS SHALL COME: and I will fill this house with glory:
saith the Lord of hosts.
2:9. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the
Lord of hosts.
2:10. Great shall be the glory of this last house more than
of the first, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place I
will give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.
2:11. In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in
the second year of Darius the king, the word of the Lord
came to Aggeus the prophet, saying:
2:12. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Ask the priests the law,
saying:
2:13. If a man carry sanctified flesh in the skirt of his
garment, and touch with his skirt, bread, or pottage, or
wine, or oil, or any meat: shall it be sanctified? And the
priests answered, and said: No.
2:14. And Aggeus said: If one that is unclean by occasion of
a soul touch any of all these things, shall it be defiled?
And the priests answered, and said: It shall be defiled.
By occasion of a soul... That is, by having touched the
dead; in which case, according to the prescription of the
law, Num. 19.13, 22, a person not only became unclean
himself, but made every thing that he touched unclean. The
prophet applies all this to the people, whose souls
remained unclean by neglecting the temple of God; and
therefore were not sanctified by the flesh they offered in
sacrifice: but rather defiled their sacrifices by
approaching to them in the state of uncleanness.
2:15. And Aggeus answered, and said: So is this people, and
so is this nation before my face, saith the Lord, and so is
all the work of their hands: and all that they have offered
there, shall be defiled.
2:16. And now consider in your hearts, from this day and
upward, before there was a stone laid upon a stone in the
temple of the Lord.
2:17. When you went to a heap of twenty bushels, and they
became ten: and you went into the press, to press out fifty
vessels, and they became twenty.
2:18. I struck you with a blasting wind, and all the works
of your hand with the mildew and with hail, yet there was
none among you that returned to me, saith the Lord.
2:19. Set your hearts from this day, and henceforward, from
the four and twentieth day of the ninth month: from the day
that the foundations of the temple of the Lord were laid,
and lay it up in your hearts.
2:20. Is the seed as yet sprung up? or hath the vine, and
the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree as yet
flourished? from this day I will bless you.
2:21. And the word of the Lord came a second time to Aggeus
in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying:
2:22. Speak to Zorobabel the governor of Juda, saying: I
will move both heaven and earth.
2:23. And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and will
destroy the strength of the kingdom of the Gentiles: and I
will overthrow the chariot, and him that rideth therin: and
the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by
the sword of his brother.
2:24. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, I will take
thee, O Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, my servant, saith
the Lord, and will make thee as a signet, for I have chosen
thee, saith the Lord of hosts.
O Zorobabel... This promise principally relates to Christ,
who was of the race of Zorobabel.
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