Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB Go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build the house. I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified,” says Yahweh.
- BSB Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified, says the LORD.
- NKJV Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord.
- NASB Go up to the mountains, bring wood, and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be honored,” says the Lord.
- NLT Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God commands the people to gather timber and rebuild the temple so that He may be glorified. Obedience in worship is what pleases Him.
Overview
The instruction is concrete: go to the hills, bring wood, and build. God's stated purpose is His own pleasure and glory, the chief end of all worship. The temple ultimately pointed forward to Christ, in whom God's glory dwells fully and through whom His people are now built into a spiritual house (John 2:19-21; 1 Peter 2:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Ps 132:13–14For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.
- 2 Chr 7:16For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
- 2 Chr 2:8–10Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants,
- Hag 2:7And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
- Hag 1:2–4Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built.
- Jonah 3:1–2And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
- Ezra 3:7They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.
- Exod 29:43And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.
- 1 Kgs 9:3And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
- Zech 11:1–2Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
- John 13:31–32Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
- Ps 87:2–3The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
- Isa 66:11That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.
- Hag 2:9The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
- Isa 60:13The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
- Ezra 6:4With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king’s house:
- Matt 3:8–9Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
- Isa 60:7All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.
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Christ at the center
The promise that the latter glory of the temple will exceed the former, and that God will shake the nations and bring 'the desire of all nations,' is fulfilled when Christ enters his temple.
How Haggai 1:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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