You expected much, but behold, it amounted to little. And what you brought home, I blew away. Why? declares the LORD of Hosts. Because My house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.
Parallel translations
- WEB “You looked for much, and, behold, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says Yahweh of Armies, “Because of my house that lies waste, while each of you is busy with his own house.
- KJV Ye looked for much, and lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.
- NKJV “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the Lord of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.
- NASB “You start an ambitious project, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of armies. “It is because of My house which remains desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.
- NLT You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses.
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 reveals that He Himself frustrated their efforts because they neglected His house while pursuing their own. Their hardship was a purposeful discipline.
Overview
The people expected abundance but found little, and God says He 'blew it away.' He plainly names the cause: His ruined house ignored while each man busied himself with his own. This shows that God governs even the outcomes of harvest and labor, and that He disciplines His people to draw them back to Himself.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Hag 1:4“Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?”
- Hag 2:16–17from that time, when one came expecting a heap of twenty ephahs of grain, there were but ten. When one came to the winepress to draw out fifty baths, there were but twenty.
- Rev 3:19Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
- Mal 2:2If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already begun to curse them, because you are not taking it to heart.
- Ps 77:5–10I considered the days of old, the years long in the past.
- Isa 40:7The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.
- Hag 1:6You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through.”
- 2 Sam 21:1During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years, and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
- 2 Kgs 19:7Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”
- Mal 3:8–11Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings.
- 1 Cor 11:30–32That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
- Josh 7:10–15But the LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen on your face?
- Rev 2:4But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love.
- Isa 17:10–11For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines—
- Matt 10:37–38Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
- 2 Sam 22:16The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
- Job 10:2I will say to God: Do not condemn me! Let me know why You prosecute me.
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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 1:9 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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