The Promised Blessing

10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of Darius’ second year, the Lord spoke again to the prophet Haggai: 11 “The Lord who rules over all says, ‘Ask the priests about the law. 12 If someone carries holy meat in a fold of his garment and that fold touches bread, a boiled dish, wine, olive oil, or any other food, will that item become holy?’ ” The priests answered, “It will not.” 13 Then Haggai asked, “If a person who is ritually unclean because of touching a dead body comes in contact with one of these items, will it become unclean?” The priests answered, “It will be unclean.”

14 Then Haggai responded, “‘The people of this nation are unclean in my sight,’ says the Lord. ‘And so is all their effort; everything they offer is also unclean. 15 Now therefore reflect carefully on the recent past, before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. 16 From that time when one came expecting a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures from it, there were only twenty. 17 I struck all the products of your labor with blight, disease, and hail, and yet you brought nothing to me,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘Think carefully about the past: from today, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, to the day work on the temple of the Lord was resumed, think about it. 19 The seed is still in the storehouse, isn’t it? And the vine, fig tree, pomegranate, and olive tree have not produced. Nevertheless, from today on I will bless you.’ ”