Build God’s Special Building Now
An EasyEnglish Version with Notes (1200 word vocabulary) on the Book of Haggai
John Gribbon
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The *Jews were people that God chose to be his special people. But the *Jews forgot God and did not obey him. And so God sent them to live as slaves in a country called Babylon. After 60 years, they returned to their own country. Even then, they still forgot God. But he sent Haggai to speak to them. This book is about the message that God told Haggai to give them. And about what the people did when they heard God’s message.
v1 Darius was a king. He was the king of a country called Persia. He had been king for 1 year and 5 months. On the first day of the next month, the *Lord *Almighty spoke to Haggai. (Haggai was a *prophet of the *Lord.) v2 This is what the *Lord said. ‘Everyone says that this is not the right time to build a *temple for me.’ The *Lord told Haggai to speak to the ruler of Judah and to the *high *priest. The ruler was called was Zerubbabel. (His father was called Shealtiel.) The *high priest was called Joshua. (His father was called Jehozadak.) v3 So Haggai told Zerubbabel and Joshua what the *Lord *Almighty had said.
v4 This was the *Lord’s message. ‘You seem to think that it is right for you to live in expensive houses. But you still have not built my *temple. v5 And think about what has happened to you. v6 You plant seeds but not many plants grow. You never have enough to eat or drink. Your clothes do not keep you warm. And the money that you get for all your work is not enough. It is as if you are putting your money into your pockets. But your pockets have holes in them. v7 Think about what I have said!
v8 And now, get wood from the hills to build my *temple again. I want to look at my *temple with pleasure. I want people to *worship me there. v9 You thought that many plants would grow in your fields. But only a few plants grew and that disappointed you. And when you brought your plants home, I destroyed them. You may ask why have I done this. I did it because your first thought was to build your own houses. But your first thought should have been to build my *temple again. v10 This is why your fields are dry and your plants do not grow. v11 I have stopped the rains so that nothing will grow. Your plants will not grow. Your cows will not have enough grass to eat. Your *vines and your *olive trees will have only a little fruit. No young animals will be born. Nor will you have any children. For all your work, you will get nothing.’
Verse 1 tells us when Haggai spoke his message. Darius ruled as king over Persia and many other countries. Judah was one of these countries. This was where the *Jews lived. It was their own country, but they were very poor. The *Lord said that this was because they had forgotten him. They had chosen to build their own houses. They should have built his *temple. He said that they must now build his *temple.
v12 Some years before this, the people had returned to live in their own country. Zerubbabel and Joshua had returned with them. Now everyone heard the message that Haggai brought to them from the *Lord. They were afraid because of what they heard. And they all decided to obey the *Lord and to *worship him. v13 Haggai told them that the *Lord had promised to be with them. v14 So the *Lord *Almighty changed what the people thought. Soon all the people wanted to build the *temple for the *Lord. Zerubbabel and Joshua, too, wanted to build the *temple. v15 And so the work began on the 24th day of that same month.
The people heard what the *Lord had said to Haggai. And then they were afraid. But the *Lord put in their minds the thought that they should obey him. So they started to build his *temple again.
v1 On the 21st day of the next month, the *Lord spoke to Haggai. v2 The *Lord told Haggai to speak to Zerubbabel and to Joshua. He also told Haggai to speak to all the people. This was the message that the *Lord sent.
v3 ‘Some of the people will remember that my *temple was once very beautiful. Now it is not beautiful because men have destroyed it. v4 But do not be sad! I am the *Lord *Almighty. v5 A long time ago, my people came back to their own country from Egypt. I promised them then that I would be with them. And I kept that promise. I will be with you, too, and I will help you build my *temple again. So, do not be afraid. And do not think that the work will be too difficult for you. My Spirit is here with you.
v6 Soon people will see that I am a powerful God. Soon, I will cause the skies and the earth to move. I will cause the sea and the land to move. v7 I will cause people in many countries to be afraid. They will come to your country and they will bring with them valuable gifts. You should use the things that they bring to make my *temple beautiful. v8 All the *silver and gold in the world is mine. v9 I promise that this new *temple will be more beautiful than the old *temple. When people see my *temple, they will know that I am a great God. I will also make this city a place where there is *peace.’
Egypt is a country in Africa where the *Jews were slaves.
Now the *Jews were living in their own country. They worked for many hours each day. They had to do this to get enough food. They did not have much time to build the *temple. There were many things that they needed to build the *temple. They did not have enough money to buy these things. But the *Lord had always been with his people and he promised to help them. Then they would have the things that they needed to build his *temple.
v10 About two months later, the *Lord *Almighty spoke to Haggai again. v11 The *Lord told Haggai to ask the *priests a question. v12 This is what the *Lord told Haggai to say. ‘One of you might be carrying some meat in his clothes. It is meat that you want to give to God as a *sacrifice. Think what would happen if your clothes touched some food. It might be bread or *stew or *wine or oil. Or it might be some other food. Would God accept as a *sacrifice the food that your clothes had touched?’ The *priests replied, ‘No.’
v13 Haggai asked the *priests another question. ‘If you touch a dead person, you cannot *worship God. If you then touch these foods, would God still accept them as a *sacrifice?’ The *priests replied, ‘No, God would not accept the foods as a *sacrifice.’
v14 So this is the message that the *Lord told Haggai to give to the people.
‘That is how I felt about this whole country. I was angry about the things that you had done. I did not accept your *sacrifices. But from now on, your life will be better. You have now started to build the *temple again. v15 Try to remember what life was like before that. v16 When you wanted 20 pots of rice, you found that there were only 10 pots. When you wanted 50 jars of *wine, you found that there were only 20 jars. v17 I sent bad weather and I destroyed all your work. And the things that you picked from your fields were not good to eat. So you had to waste them. But you still did not return to me and say that I was your *Lord. v18 Today you have started to build my *temple. This is what your future will be like. v19 You have not yet picked any rice or *grapes. You have not yet picked any figs (sweet fruit that grows on trees) or pomegranates (bright red fruit like apples). You have not yet picked any *olives. But in future months you will have as much as you need of all these things.’
Haggai explained why their lives had been so difficult. They had not done what was right. They had not done the things that the *Lord had asked them to do. They had done what they themselves had decided. That is why their lives had been so difficult. But now they want to obey God. And they have started to build his *temple. And so God promises that they will have enough food. He promises that they will have happy lives.
v20 On the same day, the *Lord spoke to Haggai again. This is what he said. v21 ‘Speak to Zerubbabel, who is the ruler of Judah. Tell him that I am going to cause the skies and the earth to move. v22 Tell him that I am going to destroy foreign kings and their countries. I will destroy the chariots that they use when they fight wars. (Chariots are trucks that horses pull. Soldiers travel in them.) The soldiers who ride on horses will start to kill each other. v23 But I am the *Lord *Almighty and Zerubbabel is my servant. Tell him that I have chosen him. Tell him that I want him to rule this country for me.’
Haggai gave this special message from the *Lord to Zerubbabel. The *Lord still ruled over everything. But he had chosen Zerubbabel to be his servant. The *Lord wanted Zerubbabel to rule Judah for him.
almighty ~ more powerful than anyone else; a word that we use to describe God.
forgive ~ to show love and not to remember bad things.
grapes ~ fruit of a *vine; it can be used to make *wine.
high priest ~ the most important *priest in the *temple.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Lord ~ someone who rules; God is the Lord who rules everyone.
olives ~ fruits that you can use to make oil.
peace ~ when we and God are friends; or, when there is no war.
priest ~ a man that God chose to be his servant in the *temple.
prophet ~ a person who hears God’s words and tells them to other people.
sacrifice ~ a gift to God to ask him to *forgive the wrong things that we have done, or to thank him for something.
silver ~ a metal like gold.
stew ~ you make stew when you cook meat and vegetables together.
temple ~ people went to this special building to meet God and to *worship him.
vines ~ plants that climb; their fruits are called *grapes.
wine ~ a drink made from *grapes; it has alcohol in it.
worship ~ to show God that he is great and that we love him very much; to give thanks to God.
Joyce B. Baldwin ~ Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries
Pieter A. Verhoff ~ The New International Commentary on the Old Testament
The New Bible Commentary Revised ~ IVF
The Bible ~ Contemporary English Version, Good News Bible, New International Version, New Living Translation, The Moffat Translation
© 1997-2003, Wycliffe Associates (UK)
This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level A (1200 words).
October 2003
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