Haggai 1 9

Haggai 1:9 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.

Haggai 1:9 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.

Haggai 1:9 niv

"You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.

Haggai 1:9 esv

You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.

Haggai 1:9 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.

Haggai 1 verses

Haggai 1 9 Meaning

Haggai 1:9 directly addresses the disheartened post-exilic Jewish community, revealing the divine reason behind their pervasive economic hardships and unproductive efforts. The verse states that despite their striving for material gain, their harvests and labor yielded very little. What they managed to acquire, the Lord Himself "blew away," implying a direct and supernatural frustration of their efforts. This rhetorical question "Why?" is immediately answered by God: these afflictions are a direct consequence of their prioritizing their own comfortable, "paneled" homes while His house, the Temple, lay in desolate ruins, awaiting rebuilding. It highlights God's demand for covenant loyalty, specifically regarding the central place of His worship, over personal pursuits.

Haggai 1 9 Context

Haggai chapter 1 opens with God's direct message through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua, the high priest, along with the remnant of Israel. This occurs in the second year of King Darius's reign (around 520 BC). Sixteen years prior, the foundations of the Temple in Jerusalem had been laid (Ezra 3), but the rebuilding efforts had stalled due to external opposition (Ezra 4) and internal apathy. The people had succumbed to self-interest, focusing on building and adorning their own homes while the Temple, the central place of their national worship and God's presence, lay unfinished and in ruins. Verses 6-8 explicitly detail the economic and agricultural distress—scant harvests, insufficient food and drink, worn clothing that offered no warmth, and wages that vanished—all designed by God to draw their attention to their spiritual neglect. Haggai 1:9 specifically articulates God's active role in frustrating their efforts, serving as a pivotal statement that links their economic woes directly to their misplaced priorities concerning His house.

Haggai 1 9 Word analysis

• Word by word analysis:

  • You looked for much: The Hebrew for "looked for" (פָּנָה, pānâh) means "to turn towards," implying intent, desire, and active pursuit. The people earnestly sought prosperity and abundant produce. "Much" (רָב, rāḇ) indicates significant expected yield or profit.
  • and behold, it came to little: "Little" (מְעַט, mᵉʿaṭ) starkly contrasts with "much." The outcome of their strenuous labor was paltry, failing to meet basic needs, let alone their high expectations. This divine disappointment underscored the futility of their human efforts without God's blessing.
  • And when you brought it home: This refers to the act of harvesting what little yield they had and storing it in their houses for consumption or sale, signifying their attempt to secure and benefit from their hard work.
  • I blew it away: The Hebrew verb for "blew" (נָפַח, nāphaḥ) carries the connotation of an active, swift, and complete dispersal, like wind scattering chaff or breath dissipating a flame. This signifies direct divine intervention, a curse causing the rapid depletion or disappearance of their meager gains. It indicates a powerful, unseen force at work, stripping them of security and showing God's judgment. This term can also relate to "spirit" (ruach), suggesting a divine "breath" or "wind" causing the economic losses.
  • Why? declares the Lord of hosts: The rhetorical "Why?" (מַדּוּעַ, maddûaʿ) is not a request for information but a forceful challenge, driving them to acknowledge the obvious reason. "Lord of hosts" (יהוה צְבָאוֹת, YHWH Tsebaʾot) emphasizes God's supreme authority, sovereignty, and power over all heavenly and earthly forces, including natural elements and human endeavors. It is a title often associated with His judgmental and military might, signifying His absolute control.
  • Because of my house that lies in ruins: "My house" (בֵּיתִי, bêtî) specifically refers to the Temple in Jerusalem. "In ruins" (חָרֵב, ḥārēḇ) indicates it was desolate, neglected, and incomplete, a visible testament to their spiritual apathy and disobedience. This is the explicit divine answer and core reason for their troubles.
  • while each of you runs to his own house: The verb "runs" (רוּץ, rûṣ) portrays eagerness, diligence, and haste. It highlights their energetic pursuit of personal comfort, self-interest, and private prosperity, sharply contrasting with their sluggishness in rebuilding God's house. "His own house" underscores their self-centered priorities and misplaced devotion.

• Words-group by words-group analysis:

  • "You looked for much, and behold, it came to little.": This phrase illustrates a direct correlation between expectation and reality, highlighting the frustrating disproportion of effort to outcome. It captures the essence of futility—their great desire and labor met with meager results, a direct consequence of divine withholding. This contrasts human aspiration with divine intervention.
  • "And when you brought it home, I blew it away.": This sequence details the divine "take-back." Not only were their fields unproductive, but even the small gains they managed to gather and secure were directly and supernaturally nullified by God. The imagery of God "blowing it away" conveys effort dissolved into thin air, leaving nothing behind and emphasizing God's complete control over their livelihoods.
  • "Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you runs to his own house.": This is the heart of the message, establishing the clear, judgmental causal link. It highlights the profound hypocrisy and misplaced priorities of the people. Their zealous pursuit of personal comfort ("runs to his own house," which in Hag 1:4 are called "paneled houses," indicating luxury) directly clashes with their neglect and abandonment of God's dwelling place. The desolation of "My house" stands in stark condemnation of their self-focused diligence.

Haggai 1 9 Bonus section

• The phrase "I blew it away" strongly implies an unseen, supernatural agent at work against their efforts, rather than simply natural occurrences. This points to God's active, personal involvement in their prosperity (or lack thereof), signifying a direct and deliberate divine curse on their economic endeavors due to their disobedience.
• The rhetorical "Why?" invites deep introspection, demanding the people confront their own motivations and actions. It implies that the answer should be obvious to them if they truly considered their ways (Hag 1:5, 7).
• The people's priorities indicated a violation of the first commandment: a love for themselves and their comfort had implicitly superseded their love for God and His glory. This neglect of God's house symbolized their deeper spiritual apathy and a broken covenant relationship.
• This verse highlights a consistent biblical principle: When people neglect their covenant responsibilities to God, especially concerning worship and honoring Him, God often withholds His blessings, sometimes even actively frustrating their efforts in what they do prioritize.

Haggai 1 9 Commentary

Haggai 1:9 encapsulates God's precise explanation for the widespread economic distress experienced by the returning exiles. Their diligently sown fields yielded poor harvests, their wages quickly evaporated, and their material efforts produced unsatisfying results. The problem, as God declares through Haggai, was not external circumstance or agricultural failure alone, but divine judgment. God states unequivocally, "I blew it away," indicating His active intervention in their affairs. This was not a passive curse but an intentional withdrawal of blessing, manifesting as futility in all their labors. The reason was their gross misplacement of priorities: they were eager and diligent in decorating and dwelling in their own houses, yet they showed scandalous neglect toward the Temple of the Lord, which remained a ruin since its foundation was laid. The contrast between "my house" (the Temple) and "his own house" (their comfortable dwellings) serves as a potent rebuke. God revealed that true prosperity, both material and spiritual, flows from honoring Him and His covenant priorities, starting with the physical manifestation of His dwelling among them. The lack of their obedience in rebuilding His house directly translated to a lack of blessing in their own houses.