Haggai Begins Temple Building

1 In the ^(A)second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet ^(B)Haggai to ^(C)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^(D)governor of Judah, and to ^(E)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,

⁴ But now ^[a](A)take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for ^(B)I am with you,’ declares the Lord of hosts.

Joshua, the High Priest

3 Then he showed me ^(A)Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and ^[a](B)Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. ² The Lord said to Satan, “^(C)The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has ^(D)chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a ^(E)brand plucked from the fire?” ³ Now Joshua was clothed with ^(F)filthy garments and standing before the angel. ⁴ He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “^(G)Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have ^(H)taken your iniquity away from you and ^[b]will ^(I)clothe you with festal robes.” ⁵ Then I said, “Let them put a clean ^(J)turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the Lord was standing by.

⁶ And the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, ⁷ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If you will ^(K)walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also ^(L)govern My house and also have charge of My ^(M)courts, and I will grant you ^[c]free access among these who are standing here.

The Branch

⁸ Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a ^(N)symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the ^[d](O)Branch. ⁹ For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are ^(P)seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will ^(Q)remove the iniquity of that land in one day. ¹⁰ ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his ^(R)vine and under his fig tree.’”

The Symbolic Crowns

¹¹ Take silver and gold, make an ornate ^(A)crown and set it on the head of ^(B)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.