Haggai 1:4
What does Haggai 1:4 mean?
A plain-English look at Haggai 1:4 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Haggai 1:4 means
God asks a searching question: is it right for them to enjoy paneled, finished homes while His house lies desolate? The point is not that houses are wrong, but that luxurious attention to personal comfort has trumped devotion to God’s worship and presence among them. The contrast exposes priorities. They find time, skill, and resources for themselves but not for the Lord. The ruined temple signals a neglected relationship with God at the community’s center. The question invites conscience to answer. It urges them to see the inconsistency of calling the time unsuitable for God’s house while living at ease. The Lord’s house is a visible testimony of His honor; its neglect dishonors Him.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your ceiled houses, while this house lieth waste?
KJV
King James Version · 1611Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your ceiled houses, while this house lieth waste?
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Is it a time for you to be living in roofed houses while this house is a waste?
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Is it time for you--you! To dwell in your covered houses, And this house to lie waste?
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Is it time for you to dwell in ceiled houses, and this house lie desolate?
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Is it time for you that ye should dwell in your wainscoted houses, while this house lieth waste?
Context
This verse brings the issue into sharp relief after the general excuse in verse 2 and the renewed divine word in verse 3. It prepares the way for the summons to self-examination in verses 5 and 7. The imagery of paneled houses and a wasted temple explains the coming diagnosis of frustrated labor (verse 6) and the directive to rebuild (verse 8). The question thus acts as a mirror, showing the heart, before God presents the consequences and the path to restoration.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Jeremiah 33:12
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Yet again shall there be in this place, which is waste, without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.
- Psalms 132:3
Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, Nor go up into my bed;
- Psalms 102:14
For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, And have pity upon her dust.
- Jeremiah 26:6
then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
- Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
- Jeremiah 33:10
Thus saith Jehovah: Yet again there shall be heard in this place, whereof ye say, It is waste, without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast,
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