Haggai 1:8
What does Haggai 1:8 mean?
A plain-English look at Haggai 1:8 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Haggai 1:8 means
God gives straightforward instructions: gather timber from the mountain and rebuild the temple. Obedience is not mysterious; it is practical and immediate. The promise attached is stunning—He will take pleasure in it and be glorified. God is not hard to please; He delights when His people honor Him with faithful work. Rebuilding restores the visible center of worship and identity, where sacrifices, prayer, and teaching will again proclaim His name. The goal is God’s glory, not mere architecture. As they act, God will meet them with favor. This work anticipates the greater reality that God’s dwelling with His people is central to redemption, ultimately fulfilled in Christ and His people as God’s living temple.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith Jehovah.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith Jehovah.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Go up to the hills and get wood and put up the house; and I will take pleasure in it and be honoured, says the Lord.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Go up the mountain, and ye have brought in wood, And build the house, and I am pleased with it. And I am honoured, said Jehovah.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Go up to the mountain, bring timber, and build the house: and it shall be acceptable to me, and I shall be glorified, saith the Lord.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Go up to the mountain and bring wood, and build the house, and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith Jehovah.
Context
After two calls to consider, verse 8 breaks the paralysis with clear steps and a promise. It connects the people’s obedience to God’s pleasure and honor, countering the earlier excuses of verse 2. This prepares for the explanation in verses 9–11 of why their efforts have been frustrated and sets the stage for the people’s obedient response in verses 12–14. The focus on God’s glory becomes the motivational center for the rest of the chapter.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Exodus 29:43
And there I will meet with the children of Israel; and the Tent shall be sanctified by my glory.
- John 13:31
When therefore he was gone out, Jesus saith, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him;
- Ezra 6:4
with three courses of great stones, and a course of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king’s house.
- Haggai 2:7
and I will shake all nations; and the precious things of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith Jehovah of hosts.
- Haggai 1:2
Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, This people say, It is not the time for us to come, the time for Jehovah’s house to be built.
- Zechariah 11:1
Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
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