IN THE first day of the sixth month of the second year of Darius the king, the Self-existent [the Holy Spirit], the Commander of armies, sent this message by Haggai, the prophet, to Zerubabbel [Sheshbazzar] son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest:

“These people say, ‘It is not time to build the palace of the Self-existent’.”

Because of that, the Self-existent [the Holy Spirit] spoke to Haggai the prophet, saying,

This is what the Self-existent says, “Is it time for you to dwell in your roofed houses while this palace lies waste?

You had better rethink yourselves:

You have sown much and harvested little; you eat, but you are not satisfied; you drink, but your thirst is not quenched; you wear cloth, but you are not warm; and wage earners put their wages into a bag with holes.

Listen! Rethink yourselves:

Go up to the regions, bring wood and build the palace; I will take pleasure in it, and I will be honored.

You looked for much harvest, but little came; and when you brought it home, I [the Self-existent] blew it up. Why?” (This is the declaration of the Self-existent, the God of armies.) “Because of My palace that lies waste while every man is hurrying to build his own house.

For this, dew ceased from descending on you from the sky and the ground stopped yielding fruit:

I [the Self-existent] called for a drought over the land’s corn, new wine and oil - all that comes out of the ground - and over men, cattle and all the works of man’s hands.”

Then Zerubabbel [Sheshbazzar] son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remaining few people, obeyed the Self-existent, their God, and the preaching of Haggai the prophet, sent by the Self-existent [the Holy Spirit], their God, to them. They also trembled before the Self-existent [the Holy Spirit].

Following that, Haggai, the messenger of the Self-existent [the Holy Spirit], delivered the message of the Self-existent [the Holy Spirit] to the people, thus, “I [the  Self-existent, the Holy Spirit - the Oracle of the Self-existent], am with you.”

Then in the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king, the Self-existent [the Holy Spirit] moved Zerubabbel [Sheshbazzar] son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah and Joshua son of Josedech, the high priest, and all the remaining few people; they came and began the work of the palace of the Self-existent, the God of armies, their God.