On the first day of the sixth month of King Darius' second year, the Lord spoke this message through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak:

So the Lord spoke through the prophet Haggai as follows:

Ye have sown much, and brought in little, To eat, and not to satiety, To drink, and not to drunkenness, To clothe, and none hath heat, And he who is hiring himself out, Is hiring himself for a bag pierced through.

In the seventh [month] on the twenty-first day, the word of Yahweh {came through} Haggai the prophet, saying,

Then Haggai said, Will any of these be made unclean by the touch of one who is unclean through touching a dead body? And the priests answering said, It will be made unclean.

from that time when one came to a grain heap expecting twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures, there would be only twenty.

and overthrow the seat of the kingdoms, yea and destroy the mighty kingdom of the Heathen. I will overthrow the chariots, and those that sit upon then, so that both horse and man shall fall down, every man through his neighbour's sword.

On that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you [through the Messiah, your descendant] like a signet ring, for I have chosen you [as the one with whom to renew My covenant to David’s line],’” declares the Lord of hosts.