S. Eusebius Hieronymus, the Priest of Stridon, one book of Commentaries on the Prophet Haggai to Paula and Eustochium

Latin Text from public domain Migne Editors, Patrologiae Cursus Completus.

Translated into English using ChatGPT.

Table of Contents Prologue 1:1 1:2 1:3 1:4 1:5-6 1:17-18 1:9 1:10 1:11 1:13 1:13 1:14 2:1-10 2:11-16 2:17-18 2:19-20 2:21-23

Prologue

In the second year of Darius, the son of Hystaspes, king of the Persians, the seventieth year of the desolation of the temple was completed (which Jeremiah prophesied in chapter 25). The prophet Zechariah also bears witness, who, when he had placed the title of his Vision in the second year of the same king, on the eleventh month of the Sabbath, on the twenty-fourth day, added, saying: O Lord of hosts, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which you are angry? This is the seventieth year (Zechariah 1:7,12). But even Ezra, after the altar had been built and the foundation of the temple had been laid, refers to the prohibited work in the letter of King Artaxerxes: Then the work of the house of God in Jerusalem was interrupted, and it was not carried out until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia (Ezra 4:24). And immediately he added: The prophets Haggai and Zechariah, son of Addo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judea and Jerusalem, in the name of the Lord God of Israel. Then Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and Joshua, son of Jozadak, arose and began to build the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were helping them (Ezra 5:1,2). At the time when Tarquinius Superbus was ruling as the seventh king of Rome after Romulus, in the twenty-seventh year of his reign, he was expelled by Brutus. And then for four hundred and sixty-four years, consuls governed the republic until Julius Caesar. We have mentioned this, O Paula and Eustochium, so that you may immediately recognize the time during which the prophet Haggai spoke, even from the very title itself. It should be noted in the meantime, that both the great spirit and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah were present in literal terms: they were commanding the building of the temple in opposition to the edict of King Artaxerxes, which was hindering the construction of the temple by the Samaritans and all the surrounding nations. They were urging Zerubbabel and Joshua, the son of Josedech, and the people who were with them, to listen more to the prophets' command to build, rather than the prohibition of the king's command.

(Chap. I. Vers. 1.)

(Chapter 1, Verse 1) In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai to the people. For the people, who seemed to have returned from captivity, had not yet built the temple or fortified the walls of the city, nor did they have the glory of the former Jerusalem. Instead, they dwelled in hollow houses, or, as it is more significantly said in Greek, 'κοιλοστάθμοις', meaning, houses built downwards and sunk in a valley. Therefore, the word of God did not come to them under the reign of Hezekiah, or Amon, or Josiah, who ruled over the people of God as long as Jerusalem stood, but under King Darius, the prince of Persia, as Daniel mystically relates in his book. But Darius in our language means 'generations made' or 'that have been made,' which in Greek is called γενεαὶ γενόμεναι. And the people who lived below and worshipped the flesh and kept the first sentence of the uneducated man who had been expelled from paradise did not deserve to have another king except the one who served the generations and loved the flesh. And because Darius was a lover of coitus and a companion of the dragon, whose entire power is in his loins, in the second year a vision is seen by the people in an impure number, and after the union of virginity and the nudity of paradise, pellicle tunics are meant. Finally, in Genesis, when it is said on the first day, and on the third, and on the fourth, and on the fifth, and on the sixth, after the completion of each work: And God saw that it was good: on the second day, according to the Hebrew, and the Aquila, and the Symmachus, and the Theodotion, it is not included. For the second day, which represents the number that divides from the unity, could not be, in God's opinion, confirmed as good. The sixth month is also attributed, which does not have the solemnities of God, like the seventh month; but it is close to the six days, in which the world was made (Ibid.). In which one labors, and in the sweat of the face bread is eaten: and the earth brings forth thorns and thistles for us, and when it receives the seed of wheat, it is more fruitful with weeds and oats. But because the altar had already been built, and the enemies who were opposing had wanted to build a temple against it, but had not built it: on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came in the hand of the prophet Haggai, that the people, having abandoned it for the second year of King Darius, who divides from unity; and returning to unity, leaving behind the sixth month that had passed and which is assigned to labor, they should follow only unity and an odd number: which also a pagan poet knows to be the world, saying (Virgil, Eclogue VIII):

God delights in odd numbers. But the word of the Lord comes, seeking whom it may visit and instruct, into the hand of the prophet Haggai, who had good works and in whose deeds the word of God could find rest. However, where hands are full of blood and Jesus is killed, and the people dare to say: His blood be upon us, and upon our children (Matt. XXVII), there the word of God does not happen. Even today, having impure hands, the fleshly Israel stretches out its hands to the Lord; but because they are full of blood, the Lord speaks to them through the prophet: If you stretch out your hands, I will turn my eyes away from you: for your hands are full of blood (Isai. I, XV). The word of the Lord does not fit in their hands, because they are unclean; the word of God does not come to them, because they kill the word of God within themselves. And it should not be thought that the word of the Lord was made only in the hands of the prophet Haggai, but because Haggai is interpreted as 'festive', anyone who can celebrate the feasts can receive the word of God, not in the leaven of old malice and wickedness, but in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Cor. 5:8). Let us also have clean hands, and let us be called ἑορτάζοντες, that is, celebrating feasts, and the word of God will come to us. Let us propose our eyes, because it is a spiritual law, spiritual solemnities, of which it is written: You shall celebrate feasts with me three times a year. You shall keep the solemnity of unleavened bread: for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you at the time of the new moon: for it is on that day that you came out of Egypt. You shall not appear before me empty-handed; and the feast of the firstfruits of your labors, whatever you sow in the field: and the feast of the ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your labors from the field (Exod. 23: 14, etc., and Deut. 16). If we want to become the Word of God within us, let us be like Haggai, that is, let us celebrate the feasts and not appear before God empty-handed (2 Cor. 9): sowing in the Spirit, let us reap eternal life from the Spirit; so that we may celebrate the feast of the ingathering at the end of the year, that is, the gathering of our labors from the field, and the feast of the firstfruits of our labors, whatever we sow in the field that the Lord has blessed. Let us also, like the Aggaeans, celebrate feasts in our works throughout our entire life until the end of the year, that is, until the departure from this age, which have arisen for us in our field. There are many things, not of this time, that can be said about the celebration, by which a diligent reader of Scripture can attain spiritual understanding.

To Zerubbabel, son of Salathiel, prince of Judah, and to Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest, saying: We read in the Book of Chronicles that Jeconiah, who was taken into Babylon, was the father of Salathiel, from whom Zerubbabel descended (1 Chronicles 3:17). And indeed, when Matthew recounts the genealogy of the Savior, he says: After the Babylonian exile, Jeconiah became the father of Salathiel, Salathiel became the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel became the father of Abiud (Matthew 1:12-13). Here Zerubbabel of the tribe of Judah, that is, descended from the line of David, is a type of the Savior: who truly rebuilt the temple that had been destroyed, that is, the Church; and brought the people out of captivity. And he built the Church, both from the stones of the old temple and from the new ones, which had previously been unpolished; that is, he built it from the remnants of the Jewish people and from the multitude of the Gentiles, and he erected a tabernacle for God the Father. However, it is interpreted according to the various accents of Hebrew speech, or the adjacent flow, exposed or arising in Babylon, or the prince of Babylon. The first interpretation of that flow is contrary, which is signified by the word Jezebel, that is, a vain flow, or the flow of menstruation, which certainly clearly signifies impurity. But Zebulun also signifies the flow of night. Therefore, leaving behind the vain and filthy and dark flow of this world, let us follow the flow of Jesus, who is presented to us to drink, and offers himself from the abundant fountain, according to what is said in the Gospel: Jesus stood in the temple and cried out, saying: If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink (John 7:37). And to this very place, then we will be able to drink, when we have asked of God the Father, according to what we read: Ask, and it shall be given you (Matthew 7:6). For Salathiel, indeed, translates to "petition of God." And no one comes to Jesus, unless the Father brings him (John 6:45). Therefore, a stream will be born for us, brought forth by the prayer of God, and it will be from the tribe of Judah, namely royal, and confessing or praising God, because Judas signifies both. Furthermore, the birth in Babylon, according to history, is truly said to be about Zerubbabel, because he was born there. But according to a deeper understanding, it also signifies our Lord Jesus: because he too was born in the confusion of this world, and was near the great river Chebar, and saw that great vision which Ezekiel (Chapter I) sees at the beginning of his scroll. And when I said that Zerubbabel is interpreted as the prince of Babylon, not that he is truly interpreted as a prince, I said this: for among the Hebrews, his name is said to be composed of two parts: 'zo' meaning 'this'; 'rob' meaning 'master' or 'chief'; and 'babel' properly signifies Babylon; therefore the name Zerubbabel is made, meaning 'this master from Babylon'. But for the sake of brevity of understanding on the above mentioned details, I wanted to interpret about Babylon, whether literally or metaphorically. Just as Joshua son of Nun, who himself was a type of the Savior, led the people from the wilderness into the promised land, so too this person is said to have been born in Babylon in order to lead those who were in Babylon back to the promised land from which they had been taken captive, and to say to those who were in chains: Go out. And those who sat in darkness: Be enlightened (Isaiah 49). But the word of the Lord, which was made in the hand of Haggai, is not only directed to Zerubbabel, the son of Salathiel, of whom we have already spoken; but also to Jesus, the son of Josedec, the high priest. As for the history, Zerubbabel is from the royal tribe, and Jesus is from the priestly tribe. But as for the spiritual understanding, our Lord and Savior is one and the same, a king and a high priest, whose type, according to what he was as a king, was carried by Zerubbabel: and according to what he was as a high priest, it was carried by his namesake Jesus, whose interpretation is Jao salvation, that is, the salvation of the Lord, and he is the son of Josedec, which itself is translated as Jao righteous, that is, the righteousness of the Lord. For the Father is a just and holy God, and so is the Son, and there is no injustice in them. Against Marcion and other heretics who assert that the Lord Savior is the son of some other good and unknown God, not of the Creator, whom they call just. And indeed Jesus is truly the great high priest, to whom all the overseers of God are compared and are small and insignificant. For if he is called the great high priest, it is certainly to distinguish him from those who are lesser. But all who are younger than him and come after him are inferior, just as the firstborn is of all creation, and the firstborn from the dead: so that he may be the chief and the great among all the priests.

1:2

(Ver. 2.) Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: This people says, 'The time has not yet come, the time for the house of the Lord to be built.' Pay careful attention to the fact that it is not Zerubbabel or Joshua who says, 'The time has not yet come, the time for the house of the Lord to be built,' but the people who are still under the rule of King Darius and have not yet thrown off the yoke of servitude. And those who are still in captivity and have come out of Jerusalem delay and hesitate to build the temple of God, saying, 'The time has not yet come, the time for the house of the Lord to be built.' And when you see someone who has been handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that their spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord, make the effort to think and plan in order to build up the temple through purity, which was previously destroyed through lust. And yet, day after day, you say to yourself: Truly, you are a captive of the people, and you say: The time has not yet come for the house of the Lord to be built. But to those who have once decided to rebuild the temple of God, every moment is suitable for building; neither the devil as king, nor the enemies all around, nor the pretended affection of parents, in-laws, or children can hinder. As soon as you turn and call on the name of the Lord, he will say: Here I am.

1:3

(Verse 3) And the word of the Lord came by the hand of the prophet Haggai, saying: Is it time for you to dwell in paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Or as the Septuagint interprets, 'in vaulted buildings,' that is, concave structures. On the same day as before, this vision appears again. As the prophets engage in their work, the gifts of prophecy also increase, and after a brief silence, in response to what the people had said - that it is not yet time to rebuild the house of the Lord - the Lord's answer, as if thought out, is presented to them, and it is said to them: So is it not time for you to dwell in houses while you are down below and situated in the valley, and for my house, which is on the mountain, to remain in ruins? Or, as it is stated in Hebrew: that you may dwell in houses, adorned and arranged not so much for practical use as for pleasure, and my dwelling place where the holy of holies, the cherubim, and the table of showbread were kept, will be soaked by rain, become desolate, and scorched by the sun? Moreover, according to the anagoge: Every time that the habitation of the valley is chosen, or we serve pleasures, is troublesome. Hence, even the Stoics, who are concerned with defining individual words, said that time is the measure of correction or efficacy: which is expressed more significantly in Greek as χρόνον εἶναι κατορθώσεως. For every moment in which we serve not by virtues, but by vices, is lost, and is considered as though it never happened. Therefore, if anyone among us dwells in a valley, or builds their own house in worldly pleasure and luxury, they do not build a temple for God, nor does the Lord have a place to rest his head. And when they build a house with foxes, the dwelling place of God becomes deserted.

1:4

(Verse 4.) And now thus says the Lord of hosts: Set your hearts upon your ways. Let there not be a time for speaking one thing and doing another: turn my commandments immediately into action. For the Lord is all-powerful who commands, and truly the authority of the all-powerful God is not light. Until now, your hearts have been enslaved to vices, without order, without a teacher, pursuing your desires wherever they led. But now the Lord commands you to prioritize charity within yourselves and to set your hearts upon your ways, so that you do nothing without judgment and consideration. Let the lamp of the law always go before your feet, and say: Lamp to my feet is Your law and light to my paths (Ps. 118:105). Indeed, it is thus: Because you say, it is not the time to build the house of the Lord, and you yourselves dwell in houses that are sinking into the depths, while my house is deserted: consider, at the command of the Lord, and bring to mind what you have done, and what you have suffered.

1:5-6

(Verse 5, 6) You have sown much and brought in little: you eat but are not satisfied: you drink but are not filled with drink: you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm: and he that earned wages, earned them to put into a bag with holes. All the labor that you have built up your houses and neglected the house of God, has not had a consequence. For you have sown much and gathered little: you cannot say it is a result of famine, because the farmer has ceased to work the land. You also ate (lest perhaps someone would say that fasting was voluntary for you), and you were not satisfied, because you had gathered small fruits into barns. You drank wine from vineyards, but not only to make your heart rejoice, and it could be said of you: And wine cheers the heart of man (Ps. 104, 15). You had a cloak, but it did not repel the cold, nor preserve warmth. Whoever among you has gathered wages, either through trade or hired labor, has wasted labor in vain without reward. For just as if someone were to pour money into a bag with holes, it would flow out. Likewise, those who have returned from Babylon and have not yet built the house of God, but who are engaged in its construction every day, say: The time has not yet come to build the Lord's house; neither are they captives nor have they been fully granted freedom; but rather, as if they were placed in a narrow space, they have sown much and brought in little; they have eaten, but have not been satisfied; they have drunk, but have not been intoxicated; they have covered themselves, but have not been warmed; they have earned wages, only to put them into a bag with holes and lose them. If ever you see someone doing some righteous deeds amidst many sinful works, God is not so unjust as to forget the few good deeds because of the many evils; but He will only reap what he has sown on good soil, and gather it into His barns. But the one who is a complete apostate will not eat at all, but will perish from hunger. Moreover, the one who sows much and reaps little, eats little and not to satisfaction, as the Lord threatens in the curses of Leviticus: 'You shall eat, but not be satisfied' (Lev. 26:26). But whoever is holy, will eat until satisfied, and will be filled with what is written: The righteous eats to satisfy their soul (Prov. 13:25). Similarly, whoever does not drink completely will perish from thirst, as stated in Judith (if anyone wants to receive the book of the woman): And the little ones perished from thirst (Judith 8). But whoever drinks too little, does indeed drink, but not to the point of intoxication. Furthermore, who can say to the Lord: How glorious is your intoxicating cup (Psalm 22:6)! And Noah got drunk (Gen. IX): and although he was placed in Egypt, yet he gets intoxicated with wine at the banquet with Joseph and his brothers (Ibid., XLIII): he, because of the greatness of his joy and daily happiness with the apostles, will be called full of new wine (Act. II). However, how this exposition is not contrary to that in which the sons of Jonadab, the sons of Rechab, do not drink wine, and are praised by the Lord, in Jeremiah (Chapter XXXV), could be more competently discussed. After this, it is said to those who neglected to build the temple of the Lord: You have labored, and have not been warmed. This is understood from the one hundred and third psalm, in which it is said about God: The deep as a garment is his robe. Although according to the Hebrew truth it refers to the lands that are surrounded by the ocean, nevertheless, according to the translators of the Septuagint who said: 'τὸ περιβόλαιον αὐτοῦ', in the masculine gender, and not 'αὐτῆς', in the feminine gender, we are compelled to understand that it refers to God, because his wisdom is unfathomable, and the Lord makes darkness his hiding place (Psalms 17), and his sacraments are not revealed to the unworthy. And so the righteous rejoices, and says: In my heart I have hidden your words, so that I may not sin against you (Psalm 128:11). This cloak, woven from the diverse meanings and words of wisdom, does not allow the fervent spirit to cool, nor the heat of love to grow cold when the North wind blows. However, the one in the middle, who indeed has the cloak, but does not fully cover himself with it: just as he brings in little into the barn, and eats and drinks, but not to satisfaction or excess, so he covers himself with the cloak of his senses and works, but does not warm up. But he who, because of extreme poverty of the soul, does not have a cloak: does not have it, because, with multiplied iniquity, charity has grown cold in him (Matthew 24). Hence, concerning such a person, who possesses a cloak from another, it is commanded in the law: You shall give him a garment before the setting of the sun, for he is poor and has hope in him (Deuteronomy 24:15). But this also happens to those who dwelt in the valleys or in covered houses, and they said: The time has not yet come to build the house of the Lord, that they may gather wages into a perforated bag (Isaiah 40:10 and 62:11). If anyone does good works from us, and worthy of reward (which the Lord is about to give back to us, about whom it is said: Behold the Lord, and his reward is in his hands, to render to each person according to his works (Matt. XVI, 27). And another of the Apostles: If anyone's work remains, which he has built upon, he will receive a reward (I Cor. III, 13), here he gathers the rewards to be preserved and endured, always joining virtues with virtues, he heaps up money in an unbroken bag. But those who sin after good works, not once or twice, but frequently, obscure and defile their past charity with subsequent vices, and they gather money into the bottomless purse. All of these things happened to those who said, 'The time has not yet come to build the house of the Lord,' and while they resided in the valleys, they allowed the house of the Lord to remain deserted.

1:17-18

(Verse 17, 18.) Thus says the Lord of hosts: Set your hearts upon your ways, go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build the house: and it shall be acceptable to me, and I will be glorified, says the Lord. LXX: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Set your hearts upon your ways, go up to the mountain, and cut wood (the rest is the same). Again, I command you, as I had done before, to set your hearts upon your ways, and consider all that you do, and leaving behind the desire for your humble dwellings, go up to the mountain where there are no wood to burn, but wood that will be useful for the work of my house. And know that I will be pleased with what you do, if you do this attentively. The Hebrews say that only the necessary wood for roofing was left standing after the walls of the temple were burned down. This is what they say. But for us, it is commanded that we do not place our hearts outside of our paths; but the things we had placed before, we are to place again on our paths, and after we have done this, we are to ascend from the hollow houses onto the mountain, so that when we reach the height of the mountain, where the necessary wood for building the temple of God is, we may cut it from the whole mountain of the holy Scripture, where various woods of virtues and paradise are planted, and we may build the temple of the Lord with good works and teachings of truth: and when it is built, may it please the Lord, and may he be glorified in it. Therefore, because these commands have been given to us to set our hearts on our ways, let us climb the reasonable mountain and, concerning each problem, seek suitable evidence from the testimonies of the Scriptures, cut it off, and build the house of wisdom within us; for after this has been constructed, the end of its building will be that the Lord may be glorified in us.

1:9

(Verse 9.) You looked for more, and behold, there was less: and you brought it into the house, and I blew it away: You looked for many things, and they became few: and you brought them into the house, and I blew them away. Cast aside delay, and set aside all ambiguity, that you may more diligently build my house, as well as whatever has happened to you who have delayed building my house, not as before: You sowed much, but because the earth did not yield a harvest, you brought little; but when the crops began to ripen and the time of harvest drew near, and you thought you would have the grain in your hands, you harvested empty stalks and gathered empty husks without the fruits of the spikes. The fields were full: hope in the eyes, sorrow in the hands. But even this very thing that had been selected from a plentiful harvest and countless heaps, you brought into the house, and by my power, it was scattered. For I blew it away, and reduced it to nothingness; because the dead grain and empty husks, which are useful for eating, did not have flour and fine meal. However, this can be said: you brought it into the house, and I blew it away, and I will receive the gifts that they offered on the altar, and God will blow them away. But because he said, 'You have brought it into the house,' if we understand those things which have been brought as gifts, we say that they have been offered in the temple. And it does not agree with us, because at that time the house of God had not yet been built: which indeed happens even today to many who live in humble buildings, and as far as they are concerned, they despise the deserted house of God and when they are able to build, they disregard it: and as if already seeing mature crops, they promise themselves the fruit of their works, and deceived by hope, they find hardly anything great in return. But even these small things, which they had stored in the house and in the granary, are blown away by the Word of God, as if unworthy of His custody and protection. How often have I seen so much hope in their teaching as well as in their conduct: and after it came time to reap, that is, the time to teach and to provide an example for the people, they were found wanting, and fell from their lofty positions, and were found to be less than what everyone expected. It happened that gradually, due to sudden negligence, they lost even the little they seemed to have. However, they endured this because they felt secure in their former homes, and did not ascend the mountain of Scriptures, cutting down the wood of the Lord's building, nor did they build a daily house for the Lord within themselves; but despising its desolation, they also lost what they believed they had. The aforementioned evils are explained by this cause.

1:10

(Verse 10) Therefore, says the Lord of hosts, because my house is deserted, and each of you hastens to his own house, for this reason the heavens are withheld from you so that they do not give rain, and the earth withholds its produce. Not only, he says, did the heavens not give rain, by which the watered soil produces crops; but not even the morning and evening dew, so that the dry fields, at least, are tempered with a little moisture. Moreover, it also devours the land, not returning the seed to the farmers, and it holds in its greedy lap what it usually produces spontaneously. I believe this to be the dew, of which it is said in the blessing to Jacob: May God give you the dew of heaven (Gen. 27:28), and the dew of Hermon that descends upon Mount Zion (Psalm 133), and it descends not from the air in which the number of varied eagles, hawks, and vultures fly and soar, but from heaven, so that if someone's soul is burning with disturbances, and wounded by the devil's spear, it may be cooled by this dew and moderate its heat. With the ground held back, the earth does not yield its fruit. For without the dew of Christ, no soul can bring forth wheat.

1:11

(Verse 11.) And I called upon drought upon the earth, and upon the mountains, and upon the wheat, and upon the wine, and upon the oil, and upon whatever the earth brings forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon every labor of the hands. For drought, the Seventy translated as 'gladius', that is, sword: but I also found it written in Hebrew with three letters (), Heth, Res, Beth, which if we read as Hareb, it means sword; if Oreb, it means burning, which we have translated as drought, although it could be better translated as scorching wind. And truly, since the discourse is about the land, and about the sterility of the fields, it seems to me that the scorching wind should be understood in the present place, rather than a sword: although every plague that is inflicted on men because of their sins can also be understood as a sword. But drought, or a sword, has been called upon the land and the mountains, so that they do not produce wheat, and wine, and oil, and whatever the earth produces spontaneously. Moreover, preceding famine, death comes upon men, and upon beasts as a consequence. And the same sword or burning wind consumes everything that the hands of men have labored. It is called and introduced living speech of God, and effective, and sharp above every two-edged sword (Heb. IV), so that the neglectful soul (which is interpreted as a dry land, and desires to dwell more in hollows than to build the house of God) may be struck by its blade, and whatever fruits it thinks it has, may be scattered. The sword is also brought against the mountains that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, and against the wheat, and wine, and oil, with which they deceive the people who have been deceived by the assemblies of heretics, as if with food and drink and refreshment: One may rightly say that their bread is the bread of sorrow, and their wine is the fury of dragons, and the fury of unhealable asps. Also, the oil, the promise of heavenly things, with which they anoint their disciples, and promise rewards for their labors, which the prophet detests, saying: But the oil of the sinner shall not anoint my head (Psal. CXL). But the sword of God strikes also other things which they find and fabricate without authority and testimonies of the Scriptures, by their own tradition of the apostles; but we shall understand men and beasts, or reasonings and perceptions, that is, their thoughts and senses. Certainly there are rational and irrational ones among them, that is, learned and unlearned alike, and all kinds of manual labor, and their fasts, and various observances, and sham rest, that is, sleeping on the ground. Those who fast three times a year for forty days, and afflict their souls with dry food, and especially those who grow from the root of Tatian, hear of such labors: You have suffered so much without cause. But all these things that I have said can be understood about the rulers of the Church, who, while building their earthly house and providing for their children and possessions, do not care to build the temple of God within themselves or the Church of the Lord, which is uncovered and in ruins: their often inconsistent life and speech scandalize many, and they are expelled from the Church and led to the solitude of the house of God. And by saying this, we do not accuse all people in general, but rather that in every duty and position there are some who build up and others who tear down the temple of God. And because of their vice, neither the dew of the heavens nor the fruit of the earth may be dried up, the soil may be parched, the mountains may be barren, wheat and oil and all that the earth produces may perish, and even the people themselves and the animals, and all the work of hands, may be destroyed by the sword or by drought or by burning wind.

1:13

(Verse 13) And Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel heard, and Joshua son of Jehozadak the high priest, and all the remnant of the people, the voice of their God (the Vulgate adds 'the Lord') and the words of the prophet Haggai, as the Lord their God had sent him to them. And the people feared before the Lord's presence. Pay close attention, because of the two understandings of the Savior in Zerubbabel as leader and Joshua as priest (for he is both king and priest), that it did not say Zerubbabel and Joshua feared, but when Zerubbabel and Joshua and the people heard the words of the prophet Haggai, which are the words of the Lord, only the people feared before the Lord's presence, that is, only the multitude, which had not yet come together into one complete man, nor deserved to be united to the Spirit what the Spirit is. But the people were afraid of the face of the Lord, knowing that the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth (Psalm 34).

1:13

(Verse 13.) And the messenger of the Lord, Haggai, said to the people: I am with you, says the Lord. Some believe that both John the Baptist and Malachi, who is interpreted as the Angel of the Lord, and Haggai, whom we now have in our hands, were angels and that by the dispensation and command of God they assumed human bodies and lived among men. It is not surprising that this is believed about angels, since for our salvation even the Son of God assumed a human body. And for this reason, they also provide testimony from the apocrypha, where it is said: Jacob, who was later called Israel, was an angel and therefore he supplanted his brother in the womb of his mother (Gen. 25 and 32). And also John, at the voice of Mary the mother of the Lord, leaped for joy in the womb of Elizabeth (Luke 1); and that there is one nature of all rational beings; and for this reason, men who have pleased God become equal to angels. Let them feel this. However, let us receive simply what the announcer of the Lord, that is, the angel, who is called Malachi in Hebrew, has said as a prophet, because he has announced the will of God to the people, either because in many places our Lord and Savior is called the angel of God, as in this passage: The Angel of Great Counsel (Isaiah 9:6), we say has prefigured the Savior in Haggai. Furthermore, what he says, the messenger of the Lord, concerning the messages of the Lord, is like he was saying, a prophet about prophets. What he says, the messenger of the Lord speaking to the people, saying: 'I am with you,' says the Lord, does not speak to Zerubbabel and Joshua, with whom and in whom the Lord always was (for once we said that they should be understood according to various interpretations as the person of the Savior), but to the people who had feared the face of the Lord. For the people were not yet close to the love of God, which casts out fear. Therefore, the people receive reward for the fear of God, so that the Lord may be with them, and there is the understanding: I will be your helper, build my house, which is destroyed in you: I will place myself in your midst, no one will be able to hinder your construction.

1:14

(Verse 14) And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the rest of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius. For the governor of Judah, seventy were carried away from the tribe of Judah, and for the work, the workers; and the rest likewise. Wherever we place ourselves, the Lord of hosts is interpreted differently as either the Almighty Lord, the Lord of hosts, or the Lord of powers. Therefore, the spirit of Zorobabel and the spirit of Jesus are awakened, according to the letter, to build the temple of God with kingdom and priesthood. The spirit of the people, who was sleeping within them, is also awakened, not the body, not the soul; but as we said, the spirit, which knows how to build the temple of God. And they entered, for they had been outside, and they were doing works that were worthy of the inner part of the house of the Lord: in the same year of King Darius as before, in the same month that was also at the beginning; but not on the same day. For there, one day of the month is placed: but here the twenty-fourth, so that between the first day, when the Lord speaks through Haggai, and the twenty-fourth, when they entered and were doing work in the house of the Lord, there were twenty-two middle days, as many as the letters are among the Hebrews. For it was necessary that they be taught what were the elements of the beginning of God's words, which would prevent them from saying, 'The time has not yet come to build the house of the Lord and to dwell in vaulted houses, and as I said before, to be submerged in the depths. But they were provoked to set their hearts on their own ways, and to remember how much they had suffered through negligence. And to ascend the mountain, and to cut wood, and to build the house of the Lord, and not to allow what they had suffered before. Finally, in these twenty-two days, the people feared the face of the Lord, and they entered on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month of the second year of King Darius, and they were doing the work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God. But it is commanded to us, that the spiritual house may be built into a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, that we may be able to provide such offerings, so that the Holy Spirit may be stirred up in us, and we may enter into the house of the Lord, and perform the works of the Lord. For now Zorobabel of the lineage of David, and Jesus the priest, has been raised up by the Father in power, according to the spirit of sanctification from the resurrection of the dead, so that he may preside over the work; but we, with him as our helper and guide, shall perform the works of God. However, we cannot do the works of God beforehand, unless we fear the face of the Lord, and believe, and enter the temple of God, and perform those things that are worthy of the house of God. But since we are still in the world, and the time of our building is under the reign of Darius, in which generation, marriages, and carnal servitude are observed; therefore, in the sixth number, when the world was made, and in the second year, which divides the union (for the matter in which the renewal of the world and the birth of offspring consist loves the double number), we enter the house of the Lord, and with both peoples gathered together, we build the temple of God. For the sum of the twenty-fourth number consists of two of the twelve numbers, because just as from circumcision and from the Gentiles, the first Church of Christ, which had been destroyed, was built. But we can also say this, because the eighth number, which is holy, and is taken in the type of true circumcision, triples the twenty-fourth number, figuratively teaching us to build the house of the Lord through the cutting off of the flesh and the circumcision of vices, and to believe in the true purity in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, another six times a fourth number is computed, and four refers to the elements of the world, from which we subsist; but six refers to the condition of the world, in which the elements themselves revolve. And it says: because we are still in matter, and are surrounded by a heavy body, and serve generations, indeed we are to build a temple and enter into the house of God, and as if awakened from a heavy sleep, our spirit; but still to do the same thing on the twenty-fourth day.

2:1-10

(Chapter 2, Verse 1 and following) In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: Who among you is left who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? And now, be strong, Zerubbabel, declares the Lord, be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord Almighty, and work; for I am with you, declares the Lord Almighty. This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear. For thus says the Lord Almighty: In a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all nations. And the desired one will come to all nations, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of hosts. In the same year, but in the seventh month, on the first and twenty-first day of the month, after three weeks and the perfect rest of the mystery of the Trinity, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai, who was constantly toiling to always have the word of God with him. Forgetting the past and reaching forward to the future (Phil. III), he worked daily as if he had nothing accomplished before. So it is said to him: Speak to Zerubbabel and to Joshua, and to the remnant of the people, who have seen the former house of God, and who are now part of its restoration. Is not this that is seen comparable to the previous one, as if it were not even there in a certain way? But do not despair and do not let your hands grow weary, but you, Zerubbabel, and you, Joshua, and all people, take courage and do the work in my house. For I am with you, and my word that I made with you when you came out of the land of Egypt. And my spirit will not leave you: do not be afraid, I am the one who commands, the Almighty Lord, whose word is done. When I first gave the testament, and on Mount Sinai I appeared, I shook the heavens and the earth, and the Red Sea, and the desert, so that I might establish the Testament with you; but now I promise you that once again I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the sea and the dry land, so that when they are shaken, all nations may be shaken, and they may come according to the seventy chosen ones of the Lord from all nations; but according to the Hebrew, the desired one will come to all nations, our Lord and Savior. Then I will fill this house with a greater glory than the former, and I will always add to you, says the Lord Almighty. And lest you think the sponsor is weak: the gold is mine, and the silver is mine, and all the riches are mine. I will give gold and silver as ornaments for the temple, so that the glory of this house may be greater than that of the former. And because what I promise seems difficult, and human unfaithfulness always hesitates at greater promises, therefore I say again, I am the Lord Almighty who promises. Furthermore, because I know that for the construction of this renowned house, and for the fact that it is a supernatural house, nothing can be done so that there may be peace, therefore I promise this. For I will give peace in this place, says the Lord of hosts, so that the peace which surpasses all understanding may guard my house and be a place of peace. Meanwhile, I have drawn these explanatory lines in a paraphrastic manner, so that from them, even while we remain silent, a discerning reader may ascend to a higher understanding. So the word of God fit well with those who had begun to work in the house of the Almighty Lord, now at rest, that is, in the seventh month, and in the fullest sacrament of the Trinity, on the twenty-first day of the month, and to Haggai celebrating the feast of God, who had once again prepared his hand to the word of the Lord, and he says to him: Speak to Zerubbabel from the tribe of Judah, and to Joshua the high priest, who deigned to become both man and Priest for us, and to the remnant of the people: for in comparison to the whole world, a small part was in the beginning of the believers. Therefore, let us listen to what he has spoken. Once there was a house of God in Israel, which is now so deserted that it is not believed to have ever existed. From being beloved, it has become unbeloved, and those who were not the people of God have begun to be the people of God. And that house, which was once glorious, now in the sight of Zerubbabel and Joshua and the remnant of the people, is as if it does not exist. But we should not only understand this to mean the temple buildings that we see have collapsed, but also everything that the Jews once held in high esteem. However, because the previous house was almost nonexistent, Zerubbabel the leader and Joshua the priest are called upon to establish the kingdom of Christ and priesthood and to enable the people, once the people of the land, to work in the house of the Lord and know that God is present with them. They should also fulfill the word that the Lord made with them when they departed from the land of Egypt. And I hope that we also depart from Egypt, so that we fulfill the word of the testament that we have received. The Lord God also promises his works to those who do them in his house, and fulfills his word to those who receive it, saying: 'And my spirit will be among you.' Behold the sacrament of the Trinity: I am with you, and my spirit, and the Word, in whom I made my covenant when you go forth from Egypt. But what he says 'among you' should be understood according to what is written in the Gospel: 'There stands among you, whom you do not know, one who comes after me' (John 1:26). Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts to you who see the former house as it is now, 'It is as nothing in your eyes. For I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, when the voice of the Lord will be heard from heaven. I am going to shake the earth, when I gave the former people the covenant; and in my coming, darkness, storm, and darkness were seen. I moved the Red Sea, when I made a way for the people passing through. I moved the desert, or Egypt, through the plagues, emptying them of the worship of God, or through the wilderness where I led the people for forty years.' I will now move on to this. Which we see happen at the coming of the Lord and Savior. Indeed, at the time of his passion, with the sun setting, the sky was in motion and darkness occurred over the whole earth from the sixth hour until the ninth hour (Matt. XXVII and Luc. XXIII). The earth was moved, and rocks were split, and tombs were opened; the sea was stirred with the serpent that was in it being killed; the dry, once barren wilderness of the nations was also moved. But in this trembling of the whole world, all nations were also moved; for the sound of the apostles of the Lord went forth into all the earth, and their words reached to the ends of the world (Ps. 18). For this reason, all nations were moved, that from their movement a chosen multitude of nations might come forth, and those things which are illustrious wherever they may be. For example, chosen from Corinth, because there was a great multitude of God's people in it. Chosen from Macedonia, because the Church of God gathered in Thessalonica was great and did not need to be taught about charity (1 Thess. 14). Electa of Ephesus, so that they may know the mysteries of God and the sacraments never before revealed. What more? all the nations were stirred, to whom the Savior had sent the apostles, saying: Go, teach all the nations (Matt. XXVIII, 29), and from the many called, few chosen, built the Church of the first Christians. Therefore Peter the apostle also says: She who is in Babylon, elect, greets you, and so does my son Mark (I Pet. V, 15), and John: The elder, he says, to the elect lady; and then he mentions the children of the elect. Therefore, with these nations in turmoil, from which we can indeed receive opposing strengths, not being able to endure the splendor of the Lord, the chosen ones of all nations came, and the glory of the house of the Lord, which is the Church of the living God, was filled, the pillar and foundation of truth. This is according to the Septuagint. However, in Hebrew, it is held better and more significantly as we have mentioned before: And I will shake all nations, and the desired one will come to all nations. For truly, after he came, the glory of the house of the Lord was fulfilled. And as much as the Lord is distant from the servant, so much better is the house of the Lord, which the Lord presides over, than the previous house over which the servant presided. But when he says, 'The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,' the Lord of hosts says, I think no one believes that he is speaking of silver and gold, which are possessed by the rich and the kings. For in this manner, not only silver and gold are God's, as if of the Creator; but also the other metals, bronze, tin, lead, and the iron that tames all things. But I consider the silver with which the house of God is adorned to be the words of Scripture, of which it is said: The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried by fire, refined of earthly impurities seven times (Ps. 12:6); and the gold that is in the secret sense of the saints, and dwells in the hidden depths of the heart, and shines with the true light of God, which it is clear the Apostle understood when he speaks of those who build upon the foundation of Christ, as gold, silver, precious stones (1 Cor. 3); so that in gold there is hidden meaning, in silver there is appropriate speech, in precious stones there are works pleasing to God. The Church of the Savior becomes more illustrious with these metals, which once was a synagogue; with these living stones the house of Christ is built, and eternal peace is offered to it. Furthermore, what follows in the Septuagint: 'And peace of soul for the possession of every creature, that it may raise up this temple, as something superfluous and barely connected, since it is not reported by any Hebrew or any other interpreter, we have omitted.'

2:11-16

(Verse 11 and following). On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius ((Vulg. adds King)), the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts; ask the priests concerning the law, saying: If a man carries holy flesh in the fold of his garment, and touches bread, or stew, or wine, or oil, or any kind of food, shall it become holy? And the priests answered and said: No. And Haggai said: If someone who is polluted in soul touches any of these things, will it be contaminated? And the priests answered and said: It will be contaminated. And Haggai replied and said: So will this people and this nation be before me, says the Lord; and so will all the work of their hands and all that they offer there be contaminated. On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts; ask the priests concerning the law, saying: If a person takes holy flesh in the corner of his garment and touches with the corner of his garment bread, or cooked food, or wine, or oil, or any kind of food, shall it be sanctified? And the priests answered and said, No. And Haggai said, If one who is unclean by reason of a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean? The priests answered and said, It becomes unclean. Then Haggai answered and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, says the Lord, and so is every work of their hands; and whatever they offer there is unclean. Therefore, whoever comes near there becomes unclean, because of the morning offerings and the sacrifices that are offered there; they shall mourn because of their evil doings, and they shall be appalled at their own abominable practices. Therefore, we have included the edition of the Seventy Interpreters, because they seemed to differ in certain words. And this that is said: Because of their morning gifts, they will lament from the face of their wickedness, and they will argue at the gates with the ones who bring sweet-smelling offerings; neither in Hebrew, nor among other interpreters is it found. It should be noted that in this place: On the twentieth and fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year, it is not said for the third time as above: The word of the Lord came into the hand of the prophet Haggai; but it is said to the prophet Haggai. For there, because it was still making progress and only the works were pure, but his heart had not yet received full wisdom; either because he was still living among those who said, 'The time has not yet come to build the house of the Lord,' only his works became the word of the Lord. But now, since the foundations of the temple have been laid and the people have entered with their leaders into the house of God, and he is doing work befitting the temple of God, and he has heard the mystery: 'I will shake all nations, and the Desired One of all nations will come, and he is full of prophecy;' therefore, the whole oracle of the Lord is directed to Haggai. On the twenty-fourth day and the second year, we have already said: the number nine, which is added here, is never read in a good way. The people sacrifice the Passover lamb and celebrate other festivities; the whole solemnity ends on the eighth day and does not reach the ninth. Those who prepare the Passover lamb begin preparing it after the ninth day has passed. The day of atonement and expiation of the seventh month is also celebrated after the ninth day. And in Jeremiah (Chap. XIX and LII), as it can be clear to those reading, Jerusalem is besieged by the Babylonians in the ninth year. Therefore, because the prophecy of the impending defilement of the people was to come true, in the second year of Darius the ninth month is joined. Again, because a place of repentance is given after the correction of defilement, on the twenty-fourth day the word of God comes to the prophet Haggai, so that, as if in the person of the Lord, a question is asked of the priests coming from the law, and it is said to him: Ask the priests the law, saying. At the same time, consider it to be the duty of priests to respond to inquiries about the law. If someone is a priest, they should know the law of the Lord; if they are ignorant of the law, they prove themselves not to be a priest of the Lord. For it is the role of a priest to know the law and to respond to inquiries about the law. Indeed, we read in Deuteronomy (Chapter 17) that whenever a dispute arises in the towns of Israel between blood and blood, between judgment and judgment, between leprosy and leprosy, between contradiction and contradiction, they should go to the priests and Levites, and to the priest who is appointed in those days, and inquire about the law of the Lord. And when they have received a response, they should do as they are commanded. But if they do not do so, they shall be exterminated from their people. And lest these precepts appear only in the old Instrument, the Apostle also speaks to Timothy, that a bishop must not only be irreproachable, but also the husband of one wife, wise, chaste, adorned, hospitable, and also a teacher (1 Tim. 3). And lest it seem by chance that he said this, the same caution is observed in regard to the ordination of presbyters (whom he also wants to be understood as bishops) in Titus (1:5-9). Because of this, I left you in Crete, so that you could correct the things that needed finishing and appoint elders in each city, just as I instructed you: If any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children who are not accused of wildness or unruly behavior. For a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God, not self-willed, not easily angered, not given to violence, not a striker, not greedy for filthy lucre; but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, holy, self-controlled, holding firmly to the faithful message as taught, so that he may be able to encourage others by sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it. For there are many who are not subject, empty talkers, and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whom it is necessary to silence. I have explained these things at length so that we may know that it is the duty of priests, both in the old and new Testament, to know the law of God and to respond to what they are asked. And simplicity and abstinence from foods are not enough in a teacher: unless he can also instruct others by what he does. Certainly, because I think they will answer: this is the task of those who from their youth prepare themselves for teaching, and who are often chosen as priests by the judgment of the Lord and the vote of the people. At least let them have this, that after they have been ordained as priests, they learn the law of God, so that they can teach what they have learned, and increase their knowledge more than their wealth, and not be ashamed to learn from laypeople, who know those things that pertain to the office of priests, and rather spend their nights and days in the study of the Scriptures than in reasoning and calculation. What is it that Haggai, speaking in the Lord's name, asks the priests? If a man carries holy flesh in the fold of his garment and touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any food, will it become holy? Before we discuss the question, we must first understand, according to the written word, what holy flesh is and what defiles the soul. The sacrifices that were offered on the altar consisted of these holy meats, and among them there was a great diversity. For some priests were eating in the inner sanctuary of the temple, others at home, others who seemed to be blemished from among the priests, and others who were Israelites and had no impurity. The reason for this diversity is said to be found in the book of Leviticus. However, one who had touched the body of a dead person was called unclean in the soul. In this, it should be noted that as long as the soul is in the body, the human body is not unclean. But as soon as the animating spirit leaves the limbs, that which is earthly becomes unclean, as it is written in the same book of Leviticus: 'And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the priests the sons of Aaron, and you shall say to them: They shall not become unclean in their souls among their people; but they may become unclean among their relatives who are close to them: over their mother, and over their father, and over their sons and daughters, and over their brothers and sisters who are virgins and who are not given to a husband. They shall not become unclean over these, and they shall not defile themselves suddenly among their people in their defilement.' (Lev. 21:1-2) Consider this command for the priests not to enter any dead person, except for their relatives and close ones, as mentioned above. But the high priest, that is, the pontiff, had something more than the other priests: neither piety nor affection could persuade him to become unclean in the aforementioned cases. For Scripture says: And he shall not enter on any soul that is dead: not even on his father or mother, and he shall not defile himself. Therefore, knowing what sanctified flesh is, and what is unclean in the soul, let us see what the prophet seeks. If any man, not this man who is called the Pontiff, or the priest, or the Levite; but any man: where the person is not specified, it is allowed to everyone everywhere to touch the flesh. If he takes, he says, the sanctified flesh, and ties it to the top of his garment, and the top of the garment touches bread, or any other cooked food, or wine, or oil, or any food besides these that a man can eat, can the bread, or wine, or oil, or any food, be sanctified by touching the garment to which the holy flesh is bound? And the responding priests said: It is not possible, that is, nothing of what you ask will be sanctified; but everything will remain as it was. Again, another question is posed to the priests: namely, if they have answered well to the previous one, and a similar problem is presented, in which an ignorant person could easily slip up. For let us suppose that someone does not know the law, and as he answered that sanctified meat does not sanctify bread, or porridge, or wine, or oil, or any food, he will also respond in this case and say: The defiled in the soul does not defile those things which the holy flesh could not sanctify. Therefore, he asks: If someone who is polluted in their soul, meaning someone who has become impure from contact with a dead body, touches any of these things, namely bread or porridge or wine or oil or other foods, will the things they touch be polluted as well? And the priests, whose leader was Jesus son of Josedec, who knew the law, answered and said that anything touched by someone who is impure will be polluted. And Haggai answered and said, keeping silent about the former things, that consecrated flesh cannot sanctify other foods; and he addressed the second question, saying: Thus says the Lord: This people and this nation, in my presence, are unclean in their souls, and if they touch anything that is dead, whatever they touch and whatever they offer to me will be unclean. And what he says according to the letter, is this: O people, who, after just building the altar and destroying my house, offer sacrifices to me on the altar, and think that you are sanctified by its victims and flesh: know that you are not sanctified by the sacrifices, which, with the temple destroyed, cannot benefit you; but rather, all your works and everything you do are contaminated because you neglect and are more concerned with building your own house than mine. Indeed, the offering on the altar is sacred; but you are not sanctified so much by the sacrifices as by dwelling in the valleys and being involved in dead works, you are polluted. This is according to history, although we have drawn spiritual lines of intelligence from it. Furthermore, according to the ἀναγωγὴ, just as Ecclesiasticus says, the man who offered an unblemished lamb and a yearling and was clothed with Christ, if he takes of its flesh and binds it on the top of his garment, and the top touches the bread of Scripture, which strengthens the hearts of believers, or the cooking, the apostolic Epistles, which cuts and cooks the flesh of the old Law and provides them for eating, or the wine that gladdens the heart of man, or the oil in which the face of the hearer is brightened, or any food: milk, with which the Corinthians are nourished (I Cor. 2), and vegetables on which the weak feed (Rom. XIV, 3), and other similar things: they do not immediately eat them as if they were sanctified, to whomever they may be given. For it is not from what is said, but from what is received, that the hearers are sanctified: because many are hearers of the law, but not doers. But also for this reason I believe that all these things which I have said, are not sanctified when carried from the touch of the garment to those who eat, because they only touch the surface of the cloak; and the inward parts, the moisture, the blood, the veins, and the nerves, are not known to be sanctified. Therefore, just as the surface of the Lord's garment and a light touch do not sanctify, unless the one who eats the flesh of the lamb and drinks his blood: so, on the contrary, uncleanness in the soul, and various perverse teachings, make whatever they touch unclean. For they have in their sacraments bread and wine and oil and all kinds of food; but their sacraments are like bread of mourning, all who touch them will be contaminated. They also read the Scriptures themselves and, as it were, sprinkle bread with testimonies from the Scriptures, and they cook it all night in a pan; but when it is given to be eaten, those who eat it are provoked to madness. They have porridge and cooking, attempting to weave mystical things from the Scriptures according to the sense of their own perversity, and as if to cook and season the flesh of the lamb, but that cooking is destruction. They have wine, but not from the vineyard of Sorek, which the Lord planted in Jeremiah, chosen and entirely true (Jer. II); but from the vineyard of Sodom. They also have oil, which they violently extract from the testimonies of the Old and New Scriptures, and promise it as a refreshment to deceived and weary minds; but the holy one detests it, and says: But the oil of the sinner will not anoint my head (Ps. CXL, 5). They also have various foods, namely, the multitude of various assumptions and various treatises, which, because they are written by the unclean, and have been uttered by an unclean mouth, whoever touches them will become unclean and be drawn into their error. Then Aggaeus replied, who knows the differences of festivals, and for that reason he obtained the name: Thus, this people and this nation, namely the Jews, and the Gentiles, and all heretics, in my sight, says the Lord: Everything they have done, whether they have offered it to me as vows for salvation, or for peace, or for sin, or for offense, or as a burnt offering, or as alms, or as fasting, or as self-control in food, or as bodily chastity, will be defiled in my sight. Although they may appear holy in their outward appearance, those things that are offered by such individuals are tainted because they have been touched by someone whose soul is defiled. Everything becomes polluted.

2:17-18

(Verse 17 onwards) Now set your hearts from this day and above, before the stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord. When you approached a heap of twenty measures, and it became ten, and you entered the winepress to press out fifty jars, and it became twenty. I struck you with blight and mildew and hail in all the work of your hands, yet you did not return to me, says the Lord. LXX: And now set your hearts from this day, and upward, before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord, when you were sent to the storehouse of barley twenty sata, and they became ten sata of barley. And I struck you with barrenness, and with mildew, and with hail, in all the works of your hands: and you returned not to me, saith the Lord. Although all the offerings that you presented to me on the altar were contaminated (since you did not build the temple, every gift is defiled); I now urge you, O people, to reflect on the past and consider what has been done, that is, everything from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of the second year of Darius. Embrace in your mind everything that has happened and why, and how much you have endured, so that when fortunate things happen to you in the future, you will know the reason why. Therefore, before you started building the temple and laying stone upon stone, when you approached the heap and thought you had twenty bushels, could you not have collected barely half? Or according to the Septuagint: When you poured twenty bushels of barley into a vessel called a cysele, and you thought that even though you were pouring barley, the food for the animals, you would still be secure with those twenty bushels, could you not later, having returned to the vessel, find barely ten bushels? When you approached the winepress, you saw grapes, and your eyes promised you fifty amphorae: I do not mean half, but you could hardly squeeze out twenty amphorae. And I did this by striking you with burning wind, and the corruption of the air, and the dying crops, and the empty husks of grain, and the clusters of vines, so that I might provoke you to come to my notice by the weight of evils: and still there was no one who would return to me. The Hebrew [prophet] includes in these words the entire content of this passage - from the statement: And now lay your hearts from this day and higher up, until the place where it is said: a vineyard and fig and pomegranate tree, and olive wood has not blossomed, from this day I will bless, thus he explains (or Alb.: he explains): Certainly now the foundations of the temple are laid; therefore, from this day on which you have laid the foundations (since in the past I punished you with sterility, and hunger, and hail, and drought, and there was no one among you who would turn to me through these plagues), lay your hearts in the future and henceforth, and see that all things flow to you in a prosperous course. But this will happen because you have begun to build my temple: not having confidence in the sole altar, you despise the building of my house. In short, we can say that it is in vain for some to offer gifts to God and think that God can be appeased by alms and offerings when they themselves have not built a temple for the Holy Spirit within themselves. For then alms and gifts offered on the altar are beneficial when someone has built the temple of God within themselves and after the building of the temple, they present gifts on the altar. Furthermore, according to the moral interpretation, it is also said to us who now believe in Jesus Christ, if, however, we believe and demonstrate the truth by the work of faith, that we should return in mind to that time when we were Gentiles, serving daily in vices, and we had not built a temple for God within us. But just as an architect and most skillful mason joins one stone to another, and fastens the lower to the upper with lime and gypsum: so too the architect (whom the apostle himself claims to be: 'As a wise architect, I have laid the foundation' - 1 Corinthians 3:10), and whom the Lord threatens to destroy the temple of Jerusalem) knows how to join works to works, and gradually build the temple of God. But the foundation of this temple is laid by Jesus, on whom everyone sees what he builds: one builds with gold, silver, precious stones; another with wood, hay, straw. And three good things are opposed by three contrary evils. These are the stones from which the Lord promises to rebuild Jerusalem: Behold, I will set your carbuncle stone, and your foundations sapphire, and I will set your battlements with jasper. I won't think according to Jewish fables and foolish imaginings that God will build Jerusalem with gold and precious stones, but with living stones. Stones that now roll on the ground, being in accordance with the nature of stones, either fiery like a carbuncle, or completely heavenly and brought to the throne of God, like a sapphire, or shining with innocence and the simplicity of good works, like a crystal. Therefore, it is said to us that we should consider what we have achieved before we built the temple of God within us. When you approached, he said, a heap of twenty bushels became ten: or according to the Septuagint: When you put twenty bushels of barley into the sieve, they became ten bushels of barley. For whatever virtues and good works we seemed to have before Christ, it was not wheat, but barley: and that barley, it did not give us a hundredfold fruits as we read about Isaac, but we could hardly find even half of our labor's worth from it, and it was said to us: Have you suffered so much in vain? But even when we entered the winepress and calculated fifty wine amphorae (a number which, when completed after seven weeks, includes the unity of divinity), and thought we had wine, which gladdens the heart of man, the sacred number thirty would be taken away from us (in which the Lord is baptized, and Ezekiel sees the vision at the beginning of his prophecy, and according to the Hebrew, priests approached the service of God), and twenty were left. Esau, who loves numbers, knowing that Jacob takes pleasure in this number, sends certain animals as a gift, twenty and twenty. Also, notice that Jacob himself, though holy (but at that time he was not with his father Isaac, that is, with laughter; nor with his mother Rebecca, that is, with patience; but he had neighboring Assyrians, and he lived in Mesopotamia, surrounded by rivers), served Laban for a cruel and greedy twenty-year period (Gen. XXXII). And it does not move anyone if we say that some, before the faith of Christ and the destruction of His temple, can receive the reward of their labor in part, since among unbelievers there is no fruit of good works. For he does not deposit twenty and find twenty, but when he has deposited twenty, he finds ten, that is, the reward for half of his labor. The Jews, and the Gentiles, and the philosophers of this age, and the others who boast of wisdom, in the present time of their conversation and labor, enjoy the fruit and glory of all their hope, and the reward of the future age is taken away. But this is done so that they do not completely despair and dismiss repentance; but that sometimes, when converted, they may set stone upon stone and build the temple of God. But if they remain in unbelief, they will lose the very thing that they seemed to have. For it follows: I struck you with a burning wind, and with mildew, and with hail, all the works of your hands. Whatever is struck by mildew and hail and a burning wind is reduced to dust and ashes, and nothing is found in it that pertains to usefulness and sustenance. All these things the Lord has done because no one has been found among them who would return to him. But if they return and build the temple of the Lord, from the day they start building, they will have what the prophecy foretold.

2:19-20

(Verse 19, 20.) Set your hearts from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day on which the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, set it on your hearts. Is the seed still in the barn? And yet the fig tree, the vine, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. From this day on I will bless you. LXX: Set your hearts from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day on which the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, set it in your hearts: If more shall be known upon the earth, and if yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive trees do not bear fruit? So I will bless you from this day. I have told you what you have endured before you began to build my temple: now I will explain what prosperous things will come to you, because you have begun to build my temple. Therefore, on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, when the foundations of the temple were laid, consider the abundance of things that will come. The ninth month is what we call November or December. For the Hebrews, Nisan is the first month, which is called the month of new things: at the time when they celebrate Passover, that is, at the beginning of spring, which often falls in March and sometimes begins in April. Therefore, if we understand Nisan to mean April, the ninth month according to the Hebrews will be December. Therefore, the tenth month (also known as December) is the time when seeds lie hidden in the earth and their future fertility cannot be predicted. Is the seed already in the bud, as is better expressed in Hebrew as 'in the pod', to signify the husk of grain? Have the vine, fig tree, pomegranate, and olive tree given forth their blossoms? So it is not to be understood from the flowers and fruits. Indeed not; for in the month of December, as we have said, there are no signs of future crops. Therefore, do not say that I deduce this by prudent reasoning and speculate about the future fertility of trees, herbs, and crops from the flowers; behold, there are no signs; and yet I tell you that because you have started building my temple, for the blessing of all crops' fertility. This is what we have said according to the Hebrew. Moreover, according to the Septuagint, there is a very different meaning, which we must first explain literally, so that later the order of tropology can be discussed. Set your hearts from this day on, from the day on which the temple was founded, to the future, and you will see that there will be such great harvests in the future, and that so much grain will be carried from all the fields, that the threshing floor will not know its own produce, or that there are not individual threshing floors, but that one threshing floor is joined to another due to the multitude, and the separation of threshing floors is not known on the earth. Moreover, both the vine and the fig tree, and the pomegranate tree, and the olive tree, which previously did not bear fruit due to your vices, because you had not yet begun to build the temple, they will be bent down with such an abundance of grapes and fruits, that the evident fertility may indicate a manifest blessing. However, the ninth month is not to be taken in a good way, and the fourth book of the Kingdoms, and the story of Jeremiah, in which Jerusalem is said to be besieged (2 Kings 25, and Jer. 30 and 32). However, since the foundations of the temple are laid at the end of the ninth month, we can understand that the building of the Lord's temple is not begun unless evil works are finished. Therefore, on the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the foundation of the temple is laid, in which there are twelve dodekas and three octads, and four hexads, as discussed more fully above. Therefore, anyone who dedicates themselves to the worship of God and despises the negligent patron (who, in the book of Ezra according to the Septuagint interpreters, prohibits the building of God's temple), does not know the measure of their crops and wages. Certainly, because of what is said: 'If anyone still sows in the spirit and reaps eternal life from the spirit' (Galatians VI), he will by no means treasure on earth, but all his works and the rewards of his works will be gathered in heaven. And the vineyard, that is, the word of God, of which the Father is the farmer in each one; and the fig tree, the sweetest gifts of the Holy Spirit; and the pomegranate, the teachings of the Church and the knowledge of the Scriptures, which are compared to the cheeks of the bride in the Song of Songs (Canticles VIII); and the olive trees will give refreshment and enlightenment to the heart of the one who begins to build the temple of God. But as for the vineyard, fig tree, and olive tree (I will delay discussing the pomegranate for now), they are related to the person of the Savior, and of God the Father, and of the Holy Spirit, as is more fully explained in the book of Judges (Chapter 9). There, the unfruitful trees go to appoint a king over themselves, and in order, they say to the vine, fig tree, and olive tree, that they should reign over them. But both the vine, fig tree, and olive tree refuse such a rule, and do not deem it worthy to reign over unfruitful trees. Then they come to the tree of their barrenness, that is, the thorny tree of brambles, and the bush woven with prickles and hooks, which holds onto whatever it touches and wounds what it holds on to, and delights in the blood of the wounded: moreover, it emits fire from itself and consumes the ruled trees. But we refer the bramble to the devil, and according to the nature of the branch, we shall interpret its nature. Furthermore, there will be a vineyard, a fig tree, and an olive tree, where the pomegranate tree will be, which tree, on account of the excessive multitude of its seeds, and a certain geometric composition of interwoven membranes, and indeed diverse dwellings, yet all enclosed in one bark, is always set forth in the Scriptures as a representation of the Church.

2:21-23

(Verse 21 onwards) And the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying: Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying: I will shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overthrow chariots and their riders. Horses and their riders shall also fall, each by the sword of his brother. On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts. In the LXX version, (the following words) were added: 'sea and dry land,' and it has 'less' (text): 'I will overthrow the strength of the kingdoms of the nations,' which is understood in a more complete sense from the reading of the LXX. Furthermore, it should be noted that on the same day, that is, on the twenty-fourth of the ninth month, without the month number being mentioned, because they were prophesying about the coming of Christ and his kingdom, the second discourse of our Lord is addressed not to Haggai as before, and not even to the prophet Haggai as in the fourth vision, but only to Haggai, that is, to the one celebrating the feasts of the Lord, because (Christ) is not said to be coming, but to be about to come and to be seen. And how did Abraham see the day of Christ, and rejoice (John 8); and John pointed out the Lamb of God with his finger (John 1): so also, seeing the kingdom of the Son of God, he would have in himself all the solemnities. In this place, there are different opinions among many: For some suspect that the first coming is spoken of; others, the second, when He is to come in His majesty. We accept both, because He reigned when He came, and will reign afterwards. However, if we want to learn about the end of the world, we will say what the apostle speaks of to the Corinthians: 'To destroy all principality, and power, and virtue, that God may be all in all' (I Cor. XV). And because it is mystical and pertains to the end of things, the prophet is commanded to speak only to Zorobabel, whom we have shown to have come in the type of Christ because of the assumption of the body from the seed of David. Therefore, these things are said to happen in the end, that the figure of this world passes away, and a new heaven and a new earth are created, and the Lord shakes the heaven and the earth, and destroys every principality, power, and virtue, and scatters the kings of the kingdoms, as it is written in Hebrew, and annihilates every opposing strength, so that even those who reigned before and the nations under their rule will benefit from the destruction of their kingdom, and with every eagerness for battle abolished, peace will follow; for this is what is said: And I will overthrow the chariots, or chariots, and their riders, and the horses will go up and their riders will go down. And so that you may know concerning the overthrow of the chariots and the falling horsemen, this is what we mean: See how it is said about Christ in Zechariah that He comes as a gentle king, riding upon a foal of a donkey, and He will destroy the chariots from Ephraim (Zechariah 9), and the horse from Jerusalem, so that there may be one flock and one shepherd, and both the Gentiles and the Jews may be held under the peaceful shepherd. But in order for these things that are perverse to be destroyed, each person will rise up against his brother with a sword (which I believe to be the sharpest expression of doctrine, cutting off every perverse thing), cutting off everything that is contrary. But the end of all these things is the best. For after the destruction of the suns, and the strengths of the rulers, and the chariots, and the horses, and the horsemen, on that day, says the Lord Almighty: I will take you, Zerubbabel, the son of Salathiel, my servant. However, servant is called because of the human body, for then the Son himself will be subject to him who subjected all things to himself, and in all things subject, he himself will be seen. But when this is fulfilled, God will place him as a seal in his hand: For God the Father has sealed him (John VI, 27): and this is the image of the invisible God, and the form of his substance: so that whoever believes in God, will be sealed as it were with a ring.


I beg you, reader, to forgive the speaker's rapid discourse, and not to demand the elegance of speech which I have lost through many years of studying the Hebrew language: although Alecto always considers me to have been an infant and mute. To whom shall I say: The Lord will give the word to the one who evangelizes, with much power (Ps. LXVII, 12).