Haggai 2:21
in Haggai 2“Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am about to shake the heavens and the earth:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;
KJV
Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;
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This verse in Haggai 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I will shake - Haggai closes by resuming the words of a former prophecy to Zerubbabel and Joshua, which ended in the coming of Christ. Even thus it is plain, that the prophecy does not belong personally to Zerubbabel, but to him and his descendants, chiefly to Christ. There was in Zerubbabel’s time no shaking of the heaven or of nations.
This site's exposition
And again the word of the Lord came unto Haggai
on Haggai 2:20-23
A fourth oracle on the same day is addressed to Zerubbabel alone, and it returns to the shaking of verse 6 with its political edge made explicit, I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen, the chariots and their riders falling by their own brothers' swords. Then the book's closing sentence: in that day will I take thee, O Zerubbabel my servant, and will make thee as a signet, for I have chosen thee. The bench reads the signet as a deliberate reversal of Jeconiah, Zerubbabel's own grandfather, whom the Lord had pulled off his hand as a signet ring in judgment (Jeremiah 22:24): the exile that stripped the ring is answered by a governor of the very same line restored to the honor his grandfather lost. Zerubbabel stands in both Matthew's and Luke's genealogies of Christ (Matt 1:12, Luke 3:27), and the positions are named without settling one over the other, some of the bench reading the signet as Zerubbabel's own personal restoration and covenant pledge that the Davidic line would not end in Jeconiah's curse, others reading it further forward to the greater son of David the line would finally produce.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(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.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, speak to him by himself. He has thoughts in his head far above those of the common people, as wise princes are wont to have, who move in a higher and larger sphere than others. The people of the land are in care about their corn-fields and vineyards;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the L ORD of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the L ORD of hosts. 9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the L ORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the L ORD of hosts.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:89%@v7-9
Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Zerubbabel, therefore, as their civil leader and representative is addressed, not Joshua, their religious leader. Messiah is the antitypical Zerubbabel, their national Representative and King, with whom God the Father makes the covenant wherein they, as identified with Him, are assured of safety in God's electing love (compare Hag 2:23, "will make thee as a signet";
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I will shake the heavens and the earth - Calmet supposes that the invasion of Cambyses, and his death, are what the prophet has in view by this shaking of the heavens and the earth: but this invasion and defeat happened three years before they had begun to work at the temple; and how could it be made a matter of interest to Zerubbabel? Calmet answers this, by translating the words in the past tense; and shows that the fact was recalled to Zerubbabel’s attention, to fix his confidence in God, etc. Bp. Newcome says we may well understand this and the twenty-second verse of the calamity undergone by Babylon in the reign of Darius; of the Macedonian conquests in Persia; and of the wars which the successors of Alexander waged against each other: others under stand it of the Romans.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֱמֹ֕ר | ʾemor | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| זְרֻבָּבֶ֥ל | zerubavel | Zerubbabel | H2216 → | 21 times |
| פַּֽחַת־ | pachat- | [the] governor of | H6346 → | 28 times |
| יְהוּדָ֖ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| מַרְעִ֔ישׁ | marish | [am] about to shake | H7493 → | 30 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
אֱמֹ֕רsay
ʾemorH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
זְרֻבָּבֶ֥לZerubbabel
zerubavelH2216 →21 times
פַּֽחַת־[the] governor of
pachat-H6346 →28 times
יְהוּדָ֖הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
מַרְעִ֔ישׁ[am] about to shake
marishH7493 →30 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַשָּׁמַ֖יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezra 5:2Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.
it leads to
- Ezra 3:2
Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests, along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates, began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezra 6:14
So the Jewish elders built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees…
- Zechariah 3:1–4
Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
- Zechariah 6:11
Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak.
- Ezra 3:2
Through
Haggai 1:1In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of…
it leads to
- Ezra 2:2
accompanied by Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. This is the count of the men of Israel:
- Ezra 3:8
In the second month of the second year after they had arrived at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their associates including…
- Nehemiah 7:7
accompanied by Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. This is the count of the men of Israel:
- Haggai 2:10
On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying,
- Ezra 2:2
Where this verse is studied
About Haggai
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonReturn from exileZerubbabelGovernor of Judah and grandson of Jeconiah who led the first return and laid the second temple's foundation; Haggai's signet-ring…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Haggai; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.