Haggai 2:5
in Haggai 2This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt. And My Spirit remains among you; do not be afraid.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, and my Spirit abode among you: fear ye not.
KJV
According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.
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This verse in Haggai 2
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The words which I covenanted - The words stand more forcibly, because abruptly. It is an exclamation which cannot be forced into any grammatical relation with the preceding. The more exact idiom would have been “Remember,” “take to heart.” But the prophet points to it the more energetically, because he casts it, as it were, into the midst, not bound up with any one verb. This would be the rather done in speaking to the people, as David to his followers (1Sa 30:23, which Ewald compares, Lehrb. n. 329. a. p. 811, ed. 8. and in his Die Proph. iii.
This site's exposition
Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel
on Haggai 2:4-5
Against the comparison just raised, three commands fall in one breath, be strong Zerubbabel, be strong Joshua, be strong all ye people of the land, and work, for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts. The ground of the courage is not the building's present size but a covenant already sworn, according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you, fear ye not. Henry reads the appeal to the exodus covenant as Haggai reaching past the diminished temple to the changeless promise behind every temple, the Lord's abiding spirit rather than any structure's dimensions carrying the assurance.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(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?
Likewise here too when he says, "My spirit has taken a position in your midst," he means, my grace and my disposition toward you accompanies you, taking a position and providing you with its benefit. In other words, just as he speaks of a soul …
The Reformation1 voice
Inasmuch as the old people, who had seen the splendor of the former temple, considered this temple no better than a cottage, all their zeal evaporated; for, as we have said, without a promise there will continue in men no ardor, no perseverance.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
According to the Word that I covenanted with you, when ye came out of Egypt,....
In the second he assures them that though their sin, in delaying to build the temple, had retarded the prosperous progress of all their other affairs, yet now that they had set about it in good earnest he would bless them, and give them success,
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The covenant promise of God to the elect people at Sinai is an additional motive for their persevering. The Hebrew for to "covenant" is literally "to cut," alluding to the sacrificial victims cut in ratification of a covenant. so--or, "and." my Spirit remaineth among you--to strengthen you for the work (Hag 1:14;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Abiding of the Spirit the Glory of the Church A Sermon (No. 1918) Delivered on Lord's-day Morning, September 5th, 1886, by C. H. SPURGEON, At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington "Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not."—Haggai 2:4-5. SATAN is always doing his utmost to stay the work of God. He hindered these Jews from building the temple; and to-day he endeavours to hinder the people of God from spreading the gospel. A spiritual temple is to be builded for the Most High, and if by any means the evil one can delay its uprising he will stick at nothing: if he can take us off from working with faith and courage for the glory of God he will be sure to do it. He is very cunning, and knows how to change his argument and yet keep to his design: little cares he how he works, so long as he can hurt the cause of God. In the case of the Jewish people on their return from captivity he sought to prevent the building of the temple by making them selfish and worldly, so that every many was eager to build his own house, and cared nothing for the house of the Lord. Each family pleaded its own urgent needs. In returning to a long-deserted and neglected land, much had to be done to make up for lost time; and to provide suitably for itself every family needed all its exertions. They carried this thrift and self-providing to a great extreme, and secured for themselves luxuries, while the foundations of the temple which had been laid years before remained as they were, or became still more thickly covered up with rubbish.
The Abiding of the Spirit the Glory of the Church A Sermon (No. 1918) Delivered on Lord's-day Morning, September 5th, 1886, by C. H. SPURGEON, At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington "Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not."—Haggai 2:4-5.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַדָּבָ֞ר | hadavar | the word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| כָּרַ֤תִּי | karati | I cut | H3772 → | |
| אִתְּכֶם֙ | ʾitekhem | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| בְּצֵאתְכֶ֣ם | betzetekhem | when came out you | H3318 → | |
| מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם | mimitzrayim | from Egypt | H4714 → | |
| וְרוּחִ֖י | veruchi | and spirit my | H7307 → | 378 times |
| עֹמֶ֣דֶת | ʾomedet | [is] standing | H5975 → | |
| בְּתוֹכְכֶ֑ם | betokhem | in midst of you | H8432 → | |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | |
| תִּירָֽאוּ׃ ס | tirau | you be afraid | H3372 → |
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַדָּבָ֞רthe word
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
כָּרַ֤תִּיI cut
karatiH3772 →
אִתְּכֶם֙with you
ʾitekhemH854 →929 times
בְּצֵאתְכֶ֣םwhen came out you
betzetekhemH3318 →
מִמִּצְרַ֔יִםfrom Egypt
mimitzrayimH4714 →
וְרוּחִ֖יand spirit my
veruchiH7307 →378 times
עֹמֶ֣דֶת[is] standing
ʾomedetH5975 →
בְּתוֹכְכֶ֑םin midst of you
betokhemH8432 →
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →
תִּירָֽאוּ׃ סyou be afraid
tirauH3372 →
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
Isaiah 41:13For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and tells you: Do not fear, I will help you.
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Psalms 73:23
Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand.
- Psalms 63:8
My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.
- Psalms 109:31
For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from the condemners of his soul.
- Isaiah 42:6
“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a…
- Isaiah 41:10
Through
Exodus 34:10And the LORD said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will perform wonders that have never been done in any nation in all the world. All the people among…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:21
He is your praise and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome wonders that your eyes have seen.
- Psalms 77:14
You are the God who works wonders; You display Your strength among the peoples.
- Psalms 66:5
Come and see the works of God; how awesome are His deeds toward mankind.
- Deuteronomy 10:21
Where this verse is studied
About Haggai
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1918: “The Abiding of the Spirit the Glory of the Church” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Haggai; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodore of Mopsuestia, COMMENTARY ON HAGGAI 2:1-5.