Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Haggai 2:4 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 4. 4Yet 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:
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Commands the governor, high priest, and people to be strong and work because the LORD is with them.
Read It With
- Haggai 2:1–9
Read Haggai 2:1–9 together. Commands the governor, high priest, and people to be strong and work because the LORD is with them. The honest comparison, threefold courage, command to work, covenant-and-Spirit assurance, causal shaking promise, glory, resources, and peace answer one discouragement.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Commands the governor, high priest, and people to be strong and work because the LORD is with them. The first response has not removed discouragement. This oracle addresses comparison directly and joins present work to the exodus covenant, abiding Spirit, divine ownership of wealth, promised glory, and peace.
Read Haggai 2:3–5 together
Why these verses belong together: The former-glory comparison receives its answer in threefold courage, work, divine presence, covenant memory, abiding Spirit, and freedom from fear.
Verse 3. 3 Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?
Verse 4. 4 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:
Verse 5. 5 According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.
What Remains True
Courage in this unit is communal and active: every responsible group is told to be strong and work because the LORD is with them.
How It Can Shape Life
- Encourage leaders and participants together, connect courage to the next faithful work, and avoid making one group carry the whole task.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Haggai 2:1–9 — Be Strong and Work: Presence, Shaking, Glory, and PeaceSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Haggai 2:1–9, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Haggai
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew clauses, verbal forms, divine titles, repeated words, and the base text behind lexical and translation analysis.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2 (commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00), wlc/Hag.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 2:1–9
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Haggai with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Material date, Hebrew, translation, textual, ritual, historical, and interpretive notes for the unit, tested rather than adopted automatically.
Exact location: NET Bible Haggai PDF, pp. 1785–1786, translation and notes on 2:1–9
Open source ↗