Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Haggai+001   HAGGAI INTRODUCTION When Cyrus, king of Persia, conquered Babylon in 539 BC, he allowed the exiled Jews to return home and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. One group returned the next year, completing and dedicating the temple foundation within two more years. But they were stopped by suspicious and […]

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Zephaniah+003   Zephaniah 3 (ESV) Israel’s Joy and Restoration 14 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall […]

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Zephaniah+002   Zephaniah 2 (ESV) Judgment on Judah’s Enemies 1 Gather together, yes, gather, O shameless nation, 2 before the decree takes effect —before the day passes away like chaff— before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord. 3 Seek the Lord, all you humble […]

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Zephaniah+001   ZEPHANIAH INTRODUCTION The reign of King Manasseh of Judah was the time of greatest corruption, injustice and paganism in Judah’s history. But Manasseh’s grandson King Josiah reasserted the nation’s faith and obedience to God and its independence from foreign empires. One reason for this seems to be that a […]

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Habakkuk+003   Habakkuk 3 (ESV) 16 I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. Habakkuk Rejoices in the Lord 17 Though the fig tree should not […]