Haggai 1:6

6 "You have 1sown much, but [a]harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is [b]not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes."

Haggai 1:6 Meaning and Commentary

Haggai 1:6

Ye have sown much, and bring in little
Contrary to what is usually done; the seed that is sown is but little, in, comparison of what springs up, is reaped, and gathered into the barn; which commonly affords seed again to the sower, and bread to the eater; but here much land was tilled, and a great deal of seed was sown in it; but a thin crop was produced, little was gathered into the barn; a blessing being withheld from the earth, and from their labours, because of their sins, which they would do well to think of, and the cause of it: ye eat, but ye have not enough;
what the earth did yield, and which they gathered in, they made food of, and ate of it; yet it was not sufficient to satisfy their hunger; or it was not blessed for their nourishment; or they had a canine appetite in judgment given them, so that they were never satisfied: or, it was "not for fulness" F17; they were not filled with it to satisfaction, but still craved more; and yet, it may be, durst not eat more, if they had it, lest they should want the next day: ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink;
or, "not to inebriation" {r}; it was not sufficient to quench their thirst, much less to make them merry and; cheerful: the vines produced such a small quantity of grapes, and those so little wine, that they had not enough to drink, at least could not drink freely, but sparingly, lest it should be all spent before another vintage came: ye clothe you, but there is none warm;
or, "but" it is "not for heat to him" F19; to anyone; so rigorous the season, so extreme the cold, that his clothes will not keep him warm, even though the climate was, naturally and usually hot: and he that earneth wages earneth wages [to put it] into a bag with
holes;
or, "pierced through" F20; if a man is hired as a labourer, and gets much wages, and brings it home, and lays it up; or if he trades and merchandises, and has great gains by it, and thinks to amass great riches; yet, what through losses, and the dreariness of provisions, and the many ways he has for the spending of his money, it is as if he put it into a bag full of holes, and it ran through as fast as put into it; signifying hereby that all his pains and labour were in vain.


FOOTNOTES:

F17 (hebvl) "ad satietatem", Calvin, De Dieu; "ad saturitatem", Munster.
F18 (hrkvl) "ad ebrietatem", Tigurine version, Vatablus, Calvin, De Dieu.
F19 (wl Mxl Nyaw) "et non est ad calorem ei", De Dieu; "sed nemo ita ut sit calor ipsi", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "ut calefiat ei", Burkius.
F20 (bwqn) "pertusum", V. L. Munster, Tigurine version, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "perforatum", Munster, Varenius.

Haggai 1:6 In-Context

4 "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?"
5 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, "Consider your ways!
6 "You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes."
7 Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Consider your ways!
8 "Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified," says the LORD .

Cross References 1

  • 1. Deuteronomy 28:38-40; Hosea 8:7; Haggai 1:9, 10; Haggai 2:16, 17

Footnotes 2

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