¹⁰On 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, ¹¹“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Ask the priests for a ruling. ¹²If a man carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and it touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any other food, does that item become holy?’” ¹³So Haggai asked, “If one who is defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled?” ¹⁴Then Haggai replied, “So it is with this people and this nation before Me, declares the LORD, and so it is with every work of their hands; whatever they offer there is defiled. ¹⁵Now consider carefully from this day forward: Before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD, ¹⁶from that time, when one came expecting a heap of twenty ephahs of grain, there were but ten. When one came to the winepress to draw out fifty baths, there were but twenty. ¹⁷I struck you— all the work of your hands— with blight, mildew, and hail, but you did not turn to Me, declares the LORD. ¹⁸Consider carefully from this day forward — from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, the day the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid — consider carefully: ¹⁹Is there still seed in the barn? The vine, the fig, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yet yielded fruit. But from this day on, I will bless you.”