And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD:

HAGGAI 2:15KJV
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Haggai 2:15 (KJV)

What does Haggai 2:15 mean?

Haggai 2:15 urges the people to carefully think back to the time before they started rebuilding the temple, asking them to consider the difference from that point onward. The verse is a call to reflect on their situation before any progress was made on the Lord’s temple, highlighting a turning point.

The prophet Haggai is speaking to the returned exiles in Jerusalem, encouraging them to look at their past circumstances before they resumed work on the temple. This moment comes after a period of neglect, and Haggai wants them to notice how things began to change once they obeyed God’s command to rebuild. The verse sets up a comparison between their earlier struggles and what follows their renewed commitment.

The Hebrew behind Haggai 2:15

  • "consider" (שִׂימוּ לְבַבְכֶם, simu levavkhem): This phrase literally means “set your heart,” and it often carries the sense of paying close, thoughtful attention. Haggai is not just asking for a casual glance back, but for a deep, deliberate reflection.
  • "day" (יוֹם, yom): The word for “day” here points to a specific time or period, emphasizing the importance of the moment when the rebuilding began.
  • "upward" (מַעְלָה, ma‘lah): This word can mean “upward” or “forward,” and in this context, it suggests looking ahead from a particular starting point, not just looking back.
  • "before" (טֶרֶם, terem): This word means “before” or “prior to,” marking the time before any stone was laid, which helps draw a clear line between the past and what is happening now.

Why Haggai 2:15 matters

  • Haggai 2:15 helps clear up that God wanted the people to recognize the difference their obedience made, not just to remember the past for its own sake.
  • The verse emphasizes a turning point in the community’s story, showing that spiritual choices have real, visible effects.
  • This reflection sets the stage for the following verses, where Haggai will point out how things improved after the people responded to God’s call to rebuild the temple.

Where else these words appear

“before” Hebrew H2962 · used in 8 verses

  • Genesis 2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
  • Exodus 1:19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
  • Numbers 11:33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.

“temple” Hebrew H1964 · used in 76 verses

  • 1 Samuel 1:9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.
  • Nehemiah 6:10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.
  • Ezekiel 8:16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

“upward” Hebrew H4605 · used in 134 verses

  • Genesis 6:16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
  • Numbers 4:30 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation.
  • 2 Chronicles 5:8 For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.