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?

HAGGAI 2:3KJV
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Haggai 2:3 (KJV)

What does Haggai 2:3 mean?

Haggai 2:3 is the prophet Haggai asking the older people in Jerusalem if any of them remember the former glory of Solomon’s Temple, and how the current rebuilt temple seems insignificant by comparison. The verse highlights the discouragement some felt as they saw the new temple, which did not match the splendor of the original.

Haggai is speaking to the returned exiles who are rebuilding the temple after the Babylonian destruction. He addresses those old enough to have seen the first temple’s “glory” (its beauty and grandeur) and asks them to compare it with what stands now. The question brings out the emotional weight of their disappointment, setting up God’s encouragement in the verses that follow.

The Hebrew behind Haggai 2:3

  • "left" (שָׁאַר, sha'ar): This word means those who remain or are left over, emphasizing that only a few people are old enough to remember the first temple, making their testimony significant.
  • "glory" (כָּבוֹד, kavod): This word refers to honor, splendor, or weightiness. In this context, it highlights the magnificence and importance of Solomon’s temple, which makes the current temple seem lacking.
  • "comparison" (כְּמוֹהוּ, kemo-hu): This word means “like it” or “as it,” pointing to the act of comparing the two temples. It shows that, in the eyes of those who remember, the new temple hardly measures up.

Why Haggai 2:3 matters

  • Haggai 2:3 clarifies that the disappointment was not just about physical appearance but about a sense of lost glory and diminished hope among the people.
  • The verse sets the stage for God’s reassurance that follows, making the encouragement more meaningful by first acknowledging the people’s honest feelings.
  • This verse connects the community’s present struggles to their collective memory, showing how the past shapes their expectations and emotions about what God is doing now.

Where else these words appear

“comparison” Hebrew H3644 · used in 19 verses

  • Genesis 19:15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
  • 2 Samuel 18:3 But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city.
  • Isaiah 26:17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.

“left” Hebrew H7604 · used in 123 verses

  • Genesis 7:23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
  • Joshua 13:1 Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.
  • Ezra 9:15 O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.