Haggai 2:18 (ASV)

Passage

Consider, I pray you, from this day and backward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth [month], since the day that the foundation of Jehovah`s temple was laid, consider it.

Nearby Context

Haggai 2:16 Through all that time, when one came to a heap of twenty [measures], there were but ten; when one came to the winevat to draw out fifty [vessels], there were but twenty.

Haggai 2:17 I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the work of your hands; yet ye [turned] not to me, saith Jehovah.

Haggai 2:18 Consider, I pray you, from this day and backward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth [month], since the day that the foundation of Jehovah`s temple was laid, consider it.

Haggai 2:19 Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, the vine, and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree have not brought forth; from this day will I bless [you].

Haggai 2:20 And the word of Jehovah came the second time unto Haggai in the four and twentieth [day] of the month, saying,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "consider", "pray", "backward", "four", "twentieth", "ninth", "month", and "since". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "consider" and "pray", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "I smote you with blasting and with..." into verse 19's "Is the seed yet in the barn...", so "consider" and "pray" belong inside that flow. In Haggai context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "consider" and "pray" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.