Haggai 2:16 (DBY)

Passage

before those [days] were, when one came to a heap of twenty [measures], there were but ten; when one came to the vat to draw out fifty press-measures, there were but twenty.

Nearby Context

Haggai 2:14 Then answered Haggai and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith Jehovah, and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

Haggai 2:15 And now, I pray you, consider from this day and onward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of Jehovah,

Haggai 2:16 before those [days] were, when one came to a heap of twenty [measures], there were but ten; when one came to the vat to draw out fifty press-measures, 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; and ye [turned] not to me, saith Jehovah.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "before", "days", "came", "heap", "twenty", "measures", and "draw". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "before" and "days", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And now I pray you consider from..." into verse 17's "I smote you with blasting and with...", so "before" and "days" 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 "before" and "days" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.