Haggai 1:4 (DRB)

Passage

Is it time for you to dwell in ceiled houses, and this house lie desolate?

Nearby Context

Haggai 1:2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, saying: This people saith: The time is not yet come for building the house of the Lord.

Haggai 1:3 And the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying:

Haggai 1:4 Is it time for you to dwell in ceiled houses, and this house lie desolate?

Haggai 1:5 And now thus saith the Lord of hosts: Set your hearts to consider your ways.

Haggai 1:6 You have sowed much, and brought in little: you have eaten, but have not had enough: you have drunk, but have not been filled with drink: you have clothed yourselves, but have not been warmed: and he that hath earned wages, put them into a bag with holes.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "time", "dwell", "ceiled", "houses", and "desolate". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "time" and "dwell", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And the word of the Lord came..." into verse 5's "And now thus saith the Lord of...", so "time" and "dwell" 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 "time" and "dwell" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.