Haggai 1:9 (GNV)

Passage

Ye looked for much, and lo, it came to litle: and when ye brought it home, I did blowe vpon it. And why, sayth the Lord of hostes? Because of mine House that is waste, and ye runne euery man vnto his owne house.

Nearby Context

Haggai 1:7 Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, Consider your owne wayes in your hearts.

Haggai 1:8 Goe vp to the mountaine, and bring wood, and build this House, and I wil be fauourable in it, and I will be glorified, sayth the Lord.

Haggai 1:9 Ye looked for much, and lo, it came to litle: and when ye brought it home, I did blowe vpon it. And why, sayth the Lord of hostes? Because of mine House that is waste, and ye runne euery man vnto his owne house.

Haggai 1:10 Therefore the heauen ouer you stayed it selfe from dewe, and the earth stayed her fruite.

Haggai 1:11 And I called for a drought vpon the land, and vpon the mountaines, and vpon the corne, and vpon the wine, and vpon the oyle, vpon all that the ground bringeth foorth: both vpon men and vpon cattell, and vpon all the labour of the hands.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "looked", "much", "came", "litle", "brought", "home", "blowe", and "vpon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "looked" and "much", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Goe vp to the mountaine and bring..." into verse 10's "Therefore the heauen ouer you stayed it...", so "looked" and "much" 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 "looked" and "much" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.