Haggai 2:16 (GNV)

Passage

And nowe, I pray you, consider in your mindes: from this day, and afore, euen afore a stone was layde vpon a stone in the Temple of the Lord:

Nearby Context

Haggai 2:14 Then sayde Haggai, If a polluted person touch any of these, shall it be vncleane? And the Priests answered, and sayd, It shalbe vncleane.

Haggai 2:15 Then answered Haggai, and sayd, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord: and so are all the workes of their hands, and that which they offer here, is vncleane.

Haggai 2:16 And nowe, I pray you, consider in your mindes: from this day, and afore, euen afore a stone was layde vpon a stone in the Temple of the Lord:

Haggai 2:17 Before these things were, when one came to an heape of twentie measures, there were but ten: when one came to the wine presse for to drawe out fiftie vessels out of the presse, there were but twentie.

Haggai 2:18 I smote you with blasting, and with mildewe, and with haile, in all the labours of your hands: yet you turned not to me, saith the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "nowe", "pray", "consider", "mindes", "afore", "euen", and "stone". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "nowe" and "pray", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Then answered Haggai and sayd So is..." into verse 17's "Before these things were when one came...", so "nowe" 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 "nowe" and "pray" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.