Haggai 1:9 (LSB)

Passage

“You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; and you bring it home, and I blow it away. Why?” declares Yahweh of hosts, “Because of My house which lies waste, while each of you runs to his own house.

Nearby Context

Haggai 1:7 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Set your heart to consider your ways!

Haggai 1:8 Go up to the mountains and bring wood and rebuild the house of God, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says Yahweh.

Haggai 1:9 “You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; and you bring it home, and I blow it away. Why?” declares Yahweh of hosts, “Because of My house which lies waste, while each of you runs to his own house.

Haggai 1:10 Therefore, because of you the sky has restrained its dew and the earth has restrained its produce.

Haggai 1:11 And I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "look", "much", "behold", "comes", "little", "bring", "home", and "blow". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "look" and "much", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Go up to the mountains and bring..." into verse 10's "Therefore because of you the sky has...", so "look" 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 "look" and "much" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.