Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed Yahweh, their God’s voice, and the words of Haggai, the prophet, as Yahweh, their God, had sent him; and the people feared Yahweh.
Haggai 1:10 Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.
Haggai 1:11 I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on that which the ground produces, on men, on livestock, and on all the labor of the hands.”
Haggai 1:12 Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed Yahweh, their God’s voice, and the words of Haggai, the prophet, as Yahweh, their God, had sent him; and the people feared Yahweh.
Haggai 1:13 Then Haggai, Yahweh’s messenger, spoke Yahweh’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you,” says Yahweh.
Haggai 1:14 Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of Yahweh of Armies, their God,
The verse centers on "zerubbabel", "shealtiel", "joshua", "jehozadak", "high", "priest", "remnant", and "people". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "zerubbabel" and "shealtiel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 11's "I called for a drought on the..." into verse 13's "Then Haggai Yahweh s messenger spoke Yahweh...", so "zerubbabel" and "shealtiel" 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 "zerubbabel" and "shealtiel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.