Haggai 2:4
“Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Three times the Lord commands ‘be strong’—to Zerubbabel, to Joshua, and to all the people—and calls them to work, for He is with them.
What Does Haggai 2:4 Mean?
Against the discouragement of verse 3, God answers with a threefold charge to courage, naming the governor, the priest, and the people in turn. The command ‘be strong’ echoes the words once spoken to Joshua son of Nun at the entry to the land. And the ground of the courage is given: ‘for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts.’
Strength here is not self-generated grit but confidence rooted in God's presence. The repeated ‘be strong’ surrounds the whole community, leaving no one to find courage alone. And the reason offered is always the same—God is with them. This is the pattern of every divine call: the command to work comes joined to the promise of presence. We are not told to be strong and then left to ourselves; we are strong because He is near.
In the Original Language
chazaq (חֲזַק), “be strong” — to be firm, courageous, resolute; the same charge given to leaders at moments of daunting work.