Haggai 1:3
“Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →A second time the verse stresses that this message came as the word of the LORD through Haggai the prophet.
What Does Haggai 1:3 Mean?
After quoting the people's excuse, the narrative pauses to mark a fresh prophetic word. The repetition—‘then came the word of the LORD by Haggai’—underlines that what follows is not Haggai's opinion but a reply from God Himself to the people's delay. The prophet is the appointed channel, nothing more and nothing less.
Scripture often slows down to remind us where authority lies. Haggai does not answer the people from his own reasoning; he waits for and conveys the word entrusted to him. This is the dignity and the limit of every true messenger: to speak what has been given. For the reader, the verse is a reminder that the call to build comes with divine backing, and that obedience is owed not to a man but to the One whose word the man carries.