Haggai 2:16
“Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →In those earlier days, a heap expected to yield twenty measures gave only ten, and a winepress expected to draw fifty gave only twenty.
What Does Haggai 2:16 Mean?
God recalls the concrete shortfalls of the time before the work resumed. Harvests of grain came in at half what was hoped; the winepress yielded less than half. These are the same diminishing returns described in chapter 1, now held up as evidence the people can remember and verify. The numbers make the lesson tangible.
The Lord deals with His people in specifics they can recognize, not vague generalities. He points to the measured grain and the drawn wine so they cannot mistake His meaning. There is mercy in such concreteness: God shows His hand clearly enough to be seen, so that the coming blessing will be just as clearly His gift. He would have His people know exactly what life was like apart from wholehearted obedience—so that they will also know the difference His blessing makes.