Nehemiah 10:37-39

New International Version

³⁷“Moreover, we will bring to the storerooms of the house of our God, to the priests, the first of our ground meal, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees and of our new wine and olive oil.^(A) And we will bring a tithe^(B) of our crops to the Levites,^(C) for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all the towns where we work.^(D) ³⁸A priest descended from Aaron is to accompany the Levites when they receive the tithes, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of the tithes^(E) up to the house of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury. ³⁹The people of Israel, including the Levites, are to bring their contributions of grain, new wine and olive oil to the storerooms, where the articles for the sanctuary and for the ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the musicians are also kept.

“We will not neglect the house of our God.”^(F)

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Haggai 1:1-9

New International Version

A Call to Build the House of the Lord

1 In the second year of King Darius,^(A) on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai^(B) to Zerubbabel^(C) son of Shealtiel, governor^(D) of Judah, and to Joshua^(E) son of Jozadak,^[a]^(F) the high priest:^(G)

²This is what the Lord Almighty^(H) says: “These people^(I) say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.^(J)’”

³Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:^(K) ⁴“Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses,^(L) while this house remains a ruin?^(M)”

⁵Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought^(N) to your ways. ⁶You have planted much, but harvested little.^(O) You eat, but never have enough.^(P) You drink, but never have your fill.^(Q) You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages,^(R) only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

⁷This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought^(S) to your ways. ⁸Go up into the mountains and bring down timber^(T) and build my house, so that I may take pleasure^(U) in it and be honored,^(V)” says the Lord. ⁹“You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little.^(W) What you brought home, I blew^(X) away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin,^(Y) while each of you is busy with your own house.