Passage

A date for the temple foundation

Source and translation

World English Bible, Protestant Edition · Public domain · en

¹⁸‘Consider, please, from this day and backward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, since the day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid, consider it.

Haggai 2:18World English Bible, Protestant Edition

The scene

Haggai names the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month and the laying of the temple foundation.

To understand

The instruction asks the listeners to consider the time backward from the date linked to the temple foundation. The next line names seed, vines, fig trees, pomegranates and olives that have not yet produced.

A question

What does naming this date contribute to the instruction to consider the crops?