Haggai 2:7 (NIV) I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. There is disagreement among scholars about how to best interpret this prophecy. It hinges on the answer to the question: Who or what is this object of desire?

Some believe that Haggai is prophesying that people from all nations will come with monetary gifts to bring to the temple. It is a way to encourage the people who feel that it is small and insignificant.

This is based on how some view the Hebrew word translated here (hemda). It is a collective singular, meaning the idea expressed is plural. Because of this some believe the better translation is “desired” or “what is desired” (NIV) and that Haggai 2:8 provides the parallel that identifies these desired objects: “The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty”.

Therefore, “I will shake all nations” is taken to mean that God will shake all the nations so that they will bring their gold and silver (what they treasure or desire) to the temple. Did this happen? Even in the time of Jesus people came from far and wide to visit the temple. Certainly, they brought many large gifts of money. That would have been hard to predict in the time of Haggai when Jerusalem was a small, impoverished, insignificant city, which no one cared about outside of a few Judeans. But in a few hundred years the city and the temple had regained much fame. Josephus tells us in his history that at Passover over a million people filled the city. Many of these brought money to give.

The King James Version uses the phrase “the desire of all nations.” Because of the KJV translation, many have taken this verse as a reference to Christ. Many ancient commentators saw this as a prophecy of the Messiah coming to this temple rebuilt in the days of Haggai. This understanding began with the ancient rabbis and continued among Christians, and fits in well with the promise of filling the temple with glory.

The Hebrew word that is translated here can mean any of the following: desirable, pleasant, fine, or valuable things. It can mean pleasant, desired, treasures, desirable, and can even refer to something that is stately. So based on the definitions of the original Hebrew word, either interpretation has weight. Therefore, some interpreters suggest that the text may concern both the Messiah and earthly riches.