What is meant by “according to the covenant”?

The phrase translated according to the covenant [אֶת־הַדָּבָר] that I made with you is textually difficult. In the Hebrew text (Masoretic Text), the verse begins with אֶת־הַדָּבָר, where the particle אֶת is normally the sign of a definite direct object. But what follows the particle is not easily connected to the surrounding clauses, making the flow of Haggai 2:4–6 difficult to follow.¹ Furthermore, the text reads literally, the word/thing that I cut with you. This creates tension, since the verb כָּרַת (to cut/make) is the standard verb used with covenant, not with word/thing.

Because of this difficulty, various options have been proposed by scholars. Among them, the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) proposes an emendation: replacing with the word with this is the covenant (זֹאת הַבְּרִית). This would yield a more expected construction—this is the covenant that I made with you—and aligns more naturally with the verb כָּרַת, which normally takes covenant as its object. But this proposal lacks any manuscript support and is therefore not adopted by most modern translations.

Should, then, the Masoretic Text be followed? Yes, which is what most modern translations do. The term אֶת in אֶת־הַדָּבָר is not always the sign of a direct object in the sentence. P.P. Saydon translates the phrase in an emphatic sense: This indeed is the word.² Similarly, Joüon suggests that the particle אֶת may function as an equivalent of a pronoun, yielding the meaning this is the word.³ This approach is reflected in translations such as the NIV: This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt.⁴ On this reading, word effectively carries covenantal force, referring to the Lord’s binding promise made at the exodus.

So the Lord says, Work, for I am with you…according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. His covenant promise made long ago is still in effect and will never fail. Even though Israel has broken covenant, God remains faithful to his word.⁵

In sum, while the Hebrew construction is unusual, it can be explained without emendation: the word refers not merely to speech but to the Lord’s binding, covenantal promise made at the time of the exodus.