Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.
Thus saith the Lard of hosts - a phrase frequent in Haggai and Zechariah, implying God's boundless resources and universal power, so as to inspire the Jews with confidence to work.
Turn ye unto me ... and I will turn unto you - i:e., and then, as the sure consequence, "I will turn unto you" (Malachi 3:7; James 4:8: cf. also Jeremiah 3:12; Ezekiel 18:30; Micah 7:19). Though God hath brought you back from captivity, yet this state will not long last unless ye are really converted. God has heavier scourges ready, and has begun to give symptoms of displeasure, in causing you, while "sowing much" to "bring in little" (Calvin). (Haggai 1:6.)