Haggai 2:3

“Who [is] left among you that saw this house in her first glory? etc.] Not taken away by death, yet alive, and dwelling among them; and who lived before the destruction of the first temple, built by Solomon; and has seen it in all its magnificence; its grand and noble structure; its stately pillars; its carved work, and decorations of gold. This shows that it was not in the times of Darius Nothus, but of Darius Hystaspis, that Haggai prophesied: those who go the former way make these men to have lived near two hundred years at least, which was greatly beyond the common time of man’s life in that age; or consider these words as a mere supposition, that, if there were or had been such persons…”

“Who is left . . . that saw . . . first glory--Many elders present at the laying of the foundation of the second temple who had seen the first temple (Ezr 3:12-13) in all its glory, wept at the contrast presented by the rough and unpromising appearance of the former in its beginnings. From the destruction of the first temple to the second year of Darius Hystaspes, the date of Haggai's prophecy, was a space of seventy years (Zac 1:12); and to the first year of Cyrus, or the end of the captivity, fifty-two years; so that the elders might easily remember the first temple. The Jews note five points of inferiority: The absence from the second temple of (1) the sacred fire; (2) the Shekinah; (3)…”

“Who is left among you? - The question implies that there were those among them, who had seen the first house in its glory, yet but few. When the foundations of the first temple were laid, there were many Ezra 3:12. “Many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundations of this house were laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice.” Fifty-nine years had elapsed from the destruction of the temple in the eleventh year of Zedekiah to the first of Cyrus; so that old men of seventy years had seen the first temple, when themselves eleven years old. In this second of Darius seventy years had passed, so that those of 78 or 80…”

“That saw - Near fourscore years ago. This house - The temple built by Solomon. Haggai 2:5”

“2:3 The former splendor belonged to Solomon’s Temple (1 Kgs 6:38), which some of the older people of Judah had seen in their youth before going into exile in Babylon. They wept when they saw the new foundation laid (Ezra 3:12-13), because it seemed like nothing at all by comparison.”

“is left: Ezr 3:12; Zac 4:9, Zac 4:10 glory: Eze 7:20; Luk 21:5, Luk 21:6 Haggai 2:4”

“"Who is left among you, that saw this house in its former glory? and how do ye see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? Hag 2:4. And now be comforted, Zerubbabel, is the saying of Jehovah; and be comforted, Joshua son of Jozadak, thou high priest; and be comforted all the people of the land, is the saying of Jehovah, and work: for I am with you, is the saying of Jehovah of hosts. Hag 2:5. The word that I concluded with you at your coming out of Egypt, and my Spirit, stand in the midst of you; fear ye not." The prophet, admitting the poverty of the new building in comparison with the former one, exhorts them to continue the work in comfort, and promises them that the Lord will be with…”