The Gold Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees

Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke(A) me up, like someone awakened from sleep.(B) He asked me, “What do you see?”(C)

I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand(D) with a bowl at the top and seven lamps(E) on it, with seven channels to the lamps. Also there are two olive trees(F) by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”

I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”

He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I replied.(G)

So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:(H) ‘Not(I) by might nor by power,(J) but by my Spirit,’(K) says the Lord Almighty.

“What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground.(L) Then he will bring out the capstone(M) to shouts(N) of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’”

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation(O) of this temple; his hands will also complete it.(P) Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me(Q) to you.

10 “Who dares despise the day(R) of small things,(S) since the seven eyes(T) of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone[a] in the hand of Zerubbabel?”(U)

11 Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees(V) on the right and the left of the lampstand?”

12 Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?”

13 He replied, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I said.

14 So he said, “These are the two who are anointed(W) to[b] serve the Lord of all the earth.”

The Flying Scroll

I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll.(X)

He asked me, “What do you see?”(Y)

I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.[c]

And he said to me, “This is the curse(Z) that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief(AA) will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely(AB) will be banished. The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely(AC) by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.(AD)’”

The Woman in a Basket

Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.”

I asked, “What is it?”

He replied, “It is a basket.(AE)” And he added, “This is the iniquity[d] of the people throughout the land.”

Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.(AF)

Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork,(AG) and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.

10 “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking to me.

11 He replied, “To the country of Babylonia[e](AH) to build a house(AI) for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”(AJ)

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 4:10 Or the plumb line
  2. Zechariah 4:14 Or two who bring oil and
  3. Zechariah 5:2 That is, about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide or about 9 meters long and 4.5 meters wide
  4. Zechariah 5:6 Or appearance
  5. Zechariah 5:11 Hebrew Shinar

Vision of the Lampstand and Olive Trees

Now (A)the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, (B)as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, “What do you see?”

So I said, “I am looking, and there is (C)a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, (D)and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. (E)Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”

Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?”

And I said, “No, my lord.”

So he answered and said to me:

“This is the word of the Lord to (F)Zerubbabel:
(G)‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.
‘Who are you, (H)O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth (I)the capstone
(J)With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”

Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

“The hands of Zerubbabel
(K)Have laid the foundation of this [a]temple;
His hands (L)shall also finish it.
Then (M)you will know
That the (N)Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.
10 For who has despised the day of (O)small things?
For these seven rejoice to see
The [b]plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
(P)They are the eyes of the Lord,
Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”

11 Then I answered and said to him, “What are these (Q)two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” 12 And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip [c]into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?”

13 Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?

And I said, “No, my lord.”

14 So he said, (R)“These are the two [d]anointed ones, (S)who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”

Vision of the Flying Scroll

Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there a flying (T)scroll.

And he said to me, “What do you see?”

So I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”

Then he said to me, “This is the (U)curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: ‘Every thief shall be expelled,’ according to this side of the scroll; and, ‘Every perjurer shall be expelled,’ according to that side of it.”

“I will send out the curse,” says the Lord of hosts;
“It shall enter the house of the (V)thief
And the house of (W)the one who swears falsely by My name.
It shall remain in the midst of his house
And consume (X)it, with its timber and stones.”

Vision of the Woman in a Basket

Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, “Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth.”

So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a [e]basket that is going forth.”

He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth: Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket”; then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead [f]cover over its mouth. Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a (Y)stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.

10 So I said to the (Z)angel who talked with me, “Where are they carrying the basket?”

11 And he said to me, “To (AA)build a house for it in (AB)the land of [g]Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 4:9 Lit. house
  2. Zechariah 4:10 Lit. plummet stone
  3. Zechariah 4:12 Lit. into the hands of
  4. Zechariah 4:14 Lit. sons of fresh oil
  5. Zechariah 5:6 Heb. ephah, a measuring container, and so elsewhere
  6. Zechariah 5:8 Lit. stone
  7. Zechariah 5:11 Babylon

The Golden Lampstand and the Olive Trees

Then (A)the angel who had been speaking with me returned and (B)woke me, like a person who is awakened from his sleep. And he said to me, “(C)What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a (D)lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its (E)seven lamps on it with seven [a]spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; also (F)two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.” Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, saying, “What are these, (G)my lord?” So (H)the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “(I)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said to [b]me, “This is the word of the Lord to (J)Zerubbabel, saying, ‘(K)Not by might nor by power, but by My (L)Spirit,’ says the Lord of armies. ‘What are you, you great (M)mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring out the top stone with (N)shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have (O)laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will (P)finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of armies has sent me to [c]you. 10 For who has shown contempt for the day of (Q)small things? [d]But these (R)seven will rejoice when they see the [e](S)plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—they are the (T)eyes of the Lord (U)roaming throughout the earth.”

11 Then I said to him, “What are these (V)two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” 12 And I responded the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive [f]branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” 13 So he answered me, saying, “(W)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, (X)my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two [g](Y)anointed ones, who are (Z)standing by the (AA)Lord of the whole earth.”

The Flying Scroll

Then I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying (AB)scroll. And he said to me, “(AC)What do you see?” And I said, “I see a flying scroll; its length is [h]twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.” Then he said to me, “This is the (AD)curse that is going forth over the face of the entire [i]land; everyone who (AE)steals certainly will be purged away according to [j]the writing on one side, and everyone who (AF)swears falsely will be purged away according to [k]the writing on the other side. I will (AG)make it go forth,” declares the Lord of armies, “and it will (AH)enter the house of the (AI)thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and (AJ)destroy it with its timber and stones.”

Then (AK)the angel who had been speaking with me went out and said to me, “Now raise your eyes and see what this is that is going forth.” And I said, “What is it?” Then he said, “This is the [l](AL)ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their [m]appearance in all the [n]land. And behold, a lead cover was lifted up.” He continued, “And this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” Then he said, “This is (AM)Wickedness!” And he thrust her into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead weight on its [o]opening. Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of the (AN)stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. 10 So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?” 11 Then he said to me, “To build a [p]temple for her in the land of (AO)Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 4:2 Or reeds
  2. Zechariah 4:6 Lit me, saying
  3. Zechariah 4:9 Lit you (plural)
  4. Zechariah 4:10 Or But they will rejoice when they see...Zerubbabel. These seven are the eyes of the Lord
  5. Zechariah 4:10 Lit plummet stone
  6. Zechariah 4:12 Or clusters
  7. Zechariah 4:14 Lit sons of fresh oil
  8. Zechariah 5:2 About 30 ft. long and 15 ft. wide or 9 m and 4.5 m
  9. Zechariah 5:3 Or earth
  10. Zechariah 5:3 Lit it
  11. Zechariah 5:3 Lit it
  12. Zechariah 5:6 I.e., a measuring basket, about 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters, and so throughout the ch
  13. Zechariah 5:6 Lit eye; some ancient versions wrongdoing
  14. Zechariah 5:6 Or earth
  15. Zechariah 5:8 Lit mouth
  16. Zechariah 5:11 Lit house

A Lampstand and Two Olive Trees

Then the angel who had been talking with me returned and woke me, as though I had been asleep. “What do you see now?” he asked.

I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl of oil on top of it. Around the bowl are seven lamps, each having seven spouts with wicks. And I see two olive trees, one on each side of the bowl.” Then I asked the angel, “What are these, my lord? What do they mean?”

“Don’t you know?” the angel asked.

“No, my lord,” I replied.

Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’[a]

Then another message came to me from the Lord: “Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me. 10 Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”

(The seven lamps[b] represent the eyes of the Lord that search all around the world.)

11 Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on each side of the lampstand, 12 and what are the two olive branches that pour out golden oil through two gold tubes?”

13 “Don’t you know?” he asked.

“No, my lord,” I replied.

14 Then he said to me, “They represent the two anointed ones[c] who stand in the court of the Lord of all the earth.”

A Flying Scroll

I looked up again and saw a scroll flying through the air.

“What do you see?” the angel asked.

“I see a flying scroll,” I replied. “It appears to be about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.[d]

Then he said to me, “This scroll contains the curse that is going out over the entire land. One side of the scroll says that those who steal will be banished from the land; the other side says that those who swear falsely will be banished from the land. And this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: I am sending this curse into the house of every thief and into the house of everyone who swears falsely using my name. And my curse will remain in that house and completely destroy it—even its timbers and stones.”

A Woman in a Basket

Then the angel who was talking with me came forward and said, “Look up and see what’s coming.”

“What is it?” I asked.

He replied, “It is a basket for measuring grain,[e] and it’s filled with the sins[f] of everyone throughout the land.”

Then the heavy lead cover was lifted off the basket, and there was a woman sitting inside it. The angel said, “The woman’s name is Wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and closed the heavy lid again.

Then I looked up and saw two women flying toward us, gliding on the wind. They had wings like a stork, and they picked up the basket and flew into the sky.

10 “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel.

11 He replied, “To the land of Babylonia,[g] where they will build a temple for the basket. And when the temple is ready, they will set the basket there on its pedestal.”

Footnotes

  1. 4:7 Hebrew ‘Grace, grace to it.’
  2. 4:10 Or The seven facets (see 3:9); Hebrew reads These seven.
  3. 4:14 Or two heavenly beings; Hebrew reads two sons of fresh oil.
  4. 5:2 Hebrew 20 cubits [9.2 meters] long and 10 cubits [4.6 meters] wide.
  5. 5:6a Hebrew an ephah [20 quarts or 22 liters]; also in 5:7, 8, 9, 10, 11.
  6. 5:6b As in Greek version; Hebrew reads the appearance.
  7. 5:11 Hebrew the land of Shinar.

Fifth Vision: A Lampstand and Two Olive Trees

The Messenger-Angel again called me to attention. It was like being wakened out of deep sleep.

2-3 He said, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top. Seven lamps, each with seven spouts, are set on the bowl. And there are two olive trees, one on either side of the bowl.”

Then I asked the Messenger-Angel, “What does this mean, sir?”

5-7 The Messenger-Angel said, “Can’t you tell?”

“No, sir,” I said.

Then he said, “This is God’s Message to Zerubbabel: ‘You can’t force these things. They only come about through my Spirit,’ says God-of-the-Angel-Armies. ‘So, big mountain, who do you think you are? Next to Zerubbabel you’re nothing but a molehill. He’ll proceed to set the Cornerstone in place, accompanied by cheers: Yes! Yes! Do it!’”

8-10 After that, the Word of God came to me: “Zerubbabel started rebuilding this Temple and he will complete it. That will be your confirmation that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me to you. Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings? They’ll change their tune when they see Zerubbabel setting the last stone in place!”

Going back to the vision, the Messenger-Angel said, “The seven lamps are the eyes of God probing the dark corners of the world like searchlights.”

11-12 “And the two olive trees on either side of the lampstand?” I asked. “What’s the meaning of them? And while you’re at it, the two branches of the olive trees that feed oil to the lamps—what do they mean?”

13 He said, “You haven’t figured that out?”

I said, “No, sir.”

14 He said, “These are the two who stand beside the Master of the whole earth and supply golden lamp oil worldwide.”

Sixth Vision: The Flying Book

I looked up again and saw—surprise!—a book on the wing! A book flying!

The Messenger-Angel said to me, “What do you see now?”

I said, “I see a book flying, a huge book—thirty feet long and fifteen wide!”

3-4 He told me, “This book is the verdict going out worldwide against thieves and liars. The first half of the book disposes of everyone who steals; the second half takes care of everyone who lies. I launched it”—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—“and so it will fly into the house of every thief and every liar. It will land in each house and tear it down, timbers and stones.”

Seventh Vision: A Woman in a Basket

The Messenger-Angel appeared and said, “Look up. Tell me what you see.”

I said, “What in the world is that?”

He said, “This is a bushel basket on a journey. It holds the sin of everyone, everywhere.”

Then the lid made of lead was removed from the basket—and there was a woman sitting in it!

He said, “This is Miss Wickedness.” He pushed her back down into the basket and clamped the lead lid over her.

Then I looked up and to my surprise saw two women flying. On outstretched wings they airlifted the bushel basket into the sky.

10 I said to the Messenger-Angel, “Where are they taking the bushel basket?”

11 He said, “East to the land of Shinar. They will build a garage to house it. When it’s finished, the basket will be stored there.”