Zechariah 4
New King James Version
Vision of the Lampstand and Olive Trees
4 Now (A)the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, (B)as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. 2 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. 3 (E)Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” 4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”
5 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.”
6 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.
7 ‘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!” ’ ”
8 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
9 “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.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 4:9 Lit. house
- Zechariah 4:10 Lit. plummet stone
- Zechariah 4:12 Lit. into the hands of
- Zechariah 4:14 Lit. sons of fresh oil
Zechariah 4
Good News Translation
The Vision of the Lampstand
4 The angel who had been speaking to me came again and roused me as if I had been sleeping. 2 “What do you see?” he asked.
“A lampstand made of gold,” I answered. “At the top is a bowl for the oil. On the lampstand are seven lamps, each one with places for seven wicks. 3 (A)There are two olive trees beside the lampstand, one on each side of it.” 4 Then I asked the angel, “What do these things stand for, sir?”
5 “Don't you know?” he asked me.
“No, I don't, sir,” I replied.
10b The angel said to me, “The seven lamps are the seven eyes of the Lord, which see all over the earth.”[a]
11 (B)Then I asked him, “What do the two olive trees on either side of the lampstand mean? 12 And what is the meaning of the two olive branches beside the two gold pipes from which the olive oil pours?”
13 He asked me, “Don't you know?”
“No, I don't, sir,” I answered.
14 Then he said, “These are the two men whom God has chosen and anointed to serve him, the Lord of the whole earth.”
God's Promise to Zerubbabel
6 The angel told me to give Zerubbabel this message from the Lord: “You will succeed, not by military might or by your own strength, but by my spirit. 7 Obstacles as great as mountains will disappear before you. You will rebuild the Temple, and as you put the last stone in place, the people will shout, ‘Beautiful, beautiful!’”
8 Another message came to me from the Lord. 9 He said, “Zerubbabel has laid the foundation of the Temple, and he will finish the building. When this happens, my people will know that it is I who sent you to them. 10a They are disappointed because so little progress is being made. But they will see Zerubbabel continuing to build the Temple, and they will be glad.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 4:10 Verses 10b-14 are moved here from the end of the chapter in order to retain the natural sequence of the narrative.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
