⁶ So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:^(A) ‘Not^(B) by might nor by power,^(C) but by my Spirit,’^(D) says the Lord Almighty.

⁷ “Be strong and courageous.^(A) Do not be afraid or discouraged^(B) because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.^{(C) 8} With him is only the arm of flesh,^(D) but with us^(E) is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”^(F) And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.

⁴ The weapons we fight with^(A) are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power^(B) to demolish strongholds.^{(C) 5} We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,^(D) and we take captive every thought to make it obedient^(E) to Christ.

⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,^(A) but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,^{(B) 5} so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.^(C)

⁷ Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow,^(A) sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God,^(B) will save them.”