A Vision of a Golden Lampstand

And (A)the angel who talked with me came again (B)and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, (C)a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and (D)seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are (E)two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” And I said to (F)the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, (G)“Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to (H)Zerubbabel: (I)Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, (J)O great mountain? Before (K)Zerubbabel (L)you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward (M)the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (N)“The hands of (O)Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also (P)complete it. (Q)Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10 (R)For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see (S)the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.

(T)“These seven (U)are the eyes of the Lord, (V)which range through the whole earth.” 11 Then I said to him, “What are these (W)two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” 12 And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these (X)two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil[a] is poured out?” 13 He said to me, (Y)“Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, (Z)“These are the two anointed ones[b] who stand by (AA)the Lord of the whole earth.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 4:12 Hebrew lacks oil
  2. Zechariah 4:14 Hebrew two sons of new oil

The burning lights and the olive trees

The angel that talked with me before woke me. I, Zechariah, was like a man who wakes out of his sleep. The angel said to me, ‘What do you see?’ I said, ‘I see a lampstand that is made from gold. It has seven lamps and a bowl on top which contains oil. And it has seven branches that take the oil to each lamp. And two olive trees are standing by the lampstand. One tree is on the right and one tree is on the left.’

I, Zechariah, said to the angel that talked with me, ‘What does this light mean, my lord?’

He said, ‘Do you not know what these are?’

I said, ‘No, my lord.’

Then the angel said to me, ‘The Lord said this to Zerubbabel: “You will need my Spirit. You yourself are too weak.[a] And you do not have enough power.” This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Big mountain, you are no problem. You will become flat ground in front of Zerubbabel. Then he will bring out the last and biggest stone of my house. The people will shout, ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ ” ’

Then the Lord's message came to me, Zechariah. He said, ‘Zerubbabel has put down the first stone of my house. He will also finish it.’[b] Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.

10 Everyone should know that the day of small things is important.

Men will see Zerubbabel. Then they will sing and they will be happy. They will see him with a line in his hand to measure the walls.

The Lord sees everything in the whole earth. (The seven lights are the seven eyes of the Lord.)

11 Then I said to the angel, ‘What are these two olive trees that stand on the right and on the left of the lampstand?’

12 A second time I spoke to the angel, ‘What are these two branches of the olive trees? They are next to the gold pipes and oil comes from those pipes.’

13 The angel replied, ‘Do you not know what these olive trees mean?’

‘No, my lord,’ I said.

14 So the angel said, ‘These are the two men that the Lord of all the earth has chosen to be his servants.’[c]

Footnotes

  1. 4:6 Zerubbabel came from the family of King David. The Jews' enemies took Zerubbabel's father to Babylon. Zerubbabel was born there. He came from Babylon to build the second temple with other people at Jerusalem.
  2. 4:9 Some people thought that the work on the house of God was not important. But they were wrong. God wanted the people to build his house. The Holy Spirit would help Zerubbabel to finish it.
  3. 4:14 We think that the two men are Zerubbabel the ruler and Joshua the priest.

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.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 4:10 Or the plumb line
  2. Zechariah 4:14 Or two who bring oil and