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Zechariah 4

Then the angel I had been talking to returned and got my attention, like waking someone from sleep.1

“What do you see?” he asked me.

“I see a lampstand made of solid gold with a bowl at its top having seven lamps on it, each with seven lips.2 I also see olive trees, one to the right and one to the left of the bowl.”

Then I asked the angel I was talking to, “What are these, my lord?”

“Don't you know what these are?” the angel replied.

“No, my lord,” I responded.

Then he told me, “This is the Lord's message to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord Almighty. Even obstacles as big as mountains will be flattened before Zerubbabel. Finally he will bring out the capstone3 to shouts of ‘Blessings on it!’”

Then the Lord gave me another message. Zerubbabel with his own hands laid the foundations for this Temple, and it will be completed the same way. Then you4 will know the Lord Almighty has sent me. For who dares look down on this time of small beginnings? They will be happy when they see the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand.

“The seven lamps represent the eyes of the Lord which see all over the world.”5

Then I asked the angel, “What are the two olive trees that stand to the right and the left of the lampstand?” And I also asked him, “What are the two olive branches from which the golden oil pours out from through golden pipes?”

“Don't you know?” the angel replied.

“No, my lord,” I responded.

“These are the two who have been anointed6 who stand by the Lord of all the earth,” he replied.

Source notes (6)
  1. Footnote Clearly Zechariah was not actually asleep, only deep in thought.
  2. Footnote The lips are small channels holding the wicks.
  3. Footnote Probably meaning the topmost stone of the rebuilt Temple.
  4. Footnote “You” here is singular, and so is taken to mean Zerubbabel.
  5. Footnote The angel is answering his own question from 4:5 regarding the meaning of the lamps.
  6. Footnote The identity of these two beings is debated. Some see them as heavenly beings, while others identify them as Joshua and Zerubbabel.

Free Bible Version. Copyright © 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: eBible.org. Typeset from the source files; no intended changes to scripture wording. BibleKenya is not endorsed by the rights holder.

Full source notice & licence · CC BY-SA 4.0 · SourceEdition imported 2026-10-25.

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