Passage
Zechariah 4
Book: Zechariah · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
ASV
- And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. 2. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have seen, and, behold, a candlestick all of gold, with its bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are upon the top thereof; 3. and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4. And I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5. Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord. 6. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts. 7. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it. 8. Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 9. The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto you. 10. For who hath despised the day of small things? for these seven shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel; these are the eyes of Jehovah, which run to and fro through the whole earth. 11. Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive-trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? 12. And I answered the second time, and said unto him, What are these two olive - branches, which are beside the two golden spouts, that empty the golden oil out of themselves? 13. And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord. 14. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. (Zechariah 4:1-14, ASV)
WEB
- The angel who talked with me came again, and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. 2. He said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I have seen, and behold, a lamp stand all of gold, with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are on the top of it; 3. and two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl, and the other on the left side of it.” 4. 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 me, “Don’t you know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 6. Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is Yahweh’s word to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says Yahweh of Armies. 7. Who are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you are a plain; and he will bring out the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace, to it!’” 8. Moreover Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 9. “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also finish it; and you will know that Yahweh of Armies has sent me to you. 10. Indeed, who despises the day of small things? For these seven shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These are Yahweh’s eyes, which run back and forth through the whole earth.” 11. Then I asked him, “What are these two olive trees on the right side of the lamp stand and on the left side of it?” 12. I asked him the second time, “What are these two olive branches, which are beside the two golden spouts, that pour the golden oil out of themselves?” 13. He answered me, “Don’t you know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 14. Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” (Zechariah 4:1-14, WEB)
KJV
- And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, 2. And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: a bowl: Heb. her bowl seven pipes: or, seven several pipes to the lamps 3. And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5. Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 6. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. might: or, army 7. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. 8. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 9. The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. 10. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth. for they: or, since the seven eyes of the Lord shall rejoice plummet: Heb. stone of tin 11. Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? 12. And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? through: Heb. by the hand empty: or, empty out of themselves oil into the gold the golden oil: Heb. the gold 13. And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 14. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. anointed: Heb. sons of oil (Zechariah 4:1-14, KJV)
YLT
- And the messenger who is speaking with me doth turn back, and stir me up as one who is stirred up out of his sleep, 2. and he saith unto me, 'What art thou seeing?' And I say, 'I have looked, and lo, a candlestick of gold, all of it, and its bowl [is] on its top, and its seven lamps [are] upon it, and twice seven pipes [are] to the lights that [are] on its top, 3. and two olive-trees [are] by it, one on the right of the bowl, and one on its left.' 4. And I answer and speak unto the messenger who is speaking with me, saying, 'What [are] these, my lord?' 5. And the messenger who is speaking with me answereth and saith unto me, 'Hast thou not known what these [are]?' And I say, 'No, my lord.' 6. And he answereth and speaketh unto me, saying: 'This [is] a word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying: Not by a force, nor by power, But, by My Spirit, said Jehovah of Hosts. 7. Who [art] thou, O great mountain Before Zerubbabel, for a plain! And he hath brought forth the top-stone, Cries of Grace, grace, [are] to it.' 8. And there is a word of Jehovah to me, saying, 9. Hands of Zerubbabel did found this house, And his hands do finish it, And thou hast known that Jehovah of Hosts Hath sent me unto you. 10. For who trampled on the day of small things, They have rejoiced, And seen the tin weight in the hand of Zerubbabel, These seven [are] the eyes of Jehovah, They are going to and fro in all the land.' 11. And I answer and say unto him, 'What [are] these two olive-trees, on the right of the candlestick, and on its left?' 12. And I answer a second time, and say unto him, 'What [are] the two branches of the olive trees that, by means of the two golden pipes, are emptying out of themselves the oil?' 13. And he speaketh unto me, saying, 'Hast thou not known what these [are]?' And I say, 'No, my lord.' 14. And he saith, 'These [are] the two sons of the oil, who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.' (Zechariah 4:1-14, YLT)
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Setting
- Speaker: Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo (1:1), a prophet of priestly descent
- Audience: the returned Judean community in Jerusalem, under Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest
- Location: Jerusalem, in the Persian province of Yehud
- Time period: the night visions are dated to the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month of the second year of Darius I, early 519 BC
Theological reading
The fifth night vision: a solid gold lampstand with a bowl above it and seven lamps, flanked by two olive trees that supply it (vv. 2-3).
The vision's most famous line arrives as an interruption. Zechariah asks what the lampstand is, and the answer that comes is not about the lampstand at all: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts" (v. 6). The word is addressed to Zerubbabel, who is trying to rebuild a temple with a small population, no army, and imperial permission that could be withdrawn. The answer does not promise resources. It relocates the source.
Verse 7 answers the obstacle ("who art thou, O great mountain?") and v. 9 answers the doubt about completion: the hands that laid the foundation shall finish it. Then v. 10 names the temptation by its right name, "who hath despised the day of small things," which is the question a returned exile who remembered Solomon's temple would be asking (compare Haggai 2:3 and Ezra 3:12).
The lampstand recalls the tabernacle menorah of Exodus 25:31-40, with one difference that carries the vision: this lampstand is fed directly by living trees rather than by priests carrying oil. The supply is not maintained by the servants; it is given to them. The two olive trees are identified at v. 14 as "the two anointed ones," most naturally Zerubbabel and Joshua, the governor and the high priest.
Revelation 11:4 takes up the two olive trees and the two lampstands for its two witnesses, and the seven eyes of v. 10 stand behind the imagery of Revelation 5:6.
Key words
Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.
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Quoted in
Concepts:
Lexicon:
- H2580 - chen, via Zechariah 4.7
- H7218 - rosh, via Zechariah 4.7
Why these four translations
ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.
The four:
- ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.
See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.