Zechariah 4
New English Translation
Vision Five: The Menorah
4 The angelic messenger[a] who had been speaking with me then returned and woke me, as a person is wakened from sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I replied,[b] “I see a menorah of pure gold with a receptacle at the top. There are seven lamps at the top, with seven[c] pipes going to the lamps. 3 There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the receptacle and the other on the left.”[d] 4 Then I asked the messenger who spoke with me, “What are these,[e] sir?” 5 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” So I responded, “No, sir.” 6 Therefore he told me, “This is the Lord’s message to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’[f] says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Oracle of Response
7 “What are you, you great mountain?[g] Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain! And he will bring forth the temple[h] capstone with shoutings of ‘Grace! Grace!’[i] because of this.” 8 Moreover, the Lord’s message came to me as follows: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple,[j] and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me to you. 10 For who dares make light of small beginnings? These seven eyes[k] will joyfully look on the tin tablet[l] in Zerubbabel’s hand. These are the eyes of the Lord, which constantly range across the whole earth.”
11 Next I asked the messenger, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the menorah?” 12 Before he could reply I asked again, “What are these two extensions[m] of the olive trees, which are emptying out the golden oil through the two golden pipes?” 13 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” And I said, “No, sir.” 14 So he said, “These are the two anointed ones[n] who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 4:1 tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.
- Zechariah 4:2 tc The present translation (along with most other English versions) follows the reading of the Qere and many ancient versions, “I said,” as opposed to the MT Kethib “he said.”
- Zechariah 4:2 tc The MT, supported by a Qumran manuscript, reads “seven and seven,” which would be fourteen. But Hebrew normally says “four and ten.” The LXX simply reads “seven,” suggesting the MT has a case of dittography.
- Zechariah 4:3 sn The vision apparently describes two olive trees providing olive oil by pipes to a large basin atop the menorah. From this basin two pipes extend to each of the seven lamps of the menorah, for a total of fourteen pipes in all. See vv. 11-12.
- Zechariah 4:4 sn Here these must refer to the lamps, since the identification of the olive trees is left to vv. 11-14.
- Zechariah 4:6 sn It is premature to understand the Spirit here as the Holy Spirit (the third Person of the Trinity), though the OT prepares the way for that NT revelation (cf. Gen 1:2; Exod 23:3; 31:3; Num 11:17-29; Judg 3:10; 6:34; 2 Kgs 2:9, 15, 16; Ezek 2:2; 3:12; 11:1, 5).
- Zechariah 4:7 sn In context, the great mountain here must be viewed as a metaphor for the enormous task of rebuilding the temple and establishing the messianic kingdom (cf. TEV “Obstacles as great as mountains”).
- Zechariah 4:7 tn The word “temple” has been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent (cf. NLT “final stone of the Temple”).
- Zechariah 4:7 sn Grace is a fitting response to the idea that it was “not by strength and not by power” but by God’s gracious Spirit that the work could be done (cf. v. 6).
- Zechariah 4:9 tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NRSV).
- Zechariah 4:10 tn Heb “these seven.” Eyes are clearly intended in the ellipsis as v. 10b shows. As in 3:9 the idea is God’s omniscience. He who knows the end from the beginning rejoices at the completion of his purposes.
- Zechariah 4:10 tn This term is traditionally translated “plumb line” (so NASB, NIV, NLT; cf. KJV, NRSV “plummet”), but it is more likely that the Hebrew בְּדִיל (bedil) is to be derived not from בָּדַל (badal), “to divide,” but from a root meaning “tin.” This finds support in the ancient Near Eastern custom of placing inscriptions on tin plates in dedicatory foundation deposits.
- Zechariah 4:12 tn The usual meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁבֹּלֶת (shebolet) is “ears” (as in ears of grain). Here it probably refers to the produce of the olive trees, i.e., olives. Many English versions render the term as “branches,” but cf. NAB “tufts.”
- Zechariah 4:14 tn The usual word for “anointed (one),” מָשִׁיַח (mashiakh), is not used here but rather בְנֵי־הַיִּצְהָר (vene hayyitshar), literally, “sons of fresh oil.” This is to maintain consistency with the imagery of olive trees. In the immediate context these two olive trees should be identified with Joshua and Zerubbabel, the priest and the governor. Only the high priest and king were anointed for office in the OT and these two were respectively the descendants of Aaron and David.
Zechariah 4
International Standard Version
The Vision of the Golden Menorah
4 Then the angel who had been speaking with me returned and woke me up as if I had been asleep. 2 Then he asked me, “What do you see?”
So I said, “I have been watching—and look!—there is a menorah made completely of gold with a bowl on top of it. And there are seven lights on it, along with seven feeder channels to the lamps, which are also on top of it. 3 Two olive trees are near it, one on the right side of the bowl and one on the left.”
4 Then I asked the angel who had been speaking with me, “Sir,[a] what are these?”
5 The angel who had been speaking with me answered by asking, “You don’t know what these mean, do you?”
So I responded, “No, sir.”
The Lord’s First Charge to Zerubbabel
6 Then he replied to me, “This is this message from the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by valor nor by strength, but only by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 7 ‘Who are you, great mountain? You will become a plain in Zerubbabel’s presence, and he will position the capstone, exulting over it, “How beautiful! How beautiful!”’”
The Lord’s Second Charge to Zerubbabel
8 Then this message from the Lord came to me again: 9 “Zerubbabel’s hands have laid the foundation of this Temple, and his hands will finish it, so that you will know that the Lord of the Heavenly Armies has sent me to all of you. 10 For who has despised the time[b] of insignificant things? They will rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.[c] These seven lights[d] represent the eyes of the Lord, which are looking throughout all of the earth.”
The Two Anointed Ones
11 Then I asked the angel,[e] “What are these two olive trees, one[f] on the right of the menorah and one[g] on the left?” 12 I also asked him a second question: “What are these two olive branches on either side of[h] the two golden feeder channels that carry the golden oil to the seven lights?”[i]
13 The angel[j] replied, “You don’t know what these are, do you?”
I responded to him, “No, sir.”
14 He said, “These are the two anointed ones,[k] who stand continuously beside the Lord of the whole earth.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 4:4 Lit. My lord
- Zechariah 4:10 Lit. day
- Zechariah 4:10 I.e. building the temple
- Zechariah 4:10 The Heb. lacks lights
- Zechariah 4:11 Lit. him
- Zechariah 4:11 The Heb. lacks one
- Zechariah 4:11 The Heb. lacks one
- Zechariah 4:12 Lit. that are at the hand of
- Zechariah 4:12 The Heb. lacks oil to the seven lights
- Zechariah 4:13 Lit. He
- Zechariah 4:14 Lit. sons of fresh oil
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
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