< Zechariah 4 >

1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,
Then the angel I had been talking to returned and got my attention, like waking someone from 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:
“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.
3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right [side] of the bowl, and the other upon the left [side] thereof.
I also see olive trees, one to the right and one to the left of the bowl.”
4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What [are] these, my lord?
Then I asked the angel I was talking to, “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.
“Don't you know what these are?” the angel replied. “No, my lord,” I responded.
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.
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.
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.
Even obstacles as big as mountains will be flattened before Zerubbabel. Finally he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘Blessings on it!’”
8 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Then the Lord gave me another message.
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.
Zerubbabel with his own hands laid the foundations for this Temple, and it will be completed the same way. Then you will know the Lord Almighty has sent me.
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 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.”
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?
Then I asked the angel, “What are the two olive trees that stand to the right and the left of the lampstand?”
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?
And I also asked him, “What are the two olive branches from which the golden oil pours out from through golden pipes?”
13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these [be]? And I said, No, my lord.
“Don't you know?” the angel replied. “No, my lord,” I responded.
14 Then said he, These [are] the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
“These are the two who have been anointed who stand by the Lord of all the earth,” he replied.

< Zechariah 4 >