Zechariah 4

1 And the angel that spoke with me came back again, and waked me up, as a man that is wakened up out of his sleep;

Then the angel who had been talking with me returned, and he called to me as though I had been asleep.

2 And he said unto me, What art thou seeing? And I said, I have looked, and behold, there is a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon its top, and its seven lamps are thereupon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon its top:

He asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a lampstand [made] completely of gold. There is a small bowl [for olive oil] at the top, and there are seven [small] lamps around the bowl, and a place for a wick on each lamp.

3 And two olive-trees are by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.

Furthermore, I see two olive trees, one at the right side of the lampstand and one at the left side.”

4 And I commenced and said unto the angel that spoke with me, saying, What are these, my lord?

I asked the angel who was talking with me, “Sir, what are these?”

5 Then the angel that spoke with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord.

He replied, “Surely you know [RHQ] what they are?” I replied, “No, I do not know.”

6 Then answered he and spoke 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 said to me, “This is the message that Yahweh [says that you should give] to Zerubbabel [the governor of Judah: ‘You will do what I want you to do, but it will] not be by your own strength or power. It will be [done] by [the power of] my Spirit, says the Commander of the armies of angels.

7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou wilt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone with shoutings of, Grace, grace unto it.

Zerubbabel, you [have many difficult matters to handle. They are like] high mountains [MET]. But they will [become easy to handle, as though] they will become flat land. And you will bring [to the temple] the final stone [to complete the rebuilding of the temple]. When you do that, [all the people] will shout repeatedly, “It is beautiful! May God bless it!”’”

8 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

Then Yahweh gave me [another] message.

9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands shall complete it: and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you.

He said [to me], “Zerubbabel [SYN] laid the first stone in the foundation of the temple, and he will put the last stone in its place. When that happens, the people will know that [it is I, the Commander of the armies of angels, who] have sent you to them.” And he said, “The seven bowls represent the eyes of Yahweh, who looks back and forth at everything [that happens] on the earth.”

10 For whoever even despised the day of [its] small beginning: yet will they rejoice when they see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel, with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which hold a survey through all the earth.

No one [RHQ] should think that little things that are done at the beginning of a big project are unimportant. [When the temple is almost finished being rebuilt, ] Zerubbabel will use a (plumb line/string with a stone fastened to it) [to see if the walls they are building are straight]; so when the people see that, they will rejoice.”

11 And I began, and said unto him, What are these two olive-trees upon the right side of the candle-stick and upon its left?

Then I asked the angel, “What is [the meaning of] the two olive trees, one on each side of the lampstand?

12 And I began a second time, and said unto him, What are these two olive-branches, which are close by the two golden pipes which empty out of themselves the gold-colored oil?

And what [the meaning of] the two olive branches, one alongside each of the gold pipes from which [olive] oil flows to the lamps?”

13 And he said to me as followeth, Knowest thou not what these things are? And I said, No, my lord.

He replied, “Surely [RHQ] you know what they are?” I replied, “No, sir, [I do not know.]”

14 Then said he, These are the two sons of the clear oil, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

So he said, “They represent the two [men who have been] appointed [MTY] to serve the Lord who [rules] the entire earth.”