Zechariah 4–6

Chapter 4

The Golden Lampstand and Olive Trees

¹Then ^athe angel who was speaking with me returned and ^broused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep.

²He said to me, “^aWhat do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a ^blampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its ^cseven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it;

³also ^atwo olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.”

⁴Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, ^amy lord?”

⁵So ^athe angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “^bDo you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”

⁶Then he ¹said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to ^aZerubbabel saying, ‘^bNot by might nor by power, but by My ^cSpirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.

⁷‘What are you, O great ^amountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with ^bshouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”

⁸Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁹“The hands of Zerubbabel have ^alaid the foundation of this house, and his hands will ^bfinish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to ¹you.

¹⁰“For who has despised the day of ^asmall things? ¹But these ^bseven will be glad when they see the ^2cplumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—these are the ^deyes of the Lord which ^erange to and fro throughout the earth.”

¹¹Then I said to him, “What are these ^atwo olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?”

¹²And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive ¹branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?”

¹³So he answered me, saying, “^aDo you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, ^bmy lord.”

¹⁴Then he said, “These are the two ^1aanointed ones who are ^bstanding by the ^cLord of the whole earth.”

Chapter 5

The Flying Scroll

¹Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying ^ascroll.

²And he said to me, “^aWhat do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty ¹cubits and its width ten cubits.”

³Then he said to me, “This is the ^acurse that is going forth over the face of the whole ¹land; surely everyone who ^bsteals will be purged away according to ²the writing on one side, and everyone who ^cswears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.

⁴“I will ^amake it go forth,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and it will ^benter the house of the ^cthief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and ^dconsume it with its timber and stones.”

⁵Then ^athe angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.”

⁶I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ^1aephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their ²appearance in all the ³land

⁷(and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.”

⁸Then he said, “This is ^aWickedness!” And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its ¹opening.

⁹Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a ^astork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens.

¹⁰I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?”

¹¹Then he said to me, “To build a ¹temple for her in the land of ^aShinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”

Chapter 6

The Four Chariots

¹Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, ^afour chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains.

²With the first chariot were ^ared horses, with the second chariot ^bblack horses,

³with the third chariot ^awhite horses, and with the fourth chariot strong ^bdappled horses.

⁴Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “^aWhat are these, my lord?”

⁵The angel replied to me, “These are the ^afour spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth,

⁶with one of which the black horses are going forth to the ^anorth country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the ^bsouth country.

⁷“When the strong ones went out, they ¹were eager to go to ^2apatrol the earth.” And He said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they ³patrolled the earth.

⁸Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have ^1aappeased My wrath in the land of the north.”

⁹The ^aword of the Lord also came to me, saying,

¹⁰“^aTake an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.

The Symbolic Crowns

¹¹“Take silver and gold, make an ornate ^acrown and set it on the head of ^bJoshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.

¹²“Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is ^1aBranch, for He will ^2bbranch out from where He is; and He will ^cbuild the temple of the Lord.

¹³“Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will ^abear the honor and sit and ^brule on His throne. Thus, He will be a ^cpriest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two ¹offices.” ’

¹⁴“Now the ^acrown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and ¹Hen the son of Zephaniah.

¹⁵“^aThose who are far off will come and ¹build the temple of the Lord.” Then you will ^bknow that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely ^cobey the Lord your God.