^4:6Therefore he told me, “These signify the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’⁵ says the Lord who rules over all.”

Oracle of Response

^4:7“What are you, you great mountain?⁶ Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain! And he will bring forth the temple⁷ capstone with shoutings of ‘Grace! Grace!’⁸ because of this.” ^4:8Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me as follows: ^4:9“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple,⁹ and his hands will complete it.” Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you. ^4:10For who dares make light of small beginnings? These seven eyes¹⁰ will joyfully look on the tin tablet¹¹ in Zerubbabel’s hand. (These are the eyes of the Lord, which constantly range across the whole earth.)

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Footnotes

5 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).
6 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. “Obstacles as great as mountains”).
7 The word “temple” has been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent (cf. “final stone of the Temple”).
8 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).
9 Heb “house” (so , ).
10 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.
11 This term is traditionally translated “plumb line” (so , , ; cf. , “plummet”), but it is more likely that the Hebrew בְּדִיל (bédil) 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.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ ”

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.

“These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

“What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ ”

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.

“Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

So he answered me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of Armies. ‘What are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. And he will bring out the capstone accompanied by shouts of: Grace, grace to it!’ ”

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “Zerubbabel’s hands have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. For who despises the day of small things? These seven eyes of the Lord, which scan throughout the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the ceremonial stone in Zerubbabel’s hand.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’ ”

Then another message came to me from the Lord: “Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me. Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”

(The seven lamps represent the eyes of the Lord that search all around the world.)

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And he answered and said to me, “This is the word of Yahweh to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by strength and not by power, but only by my Spirit,’ says Yahweh of hosts. ‘Who are you O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground, and he will bring out the top stone amid the shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ” And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have founded this house, and his hands will finish it. And you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things will rejoice and will see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”

These seven are the eyes of Yahweh which are ranging throughout the whole earth.

KJV 1900King James Version

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.

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.

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

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.

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.

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