Zechariah 4–6

The Gold Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees

4Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke^q me up, like someone awakened from sleep.^{r 2}He asked me, “What do you see?”^s

I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand^t with a bowl at the top and seven lamps^u on it, with seven channels to the lamps. ³Also there are two olive trees^v by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”

⁴I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I replied.^w

⁶So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:^x ‘Not^y by might nor by power,^z but by my Spirit,’^a says the Lord Almighty.

⁷“What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground.^b Then he will bring out the capstone^c to shouts^d of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ ”

⁸Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁹“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation^e of this temple; his hands will also complete it.^f Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me^g to you.

¹⁰“Who dares despise the day^h of small things,ⁱ since the seven eyes^j of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone^a in the hand of Zerubbabel?”^k

¹¹Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees^l on the right and the left of the lampstand?”

¹²Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?”

¹³He replied, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I said.

¹⁴So he said, “These are the two who are anointed^m to^b serve the Lord of all the earth.”

The Flying Scroll

5I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll.ⁿ

²He asked me, “What do you see?”^o

I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.^a”

³And he said to me, “This is the curse^p that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief^q will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely^r will be banished. ⁴The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely^s by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.^t’ ”

The Woman in a Basket

⁵Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.”

⁶I asked, “What is it?”

He replied, “It is a basket.^u” And he added, “This is the iniquity^b of the people throughout the land.”

⁷Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! ⁸He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.^v

⁹Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork,^w and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.

¹⁰“Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking to me.

¹¹He replied, “To the country of Babylonia^cx to build a house^y for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”^z

Four Chariots

6I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots^a coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. ²The first chariot had red horses, the second black,^{b 3}the third white,^c and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. ⁴I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits^ad of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.^{e 6}The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west,^b and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”

⁷When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth.^f And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth.

⁸Then he called to me, “Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit^c rest^g in the land of the north.”^h

A Crown for Joshua

⁹The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁰“Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon.ⁱ Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. ¹¹Take the silver and gold and make a crown,^j and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua^k son of Jozadak.^{dl 12}Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch,^m and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord.^{n 13}It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he^e will be a priest^o on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ ¹⁴The crown will be given to Heldai,^f Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen^g son of Zephaniah as a memorial^p in the temple of the Lord. ¹⁵Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord,^q and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.^r This will happen if you diligently obey^s the Lord your God.”