Zechariah 4

1 The angel who talked with me came again and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep.

2 He said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I have seen, and behold, a lamp stand all of gold, with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps which are on the top of it;

3 and two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl, and the other on the left side of it.”

4 I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”

5 Then the angel who talked with me answered me, “Don’t you know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”

6 Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is the LORD’s word to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD of Armies.

7 Who are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you are a plain; and he will bring out the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace, to it!’”

8 Moreover the LORD’s word came to me, saying,

9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also finish it; and you will know that the LORD of Armies has sent me to you.

10 Indeed, who despises the day of small things? For these seven shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These are the LORD’s eyes, which run back and forth through the whole earth.”

11 Then I asked him, “What are these two olive trees on the right side of the lamp stand and on the left side of it?”

12 I asked him the second time, “What are these two olive branches, which are beside the two golden spouts that pour the golden oil out of themselves?”

13 He answered me, “Don’t you know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”

14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

Around Zechariah 4

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

About Zechariah as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

The same returned community that heard Haggai hears Zechariah. His first message is an invitation: “Return to me,” says the LORD of Armies, “and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Armies. Then come the visions, eight of them, seen at night. A man on a red horse among myrtle trees. Four horns, and four craftsmen coming to cast them down. Behind them stands a promise that the LORD has returned to Jerusalem with mercy. The first part of the book (chapters 1 to 8) promises God’s return to Jerusalem and calls for justice and mercy.

The second part (9 to 14) is harder to place. Its first great cry is a call to joy: “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion!” The king who comes is righteous and having salvation, “lowly, and riding on a donkey,” even on a colt. The chapters go on to speak of a shepherd who is struck, of one who is pierced and mourned, and of a day when the LORD will be king over all the earth.

Background

The dated messages fall between 520 and 518 before Christ. Many scholars think chapters 9 to 14 come from a later time. Others hold that Zechariah wrote the whole book. The question is still open, and readers who take Scripture seriously stand on both sides of it. The prophet is called the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, in the opening lines.

How Christians read it

The Gospels quote Zechariah repeatedly in telling of Jesus’ last week: the entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, the thirty pieces of silver, the scattered sheep and the pierced one. Christians differ on how much of the final chapters still lies ahead. Some read them mostly as pictures already fulfilled, and others look for more. How the book is read depends in part on how its two halves are related.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 21 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes