Zechariah 4:5-7
New English Translation
5 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” So I responded, “No, sir.” 6 Therefore he told me, “This is the Lord’s message to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’[a] says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Oracle of Response
7 “What are you, you great mountain?[b] Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain! And he will bring forth the temple[c] capstone with shoutings of ‘Grace! Grace!’[d] because of this.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Zechariah 4:6 sn 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).
- Zechariah 4:7 sn 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. TEV “Obstacles as great as mountains”).
- Zechariah 4:7 tn The word “temple” has been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent (cf. NLT “final stone of the Temple”).
- Zechariah 4:7 sn 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).
Zechariah 4:5-7
New International Version
5 He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I replied.(A)
6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:(B) ‘Not(C) by might nor by power,(D) but by my Spirit,’(E) says the Lord Almighty.
7 “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground.(F) Then he will bring out the capstone(G) to shouts(H) of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’”
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