Zechariah 4-6

New American Standard Bible

The Golden Lampstand and the Olive Trees

4 Then ^(A)the angel who had been speaking with me returned and ^(B)woke me, like a person who is awakened from his sleep. ² And he said to me, “^(C)What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a ^(D)lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its ^(E)seven lamps on it with seven ^[a]spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; ³ also ^(F)two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.” ⁴ Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, saying, “What are these, ^(G)my lord?” ⁵ So ^(H)the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “^(I)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” ⁶ Then he said to ^[b]me, “This is the word of the Lord to ^(J)Zerubbabel, saying, ‘^(K)Not by might nor by power, but by My ^(L)Spirit,’ says the Lord of armies. ⁷ ‘What are you, you great ^(M)mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring out the top stone with ^(N)shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

⁸ Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel have ^(O)laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will ^(P)finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of armies has sent me to ^[c]you. ¹⁰ For who has shown contempt for the day of ^(Q)small things? ^[d]But these ^(R)seven will rejoice when they see the ^[e](S)plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—they are the ^(T)eyes of the Lord ^(U)roaming throughout the earth.”

¹¹ Then I said to him, “What are these ^(V)two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” ¹² And I responded the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive ^[f]branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” ¹³ So he answered me, saying, “^(W)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, ^(X)my lord.” ¹⁴ Then he said, “These are the two ^[g](Y)anointed ones, who are ^(Z)standing by the ^(AA)Lord of the whole earth.”

The Flying Scroll

5 Then I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying ^(AB)scroll. ² And he said to me, “^(AC)What do you see?” And I said, “I see a flying scroll; its length is ^[h]twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.” ³ Then he said to me, “This is the ^(AD)curse that is going forth over the face of the entire ^[i]land; everyone who ^(AE)steals certainly will be purged away according to ^[j]the writing on one side, and everyone who ^(AF)swears falsely will be purged away according to ^[k]the writing on the other side. ⁴ I will ^(AG)make it go forth,” declares the Lord of armies, “and it will ^(AH)enter the house of the ^(AI)thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and ^(AJ)destroy it with its timber and stones.”

⁵ Then ^(AK)the angel who had been speaking with me went out and said to me, “Now raise your eyes and see what this is that is going forth.” ⁶ And I said, “What is it?” Then he said, “This is the ^[l](AL)ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their ^[m]appearance in all the ^[n]land. ⁷ And behold, a lead cover was lifted up.” He continued, “And this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” ⁸ Then he said, “This is ^(AM)Wickedness!” And he thrust her into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead weight on its ^[o]opening. ⁹ Then I raised 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 the ^(AN)stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. ¹⁰ So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?” ¹¹ Then he said to me, “To build a ^[p]temple for her in the land of ^(AO)Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”

The Four Chariots

6 Now I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, ^(AP)four chariots were going out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. ² With the first chariot were ^(AQ)red horses, with the second chariot ^(AR)black horses, ³ with the third chariot ^(AS)white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong ^(AT)spotted horses. ⁴ So I responded and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “^(AU)What are these, my lord?” ⁵ The angel replied to me, “These are the ^(AV)four spirits of heaven, going out after taking their stand before the Lord of all the earth, ⁶ with one of which the black horses are going out to the ^(AW)north country; and the white ones are to go out after them, while the spotted ones are to go out to the ^(AX)south country.” ⁷ When the strong ones went out, they ^[q]were eager to go to ^[r](AY)patrol the earth. And He said, “Go, ^[s]patrol the earth.” So they ^[t]patrolled the earth. ⁸ Then He called out to me and spoke to me, saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have ^[u](AZ)appeased My wrath in the land of the north.”

⁹ The ^(BA)word of the Lord also came to me, saying, ¹⁰ “^(BB)Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah; and you shall go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.

The Symbolic Crowns

¹¹ Also take silver and gold, make an ornate ^(BC)crown, and set it on the head of ^(BD)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ¹² Then say to him, ‘The Lord of armies says this: “Behold, there is a Man whose name is ^[v](BE)Branch, for He will ^[w](BF)branch out from where He is; and He will ^(BG)build the temple of the Lord. ¹³ Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will ^(BH)bear the majesty and sit and ^(BI)rule on His throne. So He will be a ^(BJ)priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two ^[x]offices.”’ ¹⁴ Now the ^(BK)crown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and ^[y]Hen the son of Zephaniah. ^15 (BL)Those who are far away will come and ^[z]build the temple of the Lord.” Then you will ^(BM)know that the Lord of armies has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely ^(BN)obey ^[aa]the Lord your God.