King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 3 notes
1And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,
2And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
3And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
It sounds like the angel expected Zechariah to understand, meanwhile, looking at the interpretation, I doubt how it's related to the image.
Hmm, matters of the spirit.
6Then 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.
7Who 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.
8Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
9The 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.
10For 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.
Wow, as these strong 💪 encouraging prophecies were being given, God was working in the background, stirring the heart of kings to favour the cause of Israel.
One would have also thought that, God having affirmed that Zerubbabel would finish the project, all would go smoothly.
I can imagine when the work came to a halt and Zerubbabel remembered this prophecy. I'm sure he wondered if this was ever going to come true.
I believe there should have been a comma at the end of the name Zerubbabel, rather than the word “with” inserted.
That way it paints the picture of the seven rejoicing when they see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel.
The rest of the verse then goes ahead to explain what these seven represent — in that sense, the semicolon is apt.
11Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
12And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
13And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
14Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.