King James Version
Zechariah 4
14 verses with commentary
The Vision of the Golden Lampstand
And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.</strong> This verse marks the transition to Zechariah's fifth vision—the golden lampstand with olive trees. The phrase <em>vayashav hamal'akh haddover bi</em> (וַיָּשָׁב הַמַּלְאָךְ הַדֹּבֵר בִּי, "and returned the angel who was speaking with me") indicates the interpreting angel's return...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. peace be unto thee--**God is favorable to thee and to thy people Israel. See Jud 13:21, 22, as to the fear of some evil resulting from a vision of angels.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
God's judgments against the sins of the people. (Hos. 4:1-5) and of the priests. (Hos. 4:6-11) Idolatry is reproved, and Judah is admonished. (Hos. 4:12-19)
**Verses 1-5** Hosea reproves for immorality, as well as idolatry. There was no truth, mercy, or knowledge of God in the land: it was full of murders, II Kin. 21:16. Therefore calamities were near, which would desolate the coun...
Read full commentary →And 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: a bowl: Heb. her bowl seven pipes: or, seven several pipes to the lamps
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And 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.</strong> The angel's question <em>mah attah ro'eh</em> (מָה אַתָּה רֹאֶה, "what do you see?") demands careful observation. Zechariah responds with detailed descrip...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. Knowest thou wherefore--**The angel asks, after Daniel had recovered from his fright, whether he has understood what was revealed (Da 10:13). On Daniel, by his silence, intimating that he did understand, the angel declares he will return to renew the fight with the evil angel, the prince of Persia. This points to new difficulties to the Jews' restoration which would arise in the Persian cour...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
God's judgments against the sins of the people. (Hos. 4:1-5) and of the priests. (Hos. 4:6-11) Idolatry is reproved, and Judah is admonished. (Hos. 4:12-19)
**Verses 1-5** Hosea reproves for immorality, as well as idolatry. There was no truth, mercy, or knowledge of God in the land: it was full of murders, II Kin. 21:16. Therefore calamities were near, which would desolate the coun...
Read full commentary →And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.</strong> The vision's most striking feature appears: <em>ushnayim zeytim aleha</em> (וּשְׁנַיִם זֵיתִים עָלֶיהָ, "and two olive trees beside it"). These trees flank the lampstand's central bowl, positioned symmetrically—<strong>one upon the right... the other upon the left</strong>. Th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. noted in the scripture of truth--**in the secret book of God's decrees (Psa 139:16; Re 5:1), which are truth, that is, the things which shall most surely come to pass, being determined by God (compare Joh 17:17).
**none ... but Michael--**To him alone of the angels the office of protecting Israel, in concert with the angelic speaker, was delegated; all the world powers were against Israel.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
God's judgments against the sins of the people. (Hos. 4:1-5) and of the priests. (Hos. 4:6-11) Idolatry is reproved, and Judah is admonished. (Hos. 4:12-19)
**Verses 1-5** Hosea reproves for immorality, as well as idolatry. There was no truth, mercy, or knowledge of God in the land: it was full of murders, II Kin. 21:16. Therefore calamities were near, which would desolate the coun...
Read full commentary →So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?</strong> Zechariah's question <em>mah-elleh adoni</em> (מָה־אֵלֶּה אֲדֹנִי, "what are these, my lord?") expresses humble bewilderment before the vision's symbolic complexity. The prophet doesn't presume to understand but asks for interpretation. The address <em>adoni</em> (אֲדֹנִי, "my lord") shows p...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
God's judgments against the sins of the people. (Hos. 4:1-5) and of the priests. (Hos. 4:6-11) Idolatry is reproved, and Judah is admonished. (Hos. 4:12-19)
**Verses 1-5** Hosea reproves for immorality, as well as idolatry. There was no truth, mercy, or knowledge of God in the land: it was full of murders, II Kin. 21:16. Therefore calamities were near, which would desolate the coun...
Read full commentary →Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.</strong> The angel's counter-question <em>halo yada'ta mah-hennah elleh</em> (הֲלוֹא יָדַעְתָּ מָה־הֵנָּה אֵלֶּה, "do you not know what these are?") might seem to rebuke ignorance, but more likely serves pedagogical purposes—heightening anticipation before the explanation ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 11 Da 11:1-45. This chapter is an enlargement of the eighth: The Overthrow of Persia by Grecia: The Four Divisions of Alexander's Kingdom:
Conflicts between the Kings of the South and of the North, the Ptolemies and Seleucidæ: Antiochus Epiphanes.
**1. I--**the angel (Da 10:18).
**first year of Darius--**Cyaxares II; the year of the conquest of Babylon (Da 5:31). Cyrus, who wielded t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
God's judgments against the sins of the people. (Hos. 4:1-5) and of the priests. (Hos. 4:6-11) Idolatry is reproved, and Judah is admonished. (Hos. 4:12-19)
**Verses 1-5** Hosea reproves for immorality, as well as idolatry. There was no truth, mercy, or knowledge of God in the land: it was full of murders, II Kin. 21:16. Therefore calamities were near, which would desolate the coun...
Read full commentary →Then 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. might: or, army
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KJV Study Commentary
This prophetic word stands as one of Scripture's clearest declarations that God accomplishes His purposes through His Spirit rather than human strength or strategy. The formula "Then he answered and spake unto me, saying" (vaya'an vayomer elay lemor, וַיַּעַן וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי לֵאמֹר) introduces the interpreting angel's explanation of Zechariah's vision of the golden lampstand. The message is direct...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. three kings in Persia--**Cambyses, Pseudo-Smerdis, and Darius Hystaspes. (Ahasuerus, Artaxerxes, and Darius, in Ezr 4:6, 7, 24). The Ahasuerus of Esther (see on Da 9:1) is identified with Xerxes, both in Greek history and in Scripture, appearing proud, self-willed, careless of contravening Persian customs, amorous, facile, and changeable (Da 11:2).
**fourth ... riches ... against ... Grecia...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11** Both priests and people rejected knowledge; God will justly reject them. They forgot the law of God, neither desired nor endeavoured to retain it in mind, and to transmit the remembrance to their posterity; therefore God will justly forget them and their children. If we dishonour God with that which is our honour, it will, sooner or later, be turned into shame to us. Instead of war...
Read full commentary →Who 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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain</strong>—Following the famous 'not by might nor by power' declaration (v. 6), God addresses the obstacles facing temple-builder Zerubbabel. The <em>har haggādōl</em> (הַר הַגָּדוֹל, 'great mountain') symbolizes massive opposition—political resistance from Samaritan adversaries (Ezra 4), economic hardship, discourag...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. mighty king ... do according to his will--**answering to the he-goat's "notable horn" (Da 8:6, 7, 21). Alexander invaded Persia 334 B.C., to avenge the wrongs of Greece on Persia for Xerxes' past invasion (as Alexander said in a letter to Darius Codomanus, Arrian, Alexander. 2.14.7).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11** Both priests and people rejected knowledge; God will justly reject them. They forgot the law of God, neither desired nor endeavoured to retain it in mind, and to transmit the remembrance to their posterity; therefore God will justly forget them and their children. If we dishonour God with that which is our honour, it will, sooner or later, be turned into shame to us. Instead of war...
Read full commentary →Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying</strong>—A second divine oracle interrupts the vision interpretation, underscoring the importance of what follows. The formula <em>vayəhī dəḇar-Yahweh 'ēlay lē'mōr</em> (וַיְהִי דְּבַר־יְהוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר, 'and the word of the LORD came to me saying') marks authoritative revelation. God doesn't want Zechariah or the people to miss the poin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. kingdom ... divided toward ... four winds--**the fourfold division of Alexander's kingdom at his death (Da 8:8, 22), after the battle of Ipsus, 301 B.C.
**not to his posterity--**(See on Da 8:8; Da 8:22).
**nor according to his dominion--**None of his successors had so wide a dominion as Alexander himself.
**others besides those--**besides Alexander's sons, Hercules by Barsine, Darius' ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11** Both priests and people rejected knowledge; God will justly reject them. They forgot the law of God, neither desired nor endeavoured to retain it in mind, and to transmit the remembrance to their posterity; therefore God will justly forget them and their children. If we dishonour God with that which is our honour, it will, sooner or later, be turned into shame to us. Instead of war...
Read full commentary →The 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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it</strong>—Divine guarantee that the same person who began the work will complete it. The emphasis on <em>yāḏāyw</em> (יָדָיו, 'his hands') appearing twice stresses personal, physical labor—Zerubbabel wasn't a distant overseer but a hands-on builder. <em>Yissəḏū</em> (יִסְּדוּ, 'have laid the found...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5. Here the prophet leaves Asia and Greece and takes up Egypt and Syria, these being in continual conflict under Alexander's successors, entailing misery on Judea, which lay between the two. Holy Scripture handles external history only so far as it is connected with God's people, Israel [Jerome]. Tregelles puts a chasm between the fourth and fifth verses, making the transition to the final Antichr...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11** Both priests and people rejected knowledge; God will justly reject them. They forgot the law of God, neither desired nor endeavoured to retain it in mind, and to transmit the remembrance to their posterity; therefore God will justly forget them and their children. If we dishonour God with that which is our honour, it will, sooner or later, be turned into shame to us. Instead of war...
Read full commentary →For 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. for they: or, since the seven eyes of the Lord shall rejoice plummet: Heb. stone of tin
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For who hath despised the day of small things?</strong>—Rhetorical question rebuking those who scorned the modest scale of the Second Temple. The Hebrew <em>mī bāz ləyōm qətannōt</em> (מִי בָז לְיוֹם קְטַנּוֹת, 'who has despised the day of small things') addresses the discouragement voiced when the foundation was laid: 'Many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were anc...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. in ... end of years--**when the predicted time shall be consummated (Da 11:13, Margin; Da 8:17; 12:13).
**king's daughter of the south--**Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt. The latter, in order to end his war with Antiochus Theus, "king of the north" (literally, "midnight": the prophetical phrase for the region whence came affliction to Israel, Jr 1:13-15; Joe 2:20), that ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11** Both priests and people rejected knowledge; God will justly reject them. They forgot the law of God, neither desired nor endeavoured to retain it in mind, and to transmit the remembrance to their posterity; therefore God will justly forget them and their children. If we dishonour God with that which is our honour, it will, sooner or later, be turned into shame to us. Instead of war...
Read full commentary →Then 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?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then 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?</strong>—Zechariah seeks clarification about the vision's most puzzling element (v. 3). The two <em>zētīm</em> (זֵתִים, 'olive trees') flank the <em>mənōrāh</em> (מְנוֹרָה, 'lampstand'), supplying its oil. Olive trees naturally produce oil, symbol of the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. a branch of her roots ... in his estate--**Ptolemy Euergetes, brother of Berenice, succeeding in the place (Margin) of Philadelphus, avenged her death by overrunning Syria, even to the Euphrates.
**deal against them--**He shall deal with the Syrians at his own pleasure. He slew Laodice.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-11** Both priests and people rejected knowledge; God will justly reject them. They forgot the law of God, neither desired nor endeavoured to retain it in mind, and to transmit the remembrance to their posterity; therefore God will justly forget them and their children. If we dishonour God with that which is our honour, it will, sooner or later, be turned into shame to us. Instead of war...
Read full commentary →And 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? through: Heb. by the hand empty: or, empty out of themselves oil into the gold the golden oil: Heb. the gold
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And 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?</strong>—Zechariah's second question probes deeper. Not satisfied with understanding the trees generally, he asks specifically about the <em>shibbolē hazzētīm</em> (שִׁבֹּלֵי הַזֵּיתִים, 'olive branches/clusters'), the fruit-bearing portions. ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. carry ... into Egypt their gods, &c.--**Ptolemy, on hearing of a sedition in Egypt, returned with forty thousand talents of silver, precious vessels, and twenty-four hundred images, including Egyptian idols, which Cambyses had carried from Egypt into Persia. The idolatrous Egyptians were so gratified, that they named him Euergetes, or "benefactor."
**continue more years--**Ptolemy survi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19** The people consulted images, and not the Divine word. This would lead to disorder and sin. Thus men prepare scourges for themselves, and vice is spread through a people. Let not Judah come near the idolatrous worship of Israel. For Israel was devoted to idols, and must now be let alone. When sinners cast off the easy yoke of Christ, they go on in sin till the Lord saith, Let them ...
Read full commentary →And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be?</strong>—The angel's mild rebuke: <em>hălō' yāḏa'tā māh-'ēlleh</em> (הֲלוֹא יָדַעְתָּ מָה־אֵלֶּה, 'Do you not know what these are?'). The question implies Zechariah should have discerned the symbolism from previous revelation or the vision's internal logic. Yet there's no harshness—the angel proceeds to explain. This gentle corre...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. come into his kingdom--**Egypt: not only with impunity, but with great spoil.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19** The people consulted images, and not the Divine word. This would lead to disorder and sin. Thus men prepare scourges for themselves, and vice is spread through a people. Let not Judah come near the idolatrous worship of Israel. For Israel was devoted to idols, and must now be let alone. When sinners cast off the easy yoke of Christ, they go on in sin till the Lord saith, Let them ...
Read full commentary →Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. anointed: Heb. sons of oil
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth</strong>—The angel's answer identifies the olive trees as <em>shənē bənē-hayyitshar</em> (שְׁנֵי בְנֵי־הַיִּצְהָר, 'two sons of fresh/new oil'), literally 'sons of the oil/anointing'—those who continuously receive and dispense anointing. The term points to Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the gove...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. his sons--**the two sons of the king of the north, Seleucus Callinicus, upon his death by a fall from his horse, namely, Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus the Great.
**one shall ... come--**Ceraunus having died, Antiochus alone prosecuted the war with Ptolemy Philopater, Euergetes' son, until he had recovered all the parts of Syria subjugated by Euergetes.
**pass through--**like an "overfl...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19** The people consulted images, and not the Divine word. This would lead to disorder and sin. Thus men prepare scourges for themselves, and vice is spread through a people. Let not Judah come near the idolatrous worship of Israel. For Israel was devoted to idols, and must now be let alone. When sinners cast off the easy yoke of Christ, they go on in sin till the Lord saith, Let them ...
Read full commentary →