EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Zechariah 4:6
6Then the angel said to me, ‘The Lord said this to Zerubbabel: “You will need my Spirit. You yourself are too weak. And you do not have enough power.” This is what the Lord Almighty says:
Zechariah 4:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then he said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.
Context of Zechariah 4:6
4I, Zechariah, said to the angel that talked with me, ‘What does this light mean, my lord?’ 5He said, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ I said, ‘No, my lord.’ Then the angel said to me, ‘The Lord said this to Zerubbabel: “You will need my Spirit. You yourself are too weak. And you do not have enough power.” This is what the Lord Almighty says: 7“Big mountain, you are no problem. You will become flat ground in front of Zerubbabel. Then he will bring out the last and biggest stone of my house. The people will shout, ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ ” ’ 8Then the Lord's message came to me, Zechariah. He said,
Read all of Zechariah 4Zechariah 4:6 word by word
וַיַּ֜עַן וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלַי֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר זֶ֚ה דְּבַר־יְהוָ֔ה אֶל־זְרֻבָּבֶ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר לֹ֤א בְחַ֙יִל֙ וְלֹ֣א בְכֹ֔חַ כִּ֣י אִם־בְּרוּחִ֔י אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then he answeredעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
- and spakeאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- unto Zerubbabelזְרֻבָּבֶ֫לzerûbbâbel · ZerubbabelH2216
- Not by mightחַ֫יִלchayil · strengthH2428
- nor by powerכֹּחַkôach kôach · strengthH3581
- but by my spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
- of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
Cross-references for Zechariah 4:6
- Zechariah 9:13I will use Judah and Israel to attack my enemies. I will use you, men from Zion, to attack the men from Greece. I will make you like the long metal knife of a soldier.
- Numbers 27:16‘You are the Lord, the God of the spirits of all people. Please choose another man to be leader over all the people.
- 2 Chronicles 14:11Then Asa called out to the Lord his God to help him. He prayed, ‘There is nobody like you Lord. You have power to help a few weak people against many strong people. Help us, Lord our God, because we trust you. We want people to give honour to your name. That is why we have come to fight against this large army. Lord, you are our God. You cannot let these men win against you.’
- Isaiah 11:2The Spirit of the Lord will be with him. The Spirit will make him wise, so that he understands things. The Spirit will show him what is right, and he will have the power to do it. The Spirit will cause him to know the Lord and to serve him truly.
- Isaiah 30:1The Lord says, ‘It will be very bad for you, my children who have turned against me. You have decided what to do, but you did not ask me about it. You have made an agreement with Egypt, but without my Spirit's help. In that way, you continue to do more and more sins.
- Isaiah 32:15It will be like that until God pours a new spirit on us from heaven. Then, deserts will become fields of fruit trees. And fields of fruit trees will seem like forests.
- Isaiah 63:10But they turned against him. They made his Holy Spirit angry. So he then became their enemy. He fought against them.
- Ezekiel 37:11Then the Lord said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are a picture of all Israel's people. The Israelites are saying, “Our bones are dead and dry. There are no good things that we can hope for. We have come to an end.”
- Hosea 1:7But I will continue to love the people of Judah. I will save them from the power of their enemies. I will not use weapons to do this in a battle. I will not use an army, or horses, or chariots. Instead, it will be the power of the Lord their God that saves them.’
- Haggai 2:2The Lord told Haggai that he must speak to Zerubbabel and to Joshua. Shealtiel's son, Zerubbabel, was the ruler of Judah. Jehozadak's son, Joshua was the leader of the priests. The Lord also told Haggai to speak his message to all the people who had returned to live in Jerusalem. The Lord told Haggai to say this to them all:
- 1 Corinthians 2:4When I spoke to you and when I taught you God's message, I did not use clever words. I did not want you to believe me because you thought I was wise. Instead, it was the power of God's Holy Spirit that showed you that my message was true.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4It is like we are fighting in a war, but we do not use human weapons. Instead we use God's weapons. Those weapons are powerful enough to destroy the enemy's strong places. We use those weapons to destroy people's wrong ideas.
- 1 Peter 1:12God showed his prophets that his messages about these things were not really to help them. Instead, God sent his message to the prophets to help you. That message is the good news about Jesus Christ which you have now heard. God sent his Holy Spirit from heaven to help people to tell the good news to you. Even the angels would like to understand more about these things.
- 2 Chronicles 32:7‘Be strong and brave. Do not be afraid of the king of Assyria and his large army. Do not worry! We have much greater power than he has.
- Psalms 20:6Now I know that the Lord will save the king that he has chosen. God will agree to help him from his holy place in heaven. God will use his great power to make his king safe.
- Psalms 33:16A great army will not save their king. A soldier does not stay alive because he is strong.
Commentaries on Zechariah 4:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel - This prince was in a trying situation, and he needed especial encouragement from God; and here it is: Not by might, (of thy own), nor by power, (authority from others), but by my Spirit - the providence, authority, power, and energy of the Most High. In this way shall my temple be built; in this way shall my Church be raised and preserved. No secular arm, no human prudence, no earthly policy, no suits at law…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel - Osorius: “As if he were to say, the meaning of the vision and scope of what has been exhibited is, God‘s doings have almost cried aloud to Zerubbabel that all these visions shall come to an end in their time, not effected by human might nor in fleshly strength, but in power of the Holy Spirit and through Divine Will.‘ For the Only Begotten became Man as we are, but He warred not after the flesh, to set up the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6Jeshua and Zerubbabel would succeed in rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, not by their own power, but because of God's empowering Spirit (compare Haggai 2:4–5).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. Not by might ... but by my Spirit--As the lamps burned continually, supplied with oil from a source (the living olive trees) which man did not make, so Zerubbabel need not be disheartened because of his weakness; for as the work is one to be effected by the living Spirit (compare Hag 2:5) of God, man's weakness is no obstacle, for God's might will perfect strength out of weakness (Ho 1:7; 2Co 12:10; He 11:34). "Might and power" express human strength…Read the comment
Topics related to Zechariah 4:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Zechariah 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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