Zechariah 4:6 (WEB)

Passage

Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is Yahweh’s word to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says Yahweh of Armies.

Nearby Context

Zechariah 4:4 I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”

Zechariah 4:5 Then the angel who talked with me answered me, “Don’t you know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”

Zechariah 4:6 Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is Yahweh’s word to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says Yahweh of Armies.

Zechariah 4:7 Who are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you are a plain; and he will bring out the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace, to it!’”

Zechariah 4:8 Moreover Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "answered", "spoke", "saying", "yahweh", "word", "zerubbabel", and "might". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "answered", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Then the angel who talked with me..." into verse 7's "Who are you great mountain Before Zerubbabel...", so "Spirit" and "answered" belong inside that flow. In Zechariah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "answered" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.