Zechariah 4:4 (YLT)

Passage

And I answer and speak unto the messenger who is speaking with me, saying, `What <FI>are<Fi> these, my lord?'

Nearby Context

Zechariah 4:2 and he saith unto me, `What art thou seeing?' And I say, `I have looked, and lo, a candlestick of gold--all of it, and its bowl <FI>is<Fi> on its top, and its seven lamps <FI>are<Fi> upon it, and twice seven pipes <FI>are<Fi> to the lights that <FI>are<Fi> on its top,

Zechariah 4:3 and two olive-trees <FI>are<Fi> by it, one on the right of the bowl, and one on its left.'

Zechariah 4:4 And I answer and speak unto the messenger who is speaking with me, saying, `What <FI>are<Fi> these, my lord?'

Zechariah 4:5 And the messenger who is speaking with me answereth and saith unto me, `Hast thou not known what these <FI>are<Fi> ?' And I say, `No, my lord.'

Zechariah 4:6 And he answereth and speaketh unto me, saying: `This <FI>is<Fi> a word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying: Not by a force, nor by power, But--by My Spirit, said Jehovah of Hosts.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "answer", "speak", "messenger", "speaking", "saying", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "answer" and "speak", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "and two olive-trees FI are Fi by..." into verse 5's "And the messenger who is speaking with...", so "answer" and "speak" 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 "answer" and "speak" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.