Zechariah 4:5 (KJV)

Passage

Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.

Nearby Context

Zechariah 4:3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.

Zechariah 4:4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?

Zechariah 4:5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.

Zechariah 4:6 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.

Zechariah 4:7 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "angel", "talked", "answered", "said", "knowest", "thou", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "angel" and "talked", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "So I answered and spake to the..." into verse 6's "Then he answered and spake unto me...", so "angel" and "talked" 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 "angel" and "talked" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.