Humanitext Reader

Septuagint · Zechariah §4.1-4.14

Vision of the Golden Lampstand and Two Olive Trees

Passage 4 of 14 · Greek

Summary

Prophet Zechariah sees a new vision of a golden lampstand and two olive trees, and learns that this is God's word to Zerubbabel regarding the rebuilding of the Temple, to be accomplished not by might but by the Lord's Spirit.

§4.1Καὶ ἐπέστρεψεν ὁ ἄγγελος ὁ λαλῶν ἐν ἐμοί, καὶ ἐξῆρέν με ὃν τρόπον ὅταν ἐξεγερθῇ ἄνθρωπος ἐξ ὕπνου αὐτοῦ·
And the angel who talked with me returned and woke me, as when a man is awakened from his sleep.
§4.2καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς μέ Τί σὺ βλέπεις; καὶ εἶπα Ἑόρακα, καὶ ἰδοὺ λυχνία χρυσῆ ὅλη, καὶ τὸ λαμπάδιον ἐπάνω αὐτῆς, καὶ ἑπτὰ λύχνοι ἐπάνω αὐτῆς, καὶ ἑπτὰ ἐπαρυστρίδες τοῖς λύχνοις τοῖς ἐπάνω αὐτῆς, §4.3καὶ δύο ἐλαῖαι ἐπάνω αὐτῆς, μία ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ λαμπαδίου αὐτῆς καὶ μία ἐξ εὐωνύμων. §4.4καὶ ἐπηρώτησα καὶ εἶπον πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον τὸν λαλοῦντα ἐν ἐμοὶ λέγων Τί ἐστιν ταῦτα, κύριε; §4.5καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ ἄγγελος ὁ λαλῶν ἐν ἐμοὶ καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς μέ λέγων Οὐ γινώσκεις τί ἐστιν ταῦτας καὶ εἶπα Οὐχί, κύριε. §4.6καὶ ἀπεκρίθη καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς μέ λέγων Οὗτος ὁ λόγος Κυρίου πρὸς Ζοροβάβελ λέγων Οὐκ ἐν δυνάμει μεγάλῃ οὐδὲ ἐν ἰσχύι ἀλλ᾿ ἢ ἐν πνεύματί μου, λέγει Κύριος Παντοκράτωρ.
And he said to me, "What do you see?" And I said, "I have seen, and behold, there is a lampstand all of gold, with its bowl on top of it, and seven lamps on it, and seven pipes to the lamps on top of it, and there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of its bowl and the other on its left." And I asked and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, "What are these, my lord?" Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my lord." And he answered and spoke to me, saying, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by great might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty.
§4.7τίς εἶ σύ, τὸ ὄρος τὸ μέγα τὸ πρὸ προσώπου Ζοροβαβέλ, τοῦ κατορθῶσαι;
'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain.
καὶ ἐξοίσω τὸν λίθον τῆς κληρονομίας ἰσότητα χάριτος χάριτα αὐτῆς. §4.8καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος Κυρίου πρὸς μέ λέγων §4.9Αἱ χεῖρες Ζοροβαβέλ, ἐθεμελίωσεν τὸν οἶκον τοῦτον, καὶ αἱ χεῖρες αὐτοῦ ἐπιτελέσουσιν αὐτόν, καὶ ἐπιγνώσῃ διότι Κύριος Παντοκράτωρ ἐξαπέσταλκέν με πρὸς σέ.
And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"' Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.
§4.10διότι τίς ἐξουδένωσεν εἰς ἡμέρας μικράς;
For who has despised the day of small things?
καὶ χαροῦνται καὶ ὄψονται τὸν λίθον τὸν κασσιτέρινον ἐν χειρὶ Ζοροβαβέλ·
But they shall rejoice and see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
ἑπτὰ οὗτοι ὀφθαλμοί εἰσιν οἱ ἐπιβλέποντες ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν. §4.11καὶ ἀπεκρίθην καὶ εἶπα πρὸς αὐτόν Τί αἱ δύο ἐλαῖαι αὗται αἱ ἐκ δεξιῶν τῆς λυχνίας καὶ ἐξ εὐωνύμων; §4.12καὶ ἐπηρώτησα ἐκ δευτέρου καὶ εἶπα πρὸς αὐτόν Τί οἱ δύο κλάδοι τῶν λαιῶν οἱ ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν τῶν δύο μυξωτήρων τῶν χρυσῶν τῶν ἐπιχεόντων καὶ ἐπαναγόντων τὰς ἐπαρυστρίδας τὰς χρυσᾶς; §4.13καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς μέ Οὐκ οἶδας τί ἐστιν ταῦτα; καὶ εἶπα Οὐχί, κύριε. §4.14καὶ εἶπεν Οὗτοι οἱ δύο υἱοὶ τῆς πιότητος παρεστήκασιν κυρίῳ πάσης τῆς γῆς.
These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth." Then I answered and said to him, "What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?" And I asked a second time and said to him, "What are these two olive branches, which are beside the two golden pipes that pour out the golden oil?" And he said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my lord." Then he said, "These are the two anointed ones (sons of richness) who stand by the Lord of the whole earth."

Notes

  1. §4.1ὃν τρόπον ὅταν — The relative phrase ὃν τρόπον ("in the same way as, as") is combined with ὅταν ("whenever") and the subjunctive ἐξεγερθῇ to express a general comparison.
  2. §4.6ἀλλ᾿ ἢ — Idiomatic expression following the negatives οὐκ... οὐδὲ to mean "except" or "but only," emphasizing that the action is done solely by the Spirit.
  3. §4.7τοῦ κατορθῶσαι — Genitive articular infinitive expressing result or purpose. In the LXX, it is used intransitively to mean "to become straight" or "to be leveled."
  4. §4.7ἰσότητα χάριτος χάριτα αὐτῆς — A literal rendering by the LXX of the Hebrew duplicate expression ("grace, grace to it!"), emphasizing the concept of "grace" (χάρις) by repetition and comparison.
  5. §4.12τῶν λαιῶν — A scribal spelling error or phonetic elision (apocope of the initial vowel) for τῶν ἐλαιῶν ("of the olive trees").
  6. §4.14υἱοὶ τῆς πιότητος — A literal translation of the Hebrew idiom "sons of oil" (meaning "anointed ones"). The LXX translates "oil" as "richness" or "fatness" (πιότης), denoting those filled with divine favor.

Cite this passage

Septuagint, Zechariah §4.1-4.14. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0527.tlg046.humanitext-grc1:4.1-4.14

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