Zechariah 4:1
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, | Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and woke me, as a man is awakened from his sleep. | And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedThis verse opens one of Zechariah's eight night visions. The angel who had explained the earlier visions comes back and rouses the prophet, as a man is woken from sleep. He then shows him a golden candlestick and two olive trees, which carry the message to Zerubbabel: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit." Zechariah 4:1Zechariah 4:2Zechariah 4:3Zechariah 4:6Zechariah overview
SpeakingZechariah the prophet tells what happened to him. "The angel that talked with me" is the same guide who explains the visions elsewhere in the book. Zechariah 4:1Zechariah overviewZechariah 1:9Zechariah 1:19Zechariah 2:3
ToThe book was given to the people of Judah who had come back from exile in Babylon, along with Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest. Zechariah overview
Also involvedZechariah himself is the one woken. The vision that follows is "the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel," whose hands had laid the temple's foundation and would finish it. Zechariah 4:1Zechariah 4:6Zechariah 4:9
The angel returns and stirs the prophet, then asks him, "What seest thou?" The text says he was woken "as a man" is woken from sleep, a comparison, so the verse does not say plainly that Zechariah had been literally asleep. Other Scripture also shows God's messengers rousing people: one touched Daniel in a deep sleep and set him upright while speaking with him, and an angel woke Elijah and told him to arise and eat. Zechariah 4:1Zechariah 4:2Daniel 8:181 Kings 19:51 Kings 19:7
The verse does not name where the vision took place. The book was written in Jerusalem, among the people who had returned from exile. Zechariah overview
The eventsThis is one of the eight night visions in the book's opening chapters. The book's dated messages fall between the second and fourth years of Darius king of Persia, about 520 to 518 BC, while the temple was being rebuilt. Zechariah overview
WrittenTraditional: Zechariah wrote the book, and the dated messages run from about 520 to 518 BC. Scholarly: most scholars agree that chapters 1-8, including this verse, come from Zechariah in 520-518 BC. Zechariah overview
HereThe waking prepares Zechariah for what comes next. The angel then asks, "What seest thou?", and the vision explains how God will finish the temple through Zerubbabel. Zechariah 4:2Zechariah 4:6Zechariah 4:9
In the whole of ScriptureThe book urges the returned exiles to finish rebuilding the temple, trusting God's Spirit rather than human strength. This vision holds the book's central line of encouragement on that theme. Zechariah overviewZechariah 4:6
For readersGod's guide comes back to rouse the prophet, as a man is wakened out of sleep, and asks him what he sees. God does not leave his servant drowsy; he wakes him to see what he is showing. Zechariah 4:1Zechariah 4:2
- came againשׁוּב
The word means "to return, turn back, come back." The angel who had been speaking in the earlier visions returns, which ties this vision to the ones before it. Strong's H7725GZechariah 4:1Zechariah 2:3
- wakedעוּר
The word means "to rouse, awake, stir up." The angel stirs the prophet, who is then asked, "What seest thou?" Strong's H5782Zechariah 4:1Zechariah 4:2
Takeaway
Zechariah 4:1 sets the scene for the candlestick vision: God's messenger returns and rouses the prophet. The message that follows is that God's work is done "not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit." Zechariah 4:1Zechariah 4:2Zechariah 4:6
Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.
The world around the text
About 520-518 BC. King of Persia: Darius I (522-486 BC). Where Zechariah prophesied. A small, poor community was rebuilding the temple among the ruins of the city Babylon had burned.
Who ruled
- King of PersiaDarius I522-486 BC
Zechariah dates his messages by the years of Darius. Darius confirmed Cyrus's decree and ordered the temple work to go on at royal expense. Zechariah 1:1Zechariah 7:1Ezra 6:1-12Haggai 1:1Behistun Inscription
- Governor of JudahZerubbabelc. 520 BC
A descendant of David who led the rebuilding. "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it." Zechariah 4:6-10Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:8
- High priestJoshua the high priestc. 520 BC
Called Jeshua in Ezra. He stands in Zechariah's vision clothed in filthy garments, which are taken away, and later receives crowns as a sign. Zechariah 3:1-10Zechariah 6:11Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:2
- Persian governor "on this side the river"Tattenaic. 520 BC
The governor of the province west of the Euphrates. He asked who had allowed the building, wrote to Darius, and was told to let the work go on. Ezra 5:3-6Ezra 6:6-13
What was happening, 539 BC to 332 BC
- 539 BCWarBabylon falls to Cyrus
Cyrus king of Persia took Babylon, ending the empire that had destroyed Jerusalem. Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Cyrus Cylinder
- 538 BCGod's peopleThe first return
Cyrus let the exiles go home to build the LORD's house. About fifty thousand returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Ezra 1:1-4Ezra 2:1-2Ezra 2:64-65
- c. 536 BCGod's peopleThe foundation is laid, then the work stops
The returned exiles laid the temple's foundation with shouting and weeping. Opposition from their neighbors stopped the work until the second year of Darius. Ezra 3:10-13Ezra 4:4-5Ezra 4:24
- 525 BCWarPersia conquers Egypt
Cyrus's son Cambyses invaded and took Egypt, bringing the whole region from the Nile to the Indus under one king. Herodotus, Histories 3.1-16
- 522-521 BCWarDarius crushes the revolts
When Darius took the throne, provinces across the empire rebelled, Babylon twice. By 520 he had put them all down. Compare the riders' report in Zechariah's first vision: "all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." Behistun InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 3.150-159Zechariah 1:11
- 520 BCGod's peopleHaggai and Zechariah stir the people to build
In Darius's second year the two prophets urged the people to take up the temple work again, and Zerubbabel and Jeshua began to build. Ezra 5:1-2Haggai 1:1-15Zechariah 1:1
- c. 520-519 BCRulersDarius confirms Cyrus's decree
Tattenai questioned the building. A search found Cyrus's decree at Achmetha, and Darius ordered the work to continue and be paid for from royal taxes. Ezra 5:3-6:12
- 515 BCBuildingThe second temple is finished
The temple was finished on the third day of Adar in Darius's sixth year and dedicated with joy. Ezra 6:14-18Zechariah 4:9
- 490-479 BCWarPersia's wars with Greece
Persia invaded Greece twice and was turned back at Marathon (490), Salamis (480) and Plataea (479). Greece, which Zechariah names in 9:13, was becoming Persia's great rival. Herodotus, Histories 6.102-117Herodotus, Histories 8.40-96Herodotus, Histories 9.1-89Zechariah 9:13
- 445 BCBuildingNehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem's walls
Under the Persian king Artaxerxes, Nehemiah came from Shushan and rebuilt the walls in fifty-two days. Nehemiah 2:1-8Nehemiah 6:15
- 332 BCWarAlexander takes Tyre and Gaza
Alexander the Great besieged island Tyre for seven months and then Gaza for two, on his way to Egypt. Zechariah 9 speaks of Tyre's "strong hold" and of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron and Ashdod. Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 2.15-27Zechariah 9:3-7
The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records (the Behistun Inscription, the Cyrus Cylinder, the Babylonian Chronicles) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.
Original Hebrew words
| English | Hebrew | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| and he returned | וַיָּ֕שָׁב | vai-YA-shov | H7725G | to return: returnשׁוּב (shuv) : return 1) to return, turn back 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to turn back, return 1a1a) to turn back 1a1b) to return, come or go back 1a1c) to return unto, go back, come back 1a1d) of dying 1a1e) of human relations (fig) 1a1f) of spiritual relations (fig) 1a1f1) to turn back (from God), apostatise 1a1f2) to turn away (of God) 1a1f3) to turn back (to God), repent 1a1f4) turn back (from evil) 1a1g) of inanimate things 1a1h) in repetition 1b) (Polel) 1b1) to bring back 1b2) to restore, refresh, repair (fig) 1b3) to lead away (enticingly) 1b4) to show turning, apostatise 1c) (Pual) restored (participle) … |
| the angel | הַמַּלְאָ֖ךְ | ha-mal-'AKH | H4397H | messengerמַלְאָךְ (ma.le.akh) : messenger 1) messenger, representative 1a) messenger 1b) angel 1c) the theophanic angel |
| who was speaking | הַדֹּבֵ֣ר | ha-do-VER | H1696G | to speak: speakדָבַר (da.var) : speak/tell/command 1) to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing 1a) (Qal) to speak 1b) (Niphal) to speak with one another, talk 1c) (Piel) 1c1) to speak 1c2) to promise 1d) (Pual) to be spoken 1e) (Hithpael) to speak 1f) (Hiphil) to lead away, put to flight |
| and he roused me | וַיְעִירֵ֕נִי | vay-'i-RE-ni | H5782 | to rouseעוּר (ur) 1) to rouse oneself, awake, awaken, incite 1a) (Qal) to rouse oneself, awake 1b) (Niphal) to be roused 1c) (Polel) to stir up, rouse, incite 1d) (Hithpolel) to be excited, be triumphant 1e) (Hiphil) 1e1) to rouse, stir up 1e2) to act in an aroused manner, awake |
| like a person | כְּאִ֖ישׁ | ke-'ISH | H0376G | manאִישׁ (ish) : man 1) man 1a) man, male (in contrast to woman, female) 1b) husband 1c) human being, person (in contrast to God) 1d) servant 1e) mankind 1f) champion 1g) great man 2) whosoever 3) each (adjective) |
| who | אֲשֶׁר־ | 'a-SHER- | H0834A | whichאֲשֶׁר (a.sher) A: 1) (relative part.) 1a) which, who 1b) that which 2) (conj) 2a) that (in obj clause) 2b) when 2c) since 2d) as 2e) conditional if B: Beth+ 1) in (that) which 2) (adv) 2a) where 3) (conj) 3a) in that, inasmuch as 3b) on account of C: Mem+ 1) from (or than) that which 2) from (the place) where 3) from (the fact) that, since D: Kaph+ 1) (conj.), according as, as, when 1a) according to that which, according as, as 1b) with a causal force: in so far as, since 1c) with a temporal force: when |
| he is roused | יֵע֥וֹר | ye-'or | H5782 | to rouseעוּר (ur) 1) to rouse oneself, awake, awaken, incite 1a) (Qal) to rouse oneself, awake 1b) (Niphal) to be roused 1c) (Polel) to stir up, rouse, incite 1d) (Hithpolel) to be excited, be triumphant 1e) (Hiphil) 1e1) to rouse, stir up 1e2) to act in an aroused manner, awake |
| from sleep his | מִשְּׁנָתֽוֹ׃ | mi-she-na-TO | H8142 | sleepשְׁנָה (she.nah) sleep Aramaic of she.nah (שֵׁנָה "sleep" H8142) |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.