5“Don’t you know?” the angel asked.

“No, my lord,” I replied.

6Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 7Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’*4:7 Hebrew ‘Grace, grace to it.’”

8Then another message came to me from the Lord: 9“Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me. 10Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”

(The seven lamps*4:10 Or The seven facets (see 3:9); Hebrew reads These seven. represent the eyes of the Lord that search all around the world.)