[1] The angel who had been speaking to me came again and roused me as if I had been sleeping. [2] "What do you see?" he asked. "A lampstand made of gold," I answered. "At the top is a bowl for the oil. On the lampstand are seven lamps, each one with places for seven wicks. [3] There are two olive trees beside the lampstand, one on each side of it." [4] Then I asked the angel, "What do these things stand for, sir?" [5] "Don't you know?" he asked me. "No, I don't, sir," I replied. [6] The angel told me to give Zerubbabel this message from the LORD: "You will succeed, not by military might or by your own strength, but by my spirit. [7] Obstacles as great as mountains will disappear before you. You will rebuild the Temple, and as you put the last stone in place, the people will shout, 'Beautiful, beautiful!'" [8] Another message came to me from the LORD. [9] He said, "Zerubbabel has laid the foundation of the Temple, and he will finish the building. When this happens, my people will know that it is I who sent you to them. They are disappointed because so little progress is being made. But they will see Zerubbabel continuing to build the Temple, and they will be glad." [10] The angel said to me, "The seven lamps are the seven eyes of the LORD, which see all over the earth." [11] Then I asked him, "What do the two olive trees on either side of the lampstand mean? [12] And what is the meaning of the two olive branches beside the two gold pipes from which the olive oil pours?" [13] He asked me, "Don't you know?" "No, I don't, sir," I answered. [14] Then he said, "These are the two men whom God has chosen and anointed to serve him, the Lord of the whole earth."
