Zechariah 4:4

4 I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”

Zechariah 4:4 in Other Translations

KJV
4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
ESV
4 And I said to the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?"
NLT
4 Then I asked the angel, “What are these, my lord? What do they mean?”
MSG
4 Then I asked the Messenger-Angel, "What does this mean, sir?"
CSB
4 Then I asked the angel who was speaking with me, "What are these, my lord?"

Zechariah 4:4 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 4:4

So I answered, and spake to the angel that talked with me,
&c.] The same that awoke him out of sleep, and asked him what he saw: saying, What [are] these, my lord?
that is, what do they signify? what do they represent? or what are they emblems of? for he knew what they were; that they were a candlestick, and two olive trees; but he was desirous of knowing what the meaning of them were.

Zechariah 4:4 In-Context

2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps.
3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
4 I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 He answered, “Do you not know what these are?” “No, my lord,” I replied.
6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.
Scripture quoted by permission.  Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.  NIV®.  Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica.  All rights reserved worldwide.