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So he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing beside the Lord of all the earth.”
Zechariah 4:14 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
  • KJV Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth.
  • NKJV So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”
  • NASB Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.”
  • NLT Then he said to me, “They represent the two anointed ones who stand in the court of the Lord of all the earth.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The two olive trees are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth. They represent God's appointed leaders, likely Zerubbabel and Joshua.

Overview

The 'two anointed ones' most naturally point to the governor Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua, the civil and religious leaders through whom God's Spirit blessed His people. They stand ready to serve the Lord of all the earth. Together they foreshadow Christ, who unites the offices of king and priest and is filled without measure by the Spirit.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 27

  • Rev 11:4These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
  • Isa 61:1–3The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
  • Zech 3:1–7Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
  • Exod 40:15Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may also serve Me as priests. Their anointing will qualify them for a permanent priesthood throughout their generations.”
  • Dan 9:24–26Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
  • Zech 6:13Yes, He will build the temple of the LORD; He will be clothed in splendor and will sit on His throne and rule. And He will be a priest on His throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two.’
  • Mic 4:13Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron and hooves of bronze to break to pieces many peoples. Then you will devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
  • 1 Sam 16:12–13So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him in. He was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for he is the one.”
  • Heb 1:8–9But about the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.
  • 1 Sam 16:1Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”
  • 1 Sam 10:1Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?
  • Josh 3:11Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go ahead of you into the Jordan.
  • Exod 29:7Then take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head.
  • Deut 10:8At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name, as they do to this day.
  • Jer 49:19Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Edom from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”
  • 1 Kgs 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”
  • Isa 5:1I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
  • Heb 7:1–2This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
  • Josh 3:13When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—touch down in the waters of the Jordan, its flowing waters will be cut off and will stand up in a heap.”
  • Ps 89:20I have found My servant David; with My sacred oil I have anointed him.
  • Hag 1:1–12In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, stating
  • Isa 54:5For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.
  • Zech 6:5And the angel told me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth from their station before the Lord of all the earth.
  • Ps 2:6“I have installed My King on Zion, upon My holy mountain.”
  • Lev 8:12He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him.
  • Luke 1:19“I am Gabriel,” replied the angel. “I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
  • Ps 110:4The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Zechariah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Zechariah 4:14YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ZechariahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Branch who is both priest and king, the shepherd struck and the flock scattered, the king coming humble on a donkey, the one they pierced, the fountain opened for sin — Zechariah is dense with Christ.

How Zechariah 4:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.