There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left.”
Parallel translations
- WEB and two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl, and the other on the left side of it.”
- KJV And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
- NKJV Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.”
- NASB also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.”
- NLT And I see two olive trees, one on each side of the bowl.”
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
Two olive trees stand beside the lampstand, one on each side. They are the source supplying the lamps with oil.
Overview
The olive trees continuously feed oil to the lampstand, picturing an unfailing supply that keeps the light burning. This detail emphasizes that the lamp's shining depends on a source outside itself. The image points to God's provision through His Spirit and His anointed servants, explained later in the vision.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Rev 11:4These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
- Rom 11:17Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root,
- Zech 4:14So he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing beside the Lord of all the earth.”
- Zech 4:11–12Then I asked the angel, “What are the two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?”
- Judg 9:9But the olive tree replied, ‘Should I stop giving my oil that honors both God and man, to hold sway over the trees?’
- Rom 11:24For if you were cut from a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into one that is cultivated, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 4:3 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.