Zechariah 4:7
in Zechariah 4What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. Then he will bring forth the capstone accompanied by shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it.
KJV
Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
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This verse in Zechariah 4
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt be a plain - The words have the character of a sacred proverb; “Every one that exalteth himself shall be abased” Luk 14:11; Luk 18:14. Isaiah prophesies the victories of the Gospel in the same imagery, “Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places plain” Isa 40:
This site's exposition
This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel
on Zechariah 4:6-7
The angel's answer lands on the sentence the whole vision was built to deliver: not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. The temple's completion, against a governor's small resources and a province's real opposition, is set down as the Spirit's own work rather than an army's or a treasury's, and the mountain of obstacles becomes a plain before Zerubbabel on that word alone. Henry reads the headstone brought forth with shouting, grace, grace unto it, as the finished building's own doxology, the last stone raised amid acclaim precisely because the whole work was grace from its foundation.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(V. 2 onwards.) And he said to me, 'What do you see?' And I said, 'I see, and behold, a golden lampstand, and its lamp on top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven pipes to the lamps that are on top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the lampstand and one on its left.' Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, 'What are these, my lord?'
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Every mountain and hill shall be brought low when the way of the Lord is to be prepared, " Isa. xl. Faith will remove mountains and make them plains. Christ is our Zerubbabel; mountains of difficulty were in the way of his undertaking, but before him they were all levelled; nothing is too hard for his grace to do.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Become a plain - Thou shalt sink into nothing. The head stone - Shall assist at the laying of the finishing stone, as he assisted when the foundation stone was laid. Grace, grace - Wishing all prosperity, and a long continuance of it, to the temple and those that are to worship God therein.
Who art thou, O great mountain?....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Messiah is not only the "Author," but also the Finisher (Heb 12:2). "Grace" is ascribed "unto it," that is, the stone, Messiah. Hence the benediction begins, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" (2Co 13:14).
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
O great mountain? - The hinderances which were thrown in the way; the regal prohibition to discontinue the building of the temple. Before Zerubbabel - a plain - The sovereign power of God shall remove them. March on, Zerubbabel; all shall be made plain and smooth before thee. I have given thee the work to do, and I will remove all hinderances out of thy way. He shall bring forth the headstone - As he has laid the foundation stone, so shall he put on the headstone: as he has begun the building, so shall he finish it! With shoutings - The universal acclamation of the people. Grace, grace unto it - How beautiful is this structure! May the favor of God ever rest upon it, and be manifested in it!
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִֽי־ | mi- | who? | H4310 → | |
| אַתָּ֧ה | ʾatah | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| הַֽר־ | har- | O mountain | H2022 → | 546 times |
| הַגָּד֛וֹל | hagadol | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| זְרֻבָּבֶ֖ל | zerubavel | Zerubbabel | H2216 → | 21 times |
| לְמִישֹׁ֑ר | lemishor | <into> level ground | H4334 → | |
| וְהוֹצִיא֙ | vehotzi' | and he will bring forth | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאֶ֣בֶן | haeven | the stone | H68 → | 273 times |
| הָרֹאשָׁ֔ה | haroshah | <the> top | H7222 → | |
| תְּשֻׁא֕וֹת | teshuot | shouting<s> | H8663 → | |
| חֵ֥ן | chen | grace | H2580 → | 69 times |
| חֵ֖ן | chen | grace | H2580 → | 69 times |
| לָֽהּ׃ פ | lah | to it |
מִֽי־who?
mi-H4310 →
אַתָּ֧ה[are] you
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
הַֽר־O mountain
har-H2022 →546 times
הַגָּד֛וֹל<the> great
hagadolH1419 →526 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
זְרֻבָּבֶ֖לZerubbabel
zerubavelH2216 →21 times
לְמִישֹׁ֑ר<into> level ground
lemishorH4334 →
וְהוֹצִיא֙and he will bring forth
vehotzi'H3318 →1067 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאֶ֣בֶןthe stone
haevenH68 →273 times
הָרֹאשָׁ֔ה<the> top
haroshahH7222 →
תְּשֻׁא֕וֹתshouting<s>
teshuotH8663 →
חֵ֥ןgrace
chenH2580 →69 times
חֵ֖ןgrace
chenH2580 →69 times
לָֽהּ׃ פto it
lah
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 118:22The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
it leads to
- Luke 20:17
But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?
- Matthew 21:42
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
- 1 Peter 2:4–8
As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
- Acts 4:11
This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
- Mark 12:10–11
Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
- Luke 20:17
Through
Micah 4:1In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to…
it leads to
- Isaiah 2:1–4
This is the message that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
- Jeremiah 3:17
At that time Jerusalem will be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations will be gathered in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. They will no longer follow the…
- Isaiah 2:1–4
Through
Psalms 114:4the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
it leads to
- Judges 5:4–5
O LORD, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the land of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain, and the clouds poured down water.
- Judges 5:4–5
Where this verse is studied
About Zechariah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.