Zechariah 4:5

5 The angel said, "Don't you know what they are?" "No, sir," I said.

Zechariah 4:5 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 4:5

Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto
me
Either to upbraid him with his ignorance and stupidity; or rather to quicken his attention, and that of others, to the interpretation of it he was about to give him: Knowest thou not what these be?
art thou ignorant of the design of them? or knowest thou not what is meant by them? and I said, No, my lord;
he made an ingenuous confession of his ignorance, joined with great respect unto, and veneration of, the angel that conversed with him.

Zechariah 4:5 In-Context

3 There are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on the left."

4 I asked the angel who talked with me, "Sir, what are these?"

5 The angel said, "Don't you know what they are?" "No, sir," I said.

6 Then he told me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'You will not succeed by your own strength or power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord All-Powerful.

7 "Who are you, big mountain? In front of Zerubbabel you will become flat land, and he will bring out the topmost stone, shouting, 'It's beautiful! It's beautiful!'"