Zechariah 4:4

4:4 Then I asked the messenger who spoke with me, “What are these, ¹  sir?”

Zechariah 4:13

4:13 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” And I said, “No, sir.”

Zechariah 6:4

6:4 Then I asked the angelic messenger ²  who was speaking with me, “What are these, sir?”

Zechariah 9:4

9:4 Nevertheless the Lord will evict her and shove her fortifications ³  into the sea – she will be consumed by fire.

[4:4]  ¹ sn Here these must refer to the lamps, since the identification of the olive trees is left to vv. 11-14.

[6:4]  ² tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.

[9:4]  ³ tn The Hebrew word חַיִל (khayil, “strength, wealth”) can, with certain suffixes, look exactly like חֵל (khel, “fortress, rampart”). The chiastic pattern here suggests that not Tyre’s riches but her defenses will be cast into the sea. Thus the present translation renders the term “fortifications” (so also NLT) rather than “wealth” (NASB, NRSV, TEV) or “power” (NAB, NIV).