Zechariah 4:6 — Bible Verse Meaning & Context

Zechariah 4:6 reads: "Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is Yahweh’s word to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says Yahweh of Armies." — from the Old Testament, Zechariah (Minor prophet). The full verse is shown above with both the World English Bible (WEB) and King James Version (KJV) translations side by side.

Zechariah 4:6 is in the book of Zechariah, traditionally attributed to Zechariah and written around c. 520–480 BC. Zechariah is minor prophet in the Old Testament, originally addressed to Post-exile Jews in Jerusalem. Best known for "not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit".

Zechariah 4:6 is primarily a Bible verse about Strength. Within Zechariah, Zechariah uses eight night-visions and later oracles to encourage the rebuilders. Read the full passage above with surrounding context.

Zechariah 4:6 in the World English Bible (WEB) reads: "Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is Yahweh’s word to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says Yahweh of Armies.". The King James Version (KJV) reads: "Then he answered6030 and spake559 unto me, saying559, This is the word1697 of the LORD3068 unto Zerubbabel2216, saying559, Not by might2428, nor by power3581, but by my spirit7307, saith559 the LORD3068 of hosts6635. might: or, army". The WEB is a modern public-domain translation that updates the KJV's 1611 English while keeping a similar formal-equivalence style. Both render the same underlying Greek or Hebrew text.

Zechariah 4:6 is 29 words in the WEB translation (158 characters), broken into 7 clauses. It is a longer verse, often broken into smaller phrases for memorisation. Estimated reading time is about 9 seconds.

To memorise Zechariah 4:6, split it into its 7 natural clauses and learn one at a time. Repeat the full verse out loud five times, then write it from memory. Saving the verse as a photo wallpaper using our verse image studio helps daily review — the visual association with a memorable background dramatically improves recall.

Zechariah uses eight night-visions and later oracles to encourage the rebuilders. His book contains striking Messianic prophecies: the king coming on a donkey (9:9, fulfilled on Palm Sunday), the pierced one (12:10), the shepherd struck down (13:7), and the silver pieces (11:12-13). "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit" (4:6) is its theological pulse. Zechariah 4:6 sits within this larger story — Zechariah as a whole emphasises restoration, Messiah, cleansing.

Many readers use Zechariah 4:6 as a daily reminder verse — saving it as a phone wallpaper, sharing it on Pinterest, or memorising it for prayer. The verse studio on this page lets you download Zechariah 4:6 on 52 different backgrounds for free. Pair the verse with the surrounding chapter context shown above to understand its full meaning before applying it.