What Does Zechariah 4:6 Mean in the King James?

Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Zechariah 4:6 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The verse places the decisive power in the LORD’s breath, the same reality Hebrew holds together as spirit, wind, and breath.

THE MEANING

This word meets you where effort reaches its limit: the work is carried forward by the LORD’s own breath. Human strength is real, but it is not the source that brings the work to completion.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the belief that the work can continue only if you summon enough strength to make it happen by yourself.

THE ROOT

רוּחִי

ruchi

GROWS FROM

רוח

ruach

Breath, wind, moving air; by extension, spirit or animating presence.

Here, the word rendered “spirit” also names wind and breath, holding divine presence and moving air in one image. The LORD’s breath is active agency, while human force is not the source of completion.

ALSO GROWS

ruach: Wind: the moving air the LORD uses to drive back the sea (Exodus 14:21).

רוּחַ

The same word shows the LORD’s agency moving through the world as wind.

ruach: Breath: the breath the LORD sends into the bones so they live (Ezekiel 37:5).

רוּחַ

The word connects divine agency with the breath that brings life where there was none.

THE PATTERN

The LORD brings life and purpose into being through divine breath, beyond what human force can accomplish.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:2 · KJVAt creation’s beginning, God’s Spirit moves over the waters before the world takes shape.

The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

Job 33:4 · KJVLife itself comes from God’s Spirit and the breath of the Almighty.

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts 1:8 · KJVThe capacity for the work comes with God’s Spirit, not from human force alone.

THE THREAD

Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:

Ezekiel 37:5 · KJV

The Hebrew word rendered “breath” here is the same word rendered “spirit” in Zechariah. Ezekiel makes the connection vivid: the LORD’s breath enters what is lifeless, and life follows.

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