Discovery BoxZechariah 4:7-9 
Context4:7 “What are you, you great mountain? 1 Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain! And he will bring forth the temple 2 capstone with shoutings of ‘Grace! Grace!’ 3 because of this.” 4:8 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me as follows: 4:9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple, 4 and his hands will complete it.” Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you.
1 sn In context, the great mountain here must be viewed as a metaphor for the enormous task of rebuilding the temple and establishing the messianic kingdom (cf. TEV “Obstacles as great as mountains”).
2 tn The word “temple” has been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent (cf. NLT “final stone of the Temple”).
3 sn Grace is a fitting response to the idea that it was “not by strength and not by power” but by God’s gracious Spirit that the work could be done (cf. v. 6).
4 tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NRSV).
