Passage
Zechariah 3
Book: Zechariah · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
ASV
- And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary. 2. And Jehovah said unto Satan, Jehovah rebuke you, O Satan; Yes, Jehovah that has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? 3. Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel. 4. And he answered and spoke unto those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with rich apparel. 5. And I said, Let them set a clean turban upon his head. So they set a clean turban upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of Jehovah was standing by. 6. And the angel of Jehovah protested unto Joshua, saying, 7. Thus says Jehovah of hosts: If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my charge, then you also shall judge my house, and shall also keep my courts, and I will give you a place of access among these that stand by. 8. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your fellows that sit before you; for they are men that are a sign: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch. 9. For, behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; upon one stone are seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving there, says Jehovah of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10. In that day, says Jehovah of hosts, shall you invite every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig-tree. (Zechariah 3:1-10, ASV)
WEB
- He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before Yahweh’s angel, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary. 2. Yahweh said to Satan, “Yahweh rebuke you, Satan! Yes, Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn’t this a burning stick plucked out of the fire?” 3. Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel. 4. He answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, “Take the filthy garments off of him.” To him he said, “Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with rich clothing.” 5. I said, “Let them set a clean turban on his head.” So they set a clean turban on his head, and clothed him; and Yahweh’s angel was standing by. 6. Yahweh’s angel protested to Joshua, saying, 7. “Yahweh of Armies says: ‘If you will walk in my ways, and if you will follow my instructions, then you also shall judge my house, and shall also keep my courts, and I will give you a place of access among these who stand by. 8. Hear now, Joshua the high priest, you and your fellows who sit before you; for they are men who are a sign: for, behold, I will bring out my servant, the Branch. 9. For, behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes: behold, I will engrave its engraving,’ says Yahweh of Armies, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10. In that day,’ says Yahweh of Armies, ‘you will invite every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.’” (Zechariah 3:1-10, WEB)
KJV
- And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. Satan: that is, an adversary to: Heb. to be his adversary 2. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? 3. Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. 4. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. 5. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. 6. And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, 7. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. charge: or, ordinance places: Heb. walks 8. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. wondered: Heb. of wonder, or, sign 9. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10. In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree. (Zechariah 3:1-10, KJV)
YLT
- And he sheweth me Joshua the high priest standing before the messenger of Jehovah, and the Adversary standing at his right hand, to be an adversary to him. 2. And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary: 'Jehovah doth push against thee, O Adversary, Yea, push against thee doth Jehovah, Who is fixing on Jerusalem, Is not this a brand delivered from fire?' 3. And Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and is standing before the messenger. 4. And he answereth and speaketh unto those standing before him, saying: 'Turn aside the filthy garments from off him.' And he saith unto him, 'See, I have caused thine iniquity to pass away from off thee, so as to clothe thee with costly apparel.' 5. He also said, 'Let them set a pure diadem on his head. And they set the pure diadem on his head, and clothe him with garments. And the messenger of Jehovah is standing, 6. and the messenger of Jehovah doth protest to Joshua, saying: 7. 'Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: If in My ways thou dost walk, And if My charge thou dost keep, Then also thou dost judge My house, And also thou dost keep My courts, And I have given to thee conductors among these standing by. 8. Hear, I pray thee, Joshua, the high priest, Thou and thy companions sitting before thee, (For men of type [are] they,) For lo, I am bringing in My servant, a Shoot. 9. For lo, the stone that I put before Joshua, On one stone [are] seven eyes, Lo, I am graving its graving, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, And I have removed the iniquity of that land in one day. 10. In that day, an affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, Ye do call, each unto his neighbour, Unto the place of the vine, And unto the place of the fig-tree!' (Zechariah 3:1-10, YLT)
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Setting
- Speaker: Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo (1:1), a prophet of priestly descent
- Audience: the returned Judean community in Jerusalem, under Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest
- Location: Jerusalem, in the Persian province of Yehud
- Time period: the night visions are dated to the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month of the second year of Darius I, early 519 BC
Theological reading
The fourth night vision, and the most legally shaped of the eight. It is set in a courtroom: the high priest Joshua stands before the angel of the LORD, and the accuser stands at his right hand, the position from which a prosecutor spoke.
The accusation is never stated, and it never needs to be. Joshua is clothed in filthy garments (v. 3), and the word used is unusually crude; the defendant is visibly guilty on inspection. The remarkable feature of the scene is that the case is not argued. The LORD rebukes the accuser (v. 2) rather than answering him, and the ground given is election and rescue, "a brand plucked out of the fire," not a denial of the charge.
Then the garments are removed and replaced (vv. 4-5), and the removal is interpreted as the passing away of iniquity. Note the sequence: the change of clothing is not a reward for the change of Joshua but the means by which he is made able to stand. The turban placed on his head restores him to office as well as to standing, which matters because the vision is not about one man's conscience but about whether a compromised priesthood can serve at all in the rebuilt house.
Verses 6-7 attach charge and condition to the restoration, and vv. 8-10 open outward. Joshua and his fellows are "men that are a sign," and the sign points to a servant called the Branch (v. 8), the stone with seven eyes (v. 9), and the removal of the land's iniquity in one day. The Branch title recurs at 6:12 and stands in the line of Isaiah 11:1 and Jeremiah 23:5, where it is Davidic and royal. Here a royal title is spoken over a priestly scene, and 6:11-13 will make the joining explicit.
The chapter closes on a village image (v. 10): each man calling his neighbor under his vine and fig tree. After a courtroom, a garden. The order is the argument.
Key words
Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.
- TBD
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Quoted in
Arguments and defeaters:
- Jesus is Jacobs Ladder, via Zechariah 3.10
- Job Bet Objection Defeater
- Lucifer Is Not Satans Name Objection Defeater
Concepts:
- Angel of the LORD, via Zechariah 3.1-6
- Old Testament Christology, via Zechariah 3.8
- Prayers Against Scoffing and Mockery, via Zechariah 3.2
- Satan, via Zechariah 3.1
- Spirit of Accusation, via Zechariah 3.1-2
- The Devil, via Zechariah 3.1
People:
Lexicon:
Why these four translations
ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.
The four:
- ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.
See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.