Zechariah 3 KJV
Clean Garments for the High Priest
Zechariah Chapter 3: Clean Garments for the High Priest
The vision's courtroom drama. With the Angel of the Lord as judge, Satan as accuser, and Joshua as defendant. Mirrors ancient Near Eastern legal procedures for priestly reinstatement, underscoring that post-exilic legitimacy derives from divine verdict rather than human lineage alone.
1nd he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
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.
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.
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.
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Did You Know?
The vision's courtroom drama. With the Angel of the Lord as judge, Satan as accuser, and Joshua as defendant. Mirrors ancient Near Eastern legal procedures for priestly reinstatement, underscoring that post-exilic legitimacy derives from divine verdict rather than human lineage alone.
By commanding removal of Joshua's filthy garments and declaring 'I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee,' the text presents a direct divine act of atonement that anticipates the New Testament portrayal of Christ's high-priestly cleansing, distinct from the annual Yom Kippur ritual.
The 'stone' set before Joshua engraved with seven eyes fuses royal and priestly imagery; these eyes echo both the seven lamps of Zechariah's next vision and the all-seeing wheels of Ezekiel, symbolizing God's omniscient oversight of the rebuilt temple.
Naming the coming figure 'the Branch' deliberately merges the priestly line of Joshua with the Davidic royal title found in Isaiah and Jeremiah, signaling that the restored priesthood will ultimately be fulfilled in a messianic figure who unites kingship and priesthood.
The promise that iniquity will be removed 'in one day' alludes to a singular eschatological event rather than repeated sacrifices, a detail that later Jewish and Christian interpreters linked to the decisive work of the Messiah rather than the ongoing temple cult.