Zechariah 3

Cleansing for the High Priest

1. Then the angel showed me Jeshua[a] the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan,[b] was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Jeshua.

2. And the Lord said to Satan, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire.”

3. Jeshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel.

4. So the angel said to the others standing there, “Take off his filthy clothes.” And turning to Jeshua he said, “See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.”

5. Then I said, “They should also place a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean priestly turban on his head and dressed him in new clothes while the angel of the Lord stood by.

6. Then the angel of the Lord spoke very solemnly to Jeshua and said,

7. “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: If you follow my ways and carefully serve me, then you will be given authority over my Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk among these others standing here.

8. “Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.

9. Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets.[c] I will engrave an inscription on it, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day.

10. “And on that day, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, each of you will invite your neighbor to sit with you peacefully under your own grapevine and fig tree.”

Footnotes:
a. 3:1a: Hebrew Joshua, a variant spelling of Jeshua; also in 3:3, 4, 6, 8, 9.
b. 3:1b: Hebrew The satan; similarly in 3:2.
c. 3:9: Hebrew seven eyes.