Zechariah 3-4
New Catholic Bible
The Leaders of the Holy City[a]
Chapter 3[b]
Joshua the High Priest. 1 Then he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan standing at his right to accuse him. 2 And the angel of the Lord said to Satan, “May God rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand snatched from the fire?”
3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 The angel then said to those who were standing before him, “Remove his filthy garments and clothe him in fine vestments.” 5 He also said, “Place a clean miter on his head.” Therefore, they put a clean miter on his head and clothed him in clean garments, while the angel of the Lord stood by and said, “Behold, I have removed your guilt.”
6 The angel of the Lord then declared to Joshua: 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you walk in my ways and observe my ordinances, you will rule over my house and be in charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access to all those who are standing here.
8 “Therefore listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who are seated here in attendance before you. For they are an omen of things to come. I will now bring in my servant, the Branch. 9 Gaze upon the stone that I have set before Joshua, a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day. 10 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, you will invite each other to come under your vines and your fig trees.”
Chapter 4[c]
Vision of the Lampstand and Olives. 1 Then the angel who had talked with me returned and roused me, as though awakening someone who was asleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a lampstand of solid gold, with a bowl at the top. There are seven lamps on it, with seven openings to hold the lamps. 3 Alongside it are two olive trees, one to the right and the other to the left.”
4 I then said to the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these things, my lord?” 5 The angel who was speaking to me replied, “Do you not know what they are?” “No, my lord,” I answered. 6 Then he said to me, “This is the Lord’s message to Zerubbabel: Not by force, nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 7 What are you, O great mountain? Compared with Zerubbabel, you are nothing more than a plain. He will bring out the capstone amid shouts of acclamation.”
8 This word of the Lord was then addressed to me as follows: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of the house, and his hands will complete the work. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10 For those who spoke disparagingly on that day of small beginnings will rejoice to see the chosen stone in the hands of Zerubbabel. These seven facets are the eyes of the Lord that range throughout the entire earth.”
11 Then I asked the angel, “What is the significance of those two olive trees to the left and the right of the lampstand?” 12 And I asked him further, “What is the meaning of the two olive branches that pour forth the oil through the two golden channels?”
13 “Do you not know what these are?” he said to me. “No, my lord,” I replied. 14 He answered, “These are the two anointed ones who stand in attendance on the Lord of the entire earth.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 3:1 Although they have been set free, the Jews do not enjoy political independence. Zerubbabel, a descendant of David, is only the high commissioner of the king of Persia. The Jews still hope to see him invested with the royal dignity and seated on the throne of David; this is a dream that will soon fade. The high priest Joshua, who had been repatriated with the others, occupies a position of the first importance. Since the people have no real political autonomy, they attach themselves to the high priest, the one leader who can do something about their religious destiny. He is the one who will inherit the royal power, and under his influence the religious aspect of Israel’s life will take precedence over the political. The two visions that follow shed light on this situation.
- Zechariah 3:1 The new garments in which Joshua is robed signify that, after the Exile, he has to be reinstated in his office as high priest of the new temple; at the same time, the garments convey the idea that in his person the entire forgiven people will experience prosperity, each individual (according to the traditional image) under his own vine and his own fig tree. The mysterious rock with seven eyes (v. 9) doubtless symbolizes the coming Messiah, whose knowledge will be complete and who is foretold under the name Branch because he must come from the royal line of David.
- Zechariah 4:1 The golden seven-branched lampstand (see Ex 25:31-38) represents divine providence, which concerns itself with human beings. The two olive trees are Joshua, who is dedicated to worship, and Zerubbabel, whom the Jews hope to see anointed king, since he is a descendant of David. The vision is, then, a promise that the two powers, the religious and the civil, will be linked together to restore the prestige of the chosen but now impoverished people (see Jer 33:14-18). The words: This is the Lord’s message to Zerubbabel (v. 6a) and in the hands of Zerubbabel (v. 10a), should be placed at the end of the chapter.
Zechariah 3-4
Darby Translation
3 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
2 And Jehovah said unto Satan, Jehovah rebuke thee, O Satan! Yea, Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee! Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
3 And Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the Angel.
4 And he spoke and said unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said, See, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I clothe thee with festival-robes.
5 And I said, Let them set a pure turban upon his head. And they set the pure turban upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the Angel of Jehovah stood by.
6 And the Angel of Jehovah protested unto Joshua, saying,
7 Thus saith Jehovah 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 a place to walk among these that stand by.
8 Hear now, Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee—for they are men of portent—for behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch.
9 For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua—upon one stone are seven eyes; behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith Jehovah of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in one day.
10 In that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, shall ye invite every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig-tree.
4 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I see, and behold, a lamp-stand all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon, seven [lamps] and seven pipes to the lamps, which are upon the top thereof;
3 and two olive-trees beside it, one on the right of the bowl, and the other on the left of it.
4 And I answered and spoke to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5 And the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord.
6 And he answered and spoke unto me, saying, This is the word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts.
7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel [thou dost become] a plain; and he shall bring forth the head-stone with shoutings: Grace, grace unto it!
8 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; and his hands shall finish it: and thou shalt know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto you.
10 For who hath despised the day of small things? Yea, they shall rejoice [even] those seven—and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel: these are the eyes of Jehovah, which run to and fro in the whole earth.
11 And I answered and said unto him, What are these two olive-trees on the right of the lamp-stand and on its left?
12 And I answered the second time and said unto him, What are the two olive-branches which are beside the two golden tubes that empty the gold out of themselves?
13 And he spoke to me, saying, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord.
14 And he said, These are the two sons of oil, that stand before the Lord of the whole earth.
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