A Vision of Joshua the High Priest

3 Then he showed me ^(A)Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and ^(B)Satan^[a] standing at his right hand to accuse him. ² And the Lord said to Satan, ^(C)“The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has ^(D)chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this ^(E)a brand^[b] plucked from the fire?” ³ Now ^(F)Joshua was standing before the angel, ^(G)clothed with filthy garments. ⁴ And the angel said to ^(H)those who were standing before him, ^(I)“Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, ^(J)I have taken your iniquity away from you, and ^(K)I will clothe you with pure vestments.” ⁵ And I said, ^(L)“Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.

⁶ And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured ^(M)Joshua, ⁷ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and ^(N)keep my charge, then you shall ^(O)rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among ^(P)those who are standing here. ⁸ Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for ^(Q)they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring ^(R)my servant ^(S)the Branch. ⁹ For behold, on ^(T)the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with ^(U)seven eyes,^[c] I will ^(V)engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and ^(W)I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. ¹⁰ In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come ^(X)under his vine and under his fig tree.”

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^(B)by command of ^(C)God our Savior and of Christ Jesus ^(D)our hope,

² To Timothy, ^(E)my true child in the faith:

^(F)Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Warning Against False Teachers

^3 (G)As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not ^(H)to teach any different doctrine, ⁴ nor ^(I)to devote themselves to myths and endless ^(J)genealogies, which promote ^(K)speculations rather than the stewardship^[a] from God that is by faith. ⁵ The aim of our charge is love ^(L)that issues from a pure heart and ^(M)a good conscience and ^(N)a sincere faith. ⁶ Certain persons, by ^(O)swerving from these, have wandered away into ^(P)vain discussion, ⁷ desiring to be teachers of the law, ^(Q)without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

⁸ Now we know that ^(R)the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, ⁹ understanding this, that the ^(S)law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, ¹⁰ the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,^[b] liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to ^(T)sound^[c] doctrine, ¹¹ in accordance with ^(U)the gospel of the glory of ^(V)the blessed God ^(W)with which I have been entrusted.

Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners

¹² I thank him ^(X)who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, ^(Y)appointing me to his service, ¹³ though formerly I was a blasphemer, ^(Z)persecutor, and insolent opponent. But ^(AA)I received mercy ^(AB)because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, ¹⁴ and ^(AC)the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the ^(AD)faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ The saying is ^(AE)trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus ^(AF)came into the world to save sinners, ^(AG)of whom I am the foremost. ¹⁶ But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. ¹⁷ To ^(AH)the King of the ages, ^(AI)immortal, ^(AJ)invisible, ^(AK)the only God, ^(AL)be honor and glory forever and ever.^[d] Amen.

A Vision of a Golden Lampstand

4 And ^(A)the angel who talked with me came again ^(B)and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. ² And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, ^(C)a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and ^(D)seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. ³ And there are ^(E)two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” ⁴ And I said to ^(F)the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, ^(G)“Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” ⁶ Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to ^(H)Zerubbabel: ^(I)Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. ⁷ Who are you, ^(J)O great mountain? Before ^(K)Zerubbabel ^(L)you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward ^(M)the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^9 (N)“The hands of ^(O)Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also ^(P)complete it. ^(Q)Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. ^10 (R)For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see ^(S)the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.

^(T)“These seven ^(U)are the eyes of the Lord, ^(V)which range through the whole earth.” ¹¹ Then I said to him, “What are these ^(W)two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” ¹² And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these ^(X)two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil^[a] is poured out?” ¹³ He said to me, ^(Y)“Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” ¹⁴ Then he said, ^(Z)“These are the two anointed ones^[b] who stand by ^(AA)the Lord of the whole earth.”