Zechariah 3:8-10
New English Translation
8 Listen now, Joshua the high priest, both you and your colleagues who are sitting before you, all of you[a] are a symbol that I am about to introduce my servant, the Branch.[b] 9 As for the stone[c] I have set before Joshua—on the one stone there are seven eyes.[d] I am about to engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘to the effect that I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.[e] 10 In that day,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘everyone will invite his friend to fellowship under his vine and under his fig tree.’”[f]
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- Zechariah 3:8 tn Heb “these men.” The cleansing of Joshua and his elevation to enhanced leadership as a priest signify the coming of the messianic age.
- Zechariah 3:8 sn The collocation of servant and branch gives double significance to the messianic meaning of the passage (cf. Isa 41:8, 9; 42:1, 19; 43:10; 44:1, 2, 21; Ps 132:17; Jer 23:5; 33:15).
- Zechariah 3:9 sn The stone is also a metaphor for the Messiah, a foundation stone that, at first rejected (Ps 118:22-23; Isa 8:13-15), will become the chief cornerstone of the church (Eph 2:19-22).
- Zechariah 3:9 tn Some understand the Hebrew term עַיִן (ʿayin) here to refer to facets (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “faces” (NCV, CEV “seven sides”) of the stone rather than some representation of organs of sight.sn The seven eyes are symbolic of divine omniscience and universal dominion (cf. Zech 1:10; 4:10; 2 Chr 16:9).
- Zechariah 3:9 sn Inscriptions were common on ancient Near Eastern cornerstones. This inscription speaks of the redemption achieved by the divine resident of the temple, the Messiah, who will in the day of the Lord bring salvation to all Israel (cf. Isa 66:7-9).
- Zechariah 3:10 tn Heb “under the vine and under the fig tree,” with the Hebrew article used twice as a possessive pronoun (cf. NASB “his”). Some English translations render this as second person rather than third (NRSV “your vine”; cf. also NAB, NCV, TEV).sn The imagery of fellowship under his vine and under his fig tree describes the peaceful dominion of the Lord in the coming messianic age (Mic 4:4; cf. 1 Kgs 4:25).
Zechariah 3:8-10
Lexham English Bible
8 Listen, please, O Joshua the high priest, you and your companions[a] that are sitting before[b] you. For the men are a sign that,[c] look, I am going to bring my servant the Branch.[d] 9 For consider, the stone that I set before[e] Joshua, on one stone are seven eyes.[f] Look, I am going to engrave an inscription on it,’[g] declares[h] Yahweh of hosts, ‘and I will remove the guilt of that land in a single day. 10 On that day,’ declares[i] Yahweh of hosts, ‘you will invite one another[j] under the vine and under the fig tree.’”
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- Zechariah 3:8 Possibly his fellow priests
- Zechariah 3:8 Literally “to the face of”
- Zechariah 3:8 Hebrew “for”
- Zechariah 3:8 Hebrew “Sprout” or “Shoot” (“Branch” is a traditional rendering in English)
- Zechariah 3:9 Literally “I gave to the face of, ”or “I gave in the presence of”
- Zechariah 3:9 Or “facets”
- Zechariah 3:9 Literally “I am going to engrave its engraving”
- Zechariah 3:9 Literally “declaration of”
- Zechariah 3:10 Literally “declaration of”
- Zechariah 3:10 Literally “a man to his friend”
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