Zechariah 3

Living Bible

3 Then the Angel showed me (in my vision) Joshua the High Priest standing before the Angel of the Lord; and Satan was there too, at the Angel’s right hand, accusing Joshua of many things.

² And the Lord said to Satan, “I reject your accusations, Satan;^[a] yes, I, the Lord, for I have decided to be merciful to Jerusalem—I rebuke you. I have decreed mercy to Joshua and his nation; they are like a burning stick pulled out of the fire.”

³ Joshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood before the Angel of the Lord.

⁴ Then the Angel said to the others standing there, “Remove his filthy clothing.” And turning to Joshua he said, “See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.”

^5-6 Then I said, “Please, could he also have a clean turban on his head?” So they gave him one.

Then the Angel of the Lord spoke very solemnly to Joshua and said, ⁷ “The Lord Almighty declares: ‘If you will follow the paths I set for you and do all I tell you to, then I will put you in charge of my Temple, to keep it holy; and I will let you walk in and out of my presence with these angels. ⁸ Listen to me, O Joshua the High Priest, and all you other priests, you are illustrations of the good things to come. Don’t you see?—Joshua represents my servant the Branch^[b] whom I will send. ⁹ He will be the Foundation Stone of the Temple that Joshua is standing beside, and I will engrave this inscription on it seven times:^[c] I will remove the sins of this land in a single day. ¹⁰ And after that,’ the Lord Almighty declares, ‘you will all live in peace and prosperity, and each of you will own a home of your own where you can invite your neighbors.’”