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Zechariah 3:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Zechariah 3:1-3
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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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.
