< Zechariah 3 >
1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
Then [Yahweh] showed me Joshua, the Supreme Priest, [who was] standing in front of the angel that Yahweh had sent. And Satan was standing at Joshua’s right side, [ready] to accuse 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?
But Yahweh said to Satan, “Satan, I am rebuking you! I [am the one] who has chosen Jerusalem [to be my special city, and I] am rebuking you! This [man, Joshua], [has been brought back from Babylonia]; he is surely [like] [MET, RHQ] a burning stick that has been snatched from a fire.”
3 And Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the Angel.
Joshua was wearing filthy clothes while he was standing in front of 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.
The angel said to those [other angels] who were standing in front of him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” [After they did that, ] the angel said to Joshua, “Look! I have taken away [the guilt of] your sins, and I will put beautiful clothes on you.”
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.
Then I said to them, “Put a clean turban on his head!” So they put a clean turban on his head and put [new] on him, while the angel sent by Yahweh was standing there.
6 And the Angel of Jehovah protested unto Joshua, saying,
Then the angel said [this] to Joshua:
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.
“The Commander of the armies of angels says that if you do what I want you to do [IDM], and obey my instructions, you will (be in charge of/have authority over) [what is done in] my temple and its courtyard. And I will allow you to speak at any time to the angels who are standing near to me.
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.
Joshua, [you are] the Supreme Priest, and your (associates/fellow priests) are sitting in front of you. They symbolize/represent things that will happen in the future. [Some day] I am going to bring someone who will work for me, someone who will be called 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.
Look at the stone that I have put in front of Joshua. There are seven sides on the stone. I will engrave a message on that stone, and in one day I will remove the guilt of [all the people of] this country.
10 In that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, shall ye invite every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig-tree.
At that time, each of you will invite his friends [to come and sit] under his grapevine and under his fig tree. [That is what] the Commander of the armies of angels declares.”