< Zechariah 3 >

1 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.
And the Lord revealed to me: Jesus the high priest, standing in the sight of the angel of the Lord. And Satan stood before his right hand, so as to be his adversary.
2 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.”
And the Lord said to Satan, “May the Lord rebuke you, Satan! And may the Lord, who chose Jerusalem, rebuke you! Are you not a firebrand plucked from the fire?”
3 Joshua was wearing filthy clothes while he was standing in front of the angel.
And Jesus was clothed with filthy garments. And he stood before the face of an angel.
4 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.”
He answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And he said to him, “Behold, I have taken away from you your iniquity, and I have clothed you with a change of clothing.”
5 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.
And he said, “Place a clean diadem on his head.” And they placed a clean diadem on his head, and they clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord remained standing.
6 Then the angel said [this] to Joshua:
And the angel of the Lord contested with Jesus, saying:
7 “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.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, you likewise will judge my house and will keep my courts, and I will give you some of those who now attend here to walk with you.
8 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.
Listen, Jesus the high priest, you and your friends, who dwell before you, who have been portending to men. For behold, I will lead my servant to the East.
9 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.
For behold, the stone that I have bestowed before Jesus. Upon one stone, there are seven eyes. Behold, I will carve its engraving, says the Lord of hosts. And I will take away the iniquity of that land in one day.
10 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.”
On that day, says the Lord of hosts, every man will call his friend from under the vine and from under the fig tree.

< Zechariah 3 >