English Standard Version
Zechariah 3:8
8Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch.
Zechariah 3:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.
- New International Version (NIV)“ ‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.
- New King James Version (NKJV)‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.
Context of Zechariah 3:8
6And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, 7"Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. 9For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree."
Read all of Zechariah 3Zechariah 3:8 word by word
שְֽׁמַֽע־נָ֞א יְהוֹשֻׁ֣עַ׀ הַכֹּהֵ֣ן הַגָּד֗וֹל אַתָּה֙ וְרֵעֶ֙יךָ֙ הַיֹּשְׁבִ֣ים לְפָנֶ֔יךָ כִּֽי־אַנְשֵׁ֥י מוֹפֵ֖ת הֵ֑מָּה כִּֽי־הִנְנִ֥י מֵבִ֛יא אֶת־עַבְדִּ֖י צֶֽמַח׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- now, O Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
- the highגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
- thou, and thy fellowsרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
- that sitיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- wondered atמוֹפֵתmôphêth môphêth · wonderH4159
- for, behold, I will bring forthבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
- my servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
- the BRANCHצֶ֫מַחtsemach · branchH6780
Cross-references for Zechariah 3:8
- Psalms 71:7I have been as a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge.
- Isaiah 8:18Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
- Isaiah 20:3Then the Lord said, "As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush,
- 1 Corinthians 4:9For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.
- Ezekiel 12:11Say, 'I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.'
- Ezekiel 24:24Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.'
- Isaiah 42:1Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.
- Isaiah 49:3And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified."
- Isaiah 52:13Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.
- Isaiah 53:11Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
- Ezekiel 34:23And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.
- Ezekiel 37:24"My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes.
- Philippians 2:6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
- Zechariah 6:12And say to him, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.
- Isaiah 4:2In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel.
- Isaiah 11:1There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
Commentaries on Zechariah 3:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8O Joshua - thou, and thy fellows - Thy countrymen, who have now returned from your captivity, in a very wonderful manner. מופת אנשי anshey mopheth, figurative men, men whose office and ministration prefigured the Lord Jesus Christ; and therefore it is immediately added, "I will bring forth my servant The Branch." Abp. Newcome thinks this means Zerubbabel, so called because he was the grandson of Jehoiakim, or Jeconiah, king of Judah, Matthew 1:12, and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Thou and thy companions which sit before thee; yea men of marvelous signs are they - oIt seems probable that the words addressed to Joshua begin here; else the “men of signs” would be the companions of Joshua, to the exclusion of Himself. His companions are probably ordinary priests, who sit as sharing his dignity as priest, but “before him,” as inferiors. So Ezekiel says, “I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Israel were sitting before me”…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-10Verses 6-10 All whom God calls to any office he finds fit, or makes so. The Lord will cause the sins of the believer to pass away by his sanctifying grace, and will enable him to walk in newness of life. As the promises made to David often pass into promises of the Messiah, so the promises to Joshua look forward to Christ, of whose priesthood Joshua's was a shadow. Whatever trials we pass through, whatever services we perform, our whole dependence must…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8The high priest Jeshua and the other priests symbolized greater truths. Servant and Branch are both titles for the Messiah, God's chosen one (Isaiah 42:1; 53:2; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15). As a servant, the Messiah follows God's will by becoming a sin offering so that many can become righteous (Isaiah 53:11; see Acts 3:13; 4:27). The Branch is a metaphor for kingship, showing the Messiah as a descendant of David (Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Hear--On account of the magnitude of what He is about to say, He at once demands solemn attention. thy fellows that sit before thee--thy subordinate colleagues in the priesthood; not that they were actually then sitting before him; but their usual posture in consultations was on chairs or benches before him, while he sat on an elevated seat as their president. they are--From speaking to Joshua He passes to speaking of him and them, in the third person…Read the comment
Topics related to Zechariah 3:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Zechariah 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries