New English Translation
Zechariah 3:8
8Listen now, Joshua the high priest, both you and your colleagues who are sitting before you, all of you are a symbol that I am about to introduce 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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.
Context of Zechariah 3:8
6Then the angel of the Lord exhorted Joshua solemnly: 7“The Lord who rules over all says, ‘If you live and work according to my requirements, you will be able to preside over my temple and attend to my courtyards, and I will allow you to come and go among these others who are standing by you. Listen now, Joshua the high priest, both you and your colleagues who are sitting before you, all of you are a symbol that I am about to introduce my servant, the Branch. 9As for the stone I have set before Joshua – on the one stone there are seven eyes. I am about to engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘to the effect that I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10In that day,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘everyone will invite his friend to fellowship 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 71:7Many are appalled when they see me, but you are my secure shelter.
- Isaiah 8:18Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me are reminders and object lessons in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.
- Isaiah 20:3Later the Lord explained, “In the same way that my servant Isaiah has walked around in undergarments and barefoot for the past three years, as an object lesson and omen pertaining to Egypt and Cush,
- 1 Corinthians 4:9For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to die, because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to people.
- Ezekiel 12:11Say, ‘I am an object lesson for you. Just as I have done, it will be done to them; they will go into exile and captivity.’
- Ezekiel 24:24Ezekiel will be an object lesson for you; you will do all that he has done. When it happens, then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’
- Isaiah 42:1“Here is my servant whom I support, my chosen one in whom I take pleasure. I have placed my spirit on him; he will make just decrees for the nations.
- Isaiah 49:3He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, through whom I will reveal my splendor.”
- Isaiah 52:13“Look, my servant will succeed! He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted –
- Isaiah 53:11Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. “My servant will acquit many, for he carried their sins.
- Ezekiel 34:23I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them – namely, my servant David. He will feed them and will be their shepherd.
- Ezekiel 37:24“‘My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow my regulations and carefully observe my statutes.
- Philippians 2:6who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped,
- Zechariah 6:12Then say to him, ‘The Lord who rules over all says, “Look – here is the man whose name is Branch, who will sprout up from his place and build the temple of the Lord.
- Isaiah 4:2At that time the crops given by the Lord will bring admiration and honor; the produce of the land will be a source of pride and delight to those who remain in Israel.
- Isaiah 11:1A shoot will grow out of Jesse’s root stock, a bud will sprout from his roots.
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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