Zechariah 3:3
New International Version
Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel.

New Living Translation
Jeshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel.

English Standard Version
Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments.

Berean Standard Bible
Now Joshua was dressed in filthy garments as he stood before the angel.

King James Bible
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

New King James Version
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.

New American Standard Bible
Now Joshua was clothed in filthy garments and was standing before the angel.

NASB 1995
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel.

NASB 1977
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel.

Amplified Bible
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy (nauseatingly vile) garments and was standing before the Angel [of the LORD].

Christian Standard Bible
Now Joshua was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the angel.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Now Joshua was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the Angel.

American Standard Version
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel.

Contemporary English Version
Joshua's clothes were filthy.

English Revised Version
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Joshua was wearing filthy clothes and was standing in front of the Messenger.

Good News Translation
Joshua was standing there, wearing filthy clothes.

International Standard Version
Now Joshua was wearing filthy clothes as he stood in the presence of the angel.

Majority Standard Bible
Now Joshua was dressed in filthy garments as he stood before the angel.

NET Bible
Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood there before the angel.

New Heart English Bible
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel.

Webster's Bible Translation
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

World English Bible
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and is standing before the Messenger.

Young's Literal Translation
And Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and is standing before the messenger.

Smith's Literal Translation
And Joshua was clothed in filthy garments, and he stood before the messenger.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Jesus was clothed with filthy garments: and he stood before the face of the angel.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And Jesus was clothed with filthy garments. And he stood before the face of an angel.

New American Bible
Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clad in filthy garments.

New Revised Standard Version
Now Joshua was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the angel.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel of the LORD.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And Yeshua was wearing a dirty garment and he was standing before The Angel of LORD JEHOVAH
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Now Jesus was clothed in filthy raiment, and stood before the angel.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Vision of Joshua the High Priest
2And the LORD said to Satan: “The LORD rebukes you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you! Is not this man a firebrand snatched from the fire?” 3Now Joshua was dressed in filthy garments as he stood before the angel. 4So the angel said to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have removed your iniquity, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.”…

Cross References
Isaiah 64:6
Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

Jude 1:23
save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.

Isaiah 61:10
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Revelation 7:14
“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.

2 Corinthians 5:21
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Revelation 3:4-5
But you do have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments, and because they are worthy, they will walk with Me in white. / Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.

Romans 3:22-24
And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, / for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, / and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 6:5-7
Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.” / Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. / And with it he touched my mouth and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your iniquity is removed and your sin is atoned for.”

Ephesians 5:26-27
to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, / and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.

Philippians 3:9
and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.

Matthew 22:11-12
But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes. / ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was speechless.

Romans 13:14
Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.

Colossians 3:9-10
Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, / and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Ezekiel 36:25-27
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. / I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. / And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.


Treasury of Scripture

Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

2 Chronicles 30:18-20
For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one …

Ezra 9:15
O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.

Isaiah 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

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Zechariah 3
1. Under the type of Joshua, the high priest, receiving clean garments,
6. and a covenant of promise,
8. Christ the Branch and Cornerstone is promised.














Now Joshua
The name "Joshua" is derived from the Hebrew "Yehoshua," meaning "Yahweh is salvation." Joshua, the high priest, represents the spiritual leadership of Israel during the post-exilic period. His presence in this vision underscores the role of the priesthood in mediating between God and His people. Historically, Joshua was a key figure in the rebuilding of the temple, symbolizing the restoration of worship and covenant relationship with God.

was dressed in filthy garments
The phrase "filthy garments" is significant, as it symbolizes sin and impurity. In Hebrew, the word for "filthy" (צֹאִים, tso'im) conveys a sense of defilement and moral corruption. This imagery is powerful, illustrating the state of Israel's sinfulness and the need for divine cleansing. In the context of ancient Israel, garments often represented one's status and purity, especially for a priest. The filthy garments indicate that Joshua, and by extension Israel, is unworthy to stand before God without divine intervention.

as he stood before the Angel
The "Angel" here is often interpreted as the Angel of the Lord, a theophany or a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. Standing before the Angel signifies being in the presence of divine judgment and mercy. In the historical context, this scene reflects the post-exilic community's need for God's grace to restore their covenant relationship. Theologically, it points to the necessity of divine intercession for humanity's sinfulness, foreshadowing the ultimate intercession through Christ. The act of standing before the Angel emphasizes the posture of accountability and the hope for redemption.

Verse 3. - Clothed with filthy garments. The soiled, or dark mourning garments represent not so much the low estate to which the Aaronic priesthood had been reduced, as the defilements of sin with which Joshua was encompassed, especially, perhaps, his error in allowing his descendants to intermarry with heathens (Ezra 10:18). But the sin was not only personal; he appeared laden with the guilt of the priesthood and his people. He is a type of Christ in this. Christ, indeed, was without sin; yet he bare our sins in his own body on the tree, and was made sin for us (Romans 8:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Some consider that the soiled garments denote the mean address in which an accused person appeared in court. But this is to import a Roman custom (comp. Livy, 2:54; 6:20) into Hebrew practice. Others deem it incongruous to make a high priest violate the decency of his office by officiating in unclean apparel. But the violation of propriety was a requirement of the vision, that thus the defilement of sin might be symbolical. He stood before the angel. To ask his aid and protection (ver. 4).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Now Joshua
וִיהוֹשֻׁ֕עַ (wî·hō·wō·šu·a‘)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3091: Joshua -- 'the LORD is salvation', Moses' successor, also the name of a number of Israelites

was
הָיָ֥ה (hā·yāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

dressed
לָבֻ֖שׁ (lā·ḇuš)
Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singular
Strong's 3847: Wrap around, to put on a, garment, clothe

in filthy
צוֹאִ֑ים (ṣō·w·’îm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 6674: Soiled

garments
בְּגָדִ֣ים (bə·ḡā·ḏîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 899: A covering, clothing, treachery, pillage

as he stood
וְעֹמֵ֖ד (wə·‘ō·mêḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5975: To stand, in various relations

before
לִפְנֵ֥י (lip̄·nê)
Preposition-l | Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

the Angel.
הַמַּלְאָֽךְ׃ (ham·mal·’āḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4397: A messenger, of God, an angel


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OT Prophets: Zechariah 3:3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments (Zech. Zec Zc)
Zechariah 3:2
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