3
The vision of the Supreme Priest
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.
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.”
3 Joshua was wearing filthy clothes while he was standing in front of the 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.”
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 clothes on him, while the angel sent by Yahweh was standing there.
6 Then the angel said this to Joshua:
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.
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.
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.
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.”