Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel.
Parallel translations
- KJV Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
- BSB Now Joshua was dressed in filthy garments as he stood before the angel.
- NKJV Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
- NASB Now Joshua was clothed in filthy garments and was standing before the angel.
- NLT Jeshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joshua stands before the angel clothed in filthy garments, symbolizing sin and defilement. The high priest, and the nation, are stained with guilt.
Overview
The filthy garments vividly portray the moral pollution of sin that disqualifies Joshua and the people from God's holy presence. The accusation has substance, for the guilt is real. This sets the stage for the astonishing grace that follows, where God Himself provides cleansing and new clothing the sinner cannot supply.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Isa 64:6For we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteousness is like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
- Ezra 9:15Yahweh, the God of Israel, you are righteous; for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guiltiness; for no one can stand before you because of this.”
- Rev 19:8It was given to her that she would array herself in bright, pure, fine linen: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
- Rev 7:13–14One of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and from where did they come?”
- 2 Chr 30:18–20For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover other than the way it is written. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Yahweh pardon everyone
- Dan 9:18My God, turn your ear, and hear; open your eyes, and see our desolations, and the city which is called by your name: for we do not present our petitions before you for our righteousness, but for your great mercies’ sake.
- Matt 22:11–13But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who didn’t have on wedding clothing,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Branch who is both priest and king, the shepherd struck and the flock scattered, the king coming humble on a donkey, the one they pierced, the fountain opened for sin — Zechariah is dense with Christ.
How Zechariah 3:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.