Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yes, take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest;
- KJV Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest;
- NKJV Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
- NASB Also take silver and gold, make an ornate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
- NLT Accept their gifts, and make a crown from the silver and gold. Then put the crown on the head of Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
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
Zechariah is to make crowns and set them on Joshua the high priest. This unusual crowning of a priest foreshadows a coming figure who unites priestly and royal offices.
Overview
Crowns normally belonged to kings, so placing one on the high priest is a deliberate, prophetic anomaly. Joshua here serves as a living symbol pointing beyond himself to the Branch who will be both priest and king. The act anticipates Christ, who alone rightly holds both offices, reigning as King and interceding as our great High Priest.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ps 21:3For You welcomed him with rich blessings; You placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
- Zech 3:1Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
- Song 3:11Come out, O daughters of Zion, and gaze at King Solomon, wearing the crown his mother bestowed on the day of his wedding—the day of his heart’s rejoicing.
- Hag 1:1In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, stating
- Zech 3:5Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So a clean turban was placed on his head, and they clothed him, as the angel of the LORD stood by.
- Lev 8:9Moses also put the turban on Aaron’s head and set the gold plate, the holy diadem, on the front of the turban, as the LORD had commanded him.
- Exod 39:30They also made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and they engraved on it, like an inscription on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD.
- Rev 19:12He has eyes like blazing fire, and many royal crowns on His head. He has a name written on Him that only He Himself knows.
- Hag 1:14So the LORD stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and began the work on the house of the LORD of Hosts, their God,
- Heb 2:9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
- Exod 29:6Put the turban on his head and attach the holy diadem to the turban.
- Ezra 3:2Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests, along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates, began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.
- Exod 28:36–38You are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD.
- Hag 2:4But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work! For I am with you, declares the LORD of Hosts.
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 6:11 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.