Zechariah 3:9
7 “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘If you walk in My ways and keep My instructions, then you will govern My house and will also have charge of My courts; and I will give you a place among these who are standing here.
8 Hear now, O high priest Joshua, you and your companions seated before you, who are indeed a sign. For behold, I am going to bring My servant, the Branch.
See the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave on it an inscription, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.
10 On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, you will each invite your neighbor to sit under your own vine and fig tree.’”
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- See the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave on it an inscription, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.
- KJV
- For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
- WEB
- For, behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua: on one stone are seven eyes; behold, I will engrave its inscription,’ says the LORD of Armies, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
- ASV
- For, behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; upon one stone are seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith Jehovah of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
- DARBY
- For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua upon one stone are seven eyes; behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith Jehovah of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in one day.
- BLB
- For behold, the stone that I have given before the face of Joshua, upon a single stone [with] seven eyes, behold, I am engraving its inscription, a declaration of YHWH of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
- ÅB
- for se, den stein jeg har lagt foran Josva - på denne ene stein er syv øyne[^4] rettet! Se, jeg skjærer ut på den de tegn den skal ha, sier Herren, hærskarenes Gud, og jeg tar dette lands misgjerning bort på én dag.
- OTB
- Se, steinen jeg har lagt foran Josva! På den ene steinen er det sju øyne, og jeg vil gravere en inskripsjon på den,’ sier Herren, hærskarenes Gud, ‘og jeg vil fjerne denne landets misgjerning på én dag.
- B1930
- for se, den sten jeg har lagt foran Josva - på denne ene sten er syv øine rettet! Se, jeg skjærer ut på den de tegn den skal ha, sier Herren, hærskarenes Gud, og jeg tar dette lands misgjerning bort på én dag. / < SKR 4, 10.>
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Zechariah 4:10
For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the LORD, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”
Read in contextJeremiah 50:20
In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, a search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for Judah’s sins, but they will not be found; for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.
Read in contextRevelation 5:6
Then I saw a Lamb who appeared to have been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Read in contextIsaiah 28:16
So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
Read in contextJeremiah 31:34
No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
Read in contextPsalms 118:22
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
Read in context1 Peter 2:4–8
As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
Read in contextRomans 9:33
as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
Read in context