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Zechariah 3

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1 And He showed me Joshua the great priest standing before the angel of Jehovah, and Satan* standing at his right·​·hand to oppose him.

2 And Jehovah said to Satan, Jehovah rebuke thee, Satan. And Jehovah, who has chosen Jerusalem, will rebuke thee. Is not this a firebrand rescued out·​·of the fire?

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

4 And he answered and said to those who stood before him, saying, Remove the filthy garments from on him. And to him he said, See, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from on thee, and I will clothe thee with a change·​·of·​·vestment.

5 And I said, Let them set a clean tiara on his head. And they set the clean tiara on his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of Jehovah was standing by.

6 And the angel of Jehovah testified to Joshua, saying,

7 Thus says Jehovah of Armies: If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, then thou shalt also make·​·judgment for My house, and shalt also keep My courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these who stand.

8 Hear now, O Joshua the great priest, thou, and thy companions sitting before thee; for these men are a portent; for, behold, I will cause My Servant the Growing·​·Branch to come.

9 For behold, the stone that I have put before Joshua: on one stone shall be seven eyes; behold, I will engrave its engraving, says Jehovah of Armies, and I will withdraw the iniquity of that land in one day.

10 In that day, says Jehovah of Armies, you shall call, a man to his companion, under the vine and under the fig·​·tree.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Road

  

These days we tend to think of "roads" as smooth swaths of pavement and judge them by how fast we can drive cars on them. A "path" is something different, suitable only for walking or maybe bicycles, and a "way" has more to do with giving directions than any physical reality. When we get "lost" it usually means we're in a car on an unfamiliar road -- a far cry from being in the middle of a trackless wilderness with no idea which direction to go. The ancient world was very different, with isolated towns and endless square miles of trackless wilderness. Then a "way" was a set of landmarks to follow to get from one place to another through the wilderness. A "path" was a way used enough to leave a visible trace on the ground, and a "road" was a heavily used path, easily followed and walkable. So it makes sense that when used in the Bible, all three terms represent guiding truth, ideas that lead us where we want to go. This is pictured in the modern use of "way" -- when we talk about the "way" to do something or the "way" to get somewhere. We're talking about the correct, best, most efficient method of doing something or getting somewhere. And it's good information -- truth -- that helps us find that best way.