Zechariah 3:2

3:2 The Lord ¹  said to Satan, “May the Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, ²  rebuke you! Isn’t this man like a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

Zechariah 3:1

Vision Four: The Priest

3:1 Next I saw Joshua the high priest ³  standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan ⁴  standing at his right hand to accuse him.

Colossians 3:15

3:15 Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body ⁵  to this peace), and be thankful.

Jude 1:23

1:23 save ⁶  others by snatching them out of the fire; have mercy ⁷  on others, coupled with a fear of God, ⁸  hating even the clothes stained ⁹  by the flesh. ¹⁰ 

¹ sn The juxtaposition of the messenger of the Lord in v. 1 and the Lord in v. 2 shows that here, at least, they are one and the same. See Zech 1:11, 12 where they are distinguished from each other.

² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³ sn Joshua the high priest mentioned here is the son of the priest Jehozadak, mentioned also in Hag 1:1 (cf. Ezra 2:2; 3:2, 8; 4:3; 5:2; 10:18; Neh 7:7; 12:1, 7, 10, 26). He also appears to have been the grandfather of the high priest contemporary with Nehemiah ca. 445 b.c. (Neh 12:10).

⁴ tn The Hebrew term הַשָּׂטָן (hassatan, “the satan”) suggests not so much a personal name (as in almost all English translations) but an epithet, namely, “the adversary.” This evil being is otherwise thus described in Job 1 and 2 and 1 Chr 21:1. In this last passage the article is dropped and “the satan” becomes “Satan,” a personal name.

⁵ tn Grk “in one body.” This phrase emphasizes the manner in which the believers were called, not the goal of their calling, and focuses upon their unity.

⁶ tn Grk “and save.”

⁷ tn Grk “and have mercy.”

⁸ tn Grk “with fear.” But as this contrasts with ἀφόβως (afobw") in v. 12 (without reverence), the posture of the false teachers, it most likely refers to reverence for God.

⁹ sn The imagery here suggests that the things close to the sinners are contaminated by them, presumably during the process of sinning.

¹⁰ tn Grk “hating even the tunic spotted by the flesh.” The “flesh” in this instance could refer to the body or to the sin nature. It makes little difference in one sense: Jude is thinking primarily of sexual sins, which are borne of the sin nature and manifest themselves in inappropriate deeds done with the body. At the same time, he is not saying that the body is intrinsically bad, a view held by the opponents of Christianity. Hence, it is best to see “flesh” as referring to the sin nature here and the language as metaphorical.