Zechariah 6:11
in Zechariah 6Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
yea, take of them silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon 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;
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This verse in Zechariah 6
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And make crowns - Or a “crown” , as in Job, “I would bind it as a crown unto me,” and our Lord is seen in the Revelation, “on His Head were many crowns” . The singular is used of “a royal crown” , apparently of a festive crown ; and figuratively; (Job 19:9, (plur. Job 31:36) Pro 4:9; Pro 12:4; Pro 14:24; Pro 16:31. Pro 17:6); even of Almighty God Himself as a crown ; but no where of the mitre of the high priest.
This site's exposition
The word of the LORD also came to me
on Zechariah 6:9-11
The visions end and an acted sign begins. Zechariah takes an offering from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, and sets “an ornate crown” on the head of “the high priest, Joshua”. Gill sets the sign in the line of Jeremiah's yoke and Ezekiel's baggage, plain objects that fix a prophet's word.
This site's exposition
make an ornate crown
The Hebrew word is plural, and Wesley took it as two crowns, one of silver and one of gold. Barnes read it as a single royal crown, a word never used of the high priest's turban. A king's crown rests on a priest's head.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
Make crowns - One of silver, the other of gold. Set them - Put both of them, one after another. Joshua - Who herein is now a type of Christ, king and priest forever for his people.
God, as King of saints, ruling the church by the mediation of Christ, in the figure of Joshua the high priest crowned, the ceremony performed, and then explained concerning Christ,
It is observable that there should be two eminent types of Christ in the Old Testament that were both named Joshua (the same name with Jesus, and by the LXX., and in the New Testament, rendered Jesus, Acts vii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Or, rather, he being a priest already, and having a crown of gold, of pure gold, already, to signify his honour and power as a priest, these crowns of silver and gold both signify the royal dignity, the crown of silver being perhaps designed to typify the kingdom of the Messiah when he was here on earth, for then he was the King of Israel ( John i.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
3 And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. 4 Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? 5 And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then take silver and gold, &c.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Messiah shall wear many crowns, one surmounting the other (Re 19:12). It was a thing before unknown in the Levitical priesthood that the same person should wear at once the crown of a king and that of a high priest (Ps 110:4; Messiah shall be revealed fully in this twofold dignity when He shall "restore the kingdom to Israel" (Ac 1:6).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Make crowns - עטרות ataroth; but seven MSS. of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s, and one ancient of my own, with the Syriac and Chaldee, have עטרת atereth, a crown, or tiara. And as Joshua the high priest is alone concerned here, I think one crown only is intended.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Take from the exiles - from Heldai, etc., who have come from Babylon All these people.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
whose name is the Shoot He is Zerubbabel, mentioned above (3:8): “Behold, I bring My servant, the Shoot,” since his greatness burgeoned little by little. Some interpret this as referring to the King Messiah, but the entire context deals with the [time of the] Second Temple.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ | velakachta | and you will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| כֶֽסֶף־ | khesef- | silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
| וְזָהָ֖ב | vezahav | and gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| וְעָשִׂ֣יתָ | veasita | and you will make | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עֲטָר֑וֹת | atarot | a crown<s> | H5850 → | |
| וְשַׂמְתָּ֗ | vesamta | and you will put [it] | H7760 → | 584 times |
| בְּרֹ֛אשׁ | berosh | on [the] head of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֥עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יְהוֹצָדָ֖ק | yehotzadak | Jehozadak | H3087 → | |
| הַכֹּהֵ֥ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| הַגָּדֽוֹל׃ | hagadol | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
וְלָקַחְתָּ֥and you will take
velakachtaH3947 →966 times
כֶֽסֶף־silver
khesef-H3701 →403 times
וְזָהָ֖בand gold
vezahavH2091 →389 times
וְעָשִׂ֣יתָand you will make
veasitaH6213 →2628 times
עֲטָר֑וֹתa crown<s>
atarotH5850 →
וְשַׂמְתָּ֗and you will put [it]
vesamtaH7760 →584 times
בְּרֹ֛אשׁon [the] head of
beroshH7218 →599 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֥עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
יְהוֹצָדָ֖קJehozadak
yehotzadakH3087 →
הַכֹּהֵ֥ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
הַגָּדֽוֹל׃<the> great
hagadolH1419 →526 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Zechariah 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.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Luke 22:31
Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.
- Job 2:1–8
On another day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before Him.
- Revelation 12:9–10
And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
- Psalms 109:6
Set over him a wicked man; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
- 1 Peter 5:8
Through
Psalms 21:3For You welcomed him with rich blessings; You placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 12:30
Then he took the crown from the head of their king. It weighed a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And David took a…
- Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
- 2 Samuel 12:30
Through
Song of Solomon 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.
it leads to
- Isaiah 62:5
For as a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.
- Isaiah 62:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zechariah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.