Zechariah 3:3

filthy garments There is no allusion to the Roman custom of accused persons wearing sordid attire at their trials (reus sordidatus, Liv. ii. 54, vi. 20). Nor is there any ground for the idea that "an accusation had been lodged against" Joshua "in the Persian Court;" and that "the splendid attire of the High Priest, studded with jewels, had been detained at Babylon, or, at least, could not be worn without the special permission of the king; and until the accusations had been cleared away this became still more impossible" (Stanley, after Ewald, Jewish Church, iii. 103). The promise of the vision is not that "the soiled and worn clothing of the suffering exile shall be replaced, by the old magnificence of Aaron and of Zadok;" but that in accordance with the constant imagery of Holy Scripture and with the express statement of Zechariah 3:4, "I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee," the guilt and pollution of sin shall be replaced by spotless purity and holiness (Leviticus 16:4; Isaiah 64:6; Revelation 7:14; Revelation 19:8).