Verse 3 A rainbow--like unto an emerald; that is, a splendid appearance of irised colors, in which green, the color of the emerald, was predominant. These, and all the remaining images in this chapter, are intended, apparently to present an imposing picture of a magnificent regal palace, according to the ideas of the time. We are not, probably, to attempt, as some commentators have done in vain, to give to the several parts a distinct and special significance.