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Zechariah 5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Zechariah 5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 5
Fifth Vision: The Flying Scroll. 1 Then I raised my eyes again and saw a flying scroll. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.”[a](A) 3 Then he said to me: “This is the curse which is to go forth over the whole land. According to it, every thief and every perjurer[b] will be expelled. 4 I will send it forth—oracle of the Lord of hosts—so that it will come to the house of the thief, and into the house of the one who swears falsely by my name.(B) It shall lodge within each house, consuming it, timber and stones.”
Sixth Vision: The Basket of Wickedness. 5 Then the angel who spoke with me came forward and said to me, “Raise your eyes and look. What is this that comes forth?” 6 I said, “What is it?” And he answered, “This is the basket[c] that is coming.” And he said, “This is their guilt in all the land.” 7 Then a leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket.[d] 8 He said, “This is Wickedness,” and he thrust her inside the basket, pushing the leaden weight into the opening.
9 Then I raised my eyes and saw two women coming forth with wind under their wings[e]—they had wings like the wings of a stork—and they lifted the basket into the air. 10 I said to the angel who spoke with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” 11 He replied, “To build a temple for it in the land of Shinar.[f] When the temple is constructed, they will set it there on its base.”
Footnotes
- 5:2 Twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide: ca. thirty feet by fifteen feet. These dimensions may represent the ratio of height to width in the exposed portion of a scroll being opened for liturgical reading; at the same time it may symbolize the approach to God’s presence since the entryway to the Temple has the same measurements (1 Kgs 6:3). The scroll itself may represent God’s covenant with the people, insofar as it contains curses against those who break the law.
- 5:3 Thief…perjurer: a pair of miscreants representing all those who disobey God’s covenant (see note on v. 2) and who must therefore be punished according to covenant curses.
- 5:6 Basket: literally, ephah, a dry measure; see note on Is 5:10.
- 5:7 Woman sitting inside the basket: figure representing wickedness or foreign idolatry being transported back to Babylonia (vv. 1–11). Returning exiles were apparently worshiping deities they had learned to accept in Babylonia, and that “wickedness” (v. 8) must be removed.
- 5:9 Two women…wings: composite beings, part human and part animal, similar to the cherubim flanking the holy ark (Ex 25:18–22; 1 Kgs 6:23–28; Ez 10:18–22). Such creatures accompany foreign deities as here, or the biblical God.
- 5:11 Shinar: land of Babylonia; this name for Babylonia is found also in Gn 1:10; 11:2; 14:1; Is 11:11; and Dn 1:2.
Zechariah 5
New International Version
Zechariah 5
New International Version
The Flying Scroll
5 I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll.(A)
2 He asked me, “What do you see?”(B)
I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.[a]”
3 And he said to me, “This is the curse(C) that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief(D) will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely(E) will be banished. 4 The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely(F) by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.(G)’”
The Woman in a Basket
5 Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.”
6 I asked, “What is it?”
He replied, “It is a basket.(H)” And he added, “This is the iniquity[b] of the people throughout the land.”
7 Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! 8 He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.(I)
9 Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork,(J) and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.
10 “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking to me.
11 He replied, “To the country of Babylonia[c](K) to build a house(L) for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”(M)
Footnotes
- Zechariah 5:2 That is, about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide or about 9 meters long and 4.5 meters wide
- Zechariah 5:6 Or appearance
- Zechariah 5:11 Hebrew Shinar
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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