Vision of the Flying Scroll

Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there a flying (A)scroll.

And he said to me, “What do you see?”

So I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”

Then he said to me, “This is the (B)curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: ‘Every thief shall be expelled,’ according to this side of the scroll; and, ‘Every perjurer shall be expelled,’ according to that side of it.”

“I will send out the curse,” says the Lord of hosts;
“It shall enter the house of the (C)thief
And the house of (D)the one who swears falsely by My name.
It shall remain in the midst of his house
And consume (E)it, with its timber and stones.”

Vision of the Woman in a Basket

Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, “Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth.”

So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a [a]basket that is going forth.”

He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth: Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket”; then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead [b]cover over its mouth. Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a (F)stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.

10 So I said to the (G)angel who talked with me, “Where are they carrying the basket?”

11 And he said to me, “To (H)build a house for it in (I)the land of [c]Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 5:6 Heb. ephah, a measuring container, and so elsewhere
  2. Zechariah 5:8 Lit. stone
  3. Zechariah 5:11 Babylon

The Flying Scroll

Again I looked up, and I saw a scroll flying in the air! And the angel said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a [a]flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits (thirty feet) and its width is ten cubits (fifteen feet).” Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of the whole land; for everyone who steals will be cut off according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears [oaths falsely] shall be cut off according to the writing on the other side.(A) I will send the curse out,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night in that house and consume it, both its timber and its stones.”

Then the angel who was speaking with me came forward and said to me, “Now look up and see what this is going forth.” And I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the [b]ephah (grain basket) going forth. This,” he continued, “is their appearance throughout the land(B) (and behold, a [round, flat] lead [c]cover was lifted up); and there sat a woman inside the ephah.” Then he said, “This is Wickedness (Godlessness)!” And he threw her back down into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead cover on its opening. Then I looked up, and there were two women coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. 10 I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?” 11 And he said to me, “To the land of Shinar (Babylon) to build a temple for her; and when it is prepared, [d]she shall be set there on her own pedestal.”

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 5:2 The measurements of the scroll, as a symbol of God’s judgment, are the same as the measurements of the Holy Place in the tabernacle in the wilderness.
  2. Zechariah 5:6 The ephah (a bushel basket for collecting grain) that was used by farmers was approximately 1.05 bushels, but it would be much larger in this vision.
  3. Zechariah 5:7 The Hebrew word for the cover is also used for a talent weight. Metal ingots were cast in the form of a flat disk.
  4. Zechariah 5:11 Perhaps symbolic of the removal of the sinful customs of the Israelites.

A Flying Scroll

I looked up again and saw a scroll flying through the air.

“What do you see?” the angel asked.

“I see a flying scroll,” I replied. “It appears to be about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.[a]

Then he said to me, “This scroll contains the curse that is going out over the entire land. One side of the scroll says that those who steal will be banished from the land; the other side says that those who swear falsely will be banished from the land. And this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: I am sending this curse into the house of every thief and into the house of everyone who swears falsely using my name. And my curse will remain in that house and completely destroy it—even its timbers and stones.”

A Woman in a Basket

Then the angel who was talking with me came forward and said, “Look up and see what’s coming.”

“What is it?” I asked.

He replied, “It is a basket for measuring grain,[b] and it’s filled with the sins[c] of everyone throughout the land.”

Then the heavy lead cover was lifted off the basket, and there was a woman sitting inside it. The angel said, “The woman’s name is Wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and closed the heavy lid again.

Then I looked up and saw two women flying toward us, gliding on the wind. They had wings like a stork, and they picked up the basket and flew into the sky.

10 “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel.

11 He replied, “To the land of Babylonia,[d] where they will build a temple for the basket. And when the temple is ready, they will set the basket there on its pedestal.”

Footnotes

  1. 5:2 Hebrew 20 cubits [9.2 meters] long and 10 cubits [4.6 meters] wide.
  2. 5:6a Hebrew an ephah [20 quarts or 22 liters]; also in 5:7, 8, 9, 10, 11.
  3. 5:6b As in Greek version; Hebrew reads the appearance.
  4. 5:11 Hebrew the land of Shinar.

The Flying Scroll

I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll.(A)

He asked me, “What do you see?”(B)

I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.[a]

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. 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

Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.”

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.”

Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.(I)

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

  1. Zechariah 5:2 That is, about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide or about 9 meters long and 4.5 meters wide
  2. Zechariah 5:6 Or appearance
  3. Zechariah 5:11 Hebrew Shinar