飞行的书卷

我又举目观看,见有书卷在飞。 天使问我:“你看见什么?”我说:“我看见飞行的书卷,长十米,宽五米。” 他说:“这是临到全天下的咒诅,因为书卷一面写着‘凡偷盗的必被清除’,另一面写着‘凡起假誓的必被清除’。” 万军之耶和华说:“我要使这咒诅进入盗贼和奉我的名起假誓者的家,住在他们家里,毁灭他们的家,不留一木一石。”

量器中的女子

与我说话的天使又来对我说:“你举目观看,看看出现了什么?” 我问道:“这是什么?”他说:“这是一个量器。”接着他又说:“里面盛着世人的罪。” 只见量器的铅盖打开了,里面坐着一个女子。 天使说:“这是罪恶。”他把女子推回量器中,盖上铅盖。 我又举目观看,见有两个女子展翅飞来,她们的翅膀像鹳鸟的翅膀。她们把量器提到空中。 10 我问与我说话的天使:“她们要把量器带到哪里?” 11 他说:“要带到示拿[a],在那里为它建造房屋,建好后就把它安置在底座上。”

Footnotes

  1. 5:11 示拿”巴比伦的别名。

Zechariah Sees a Flying Book

I looked up again and saw a flying book. And the angel said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see a flying book, as long as ten long steps and as wide as five long steps.” Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over all the land. Everyone who steals will be cut off by what is written on one side. And everyone who swears will be cut off by what is written on the other side. I will send it out,” says the Lord of All, “and it will go into the house of the robber and the house of the one who makes false promises using My name. It will spend the night in that house and destroy it, both its wood and stones.”

Zechariah Sees a Woman in a Basket

Then the angel who was speaking with me came out and said to me, “Look up and see what this is that is going out.” And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is the large basket going out.” And he said, “This is the sin of all the people in all the land.” Then the lead cover was lifted up, and there was a woman sitting in the large basket. The angel said, “This is Sin!” And he threw her back into the basket and threw the lead weight on its opening. Then I looked up and saw two women coming out with the wind in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork. And they lifted up the large basket between earth and heaven. 10 I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” 11 He said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar. When it is ready, it will be put in its place.”

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