Zechariah 5
King James Version
5 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.
2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.
3 Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.
4 I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
5 Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.
6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.
7 And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.
8 And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.
9 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.
10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?
11 And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.
Zechariah 5
English Standard Version
A Vision of a Flying Scroll
5 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying (A)scroll! 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying (B)scroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.”[a] 3 Then he said to me, “This is (C)the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who (D)steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who (E)swears falsely[b] shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side. 4 I will send it out, declares the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of (F)him who swears falsely by my name. And (G)it shall remain in his house and (H)consume it, both timber and stones.”
A Vision of a Woman in a Basket
5 (I)Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, (J)“Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out.” 6 And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is (K)the basket[c] that is going out.” And he said, “This is their iniquity[d] in all the land.” 7 And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket! 8 And he said, “This is Wickedness.” And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down (L)the leaden weight on its opening.
9 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! (M)The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. 10 Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” 11 He said to me, “To the (N)land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 5:2 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
- Zechariah 5:3 Hebrew lacks falsely (supplied from verse 4)
- Zechariah 5:6 Hebrew ephah; also verses 7–11. An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
- Zechariah 5:6 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts eye
Zechariah 5
Names of God Bible
Sinners Will Be Separated from the Lord’s People
5 I looked up again and saw a flying scroll.
2 The angel asked me, “What do you see?”
“I see a flying scroll,” I answered. “It’s 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.”
3 Then he said to me, “This is a curse that will go out all over the earth. The one side of the scroll says that every thief will be forced away. The other side of the scroll says that everyone who takes an oath will be forced away. 4 I will send out a curse, declares Yahweh Tsebaoth, and it will enter the houses of thieves and the houses of those who take oaths in my name. It will stay in their houses and destroy the timber and stone.”
Wickedness Will Be Removed from the Land
5 The angel who was speaking with me came forward. He said, “Look up, and see what’s coming.”
6 “What is it?” I asked.
“A basket is coming,” he said. Then he added, “This is what the people’s sins look like all over the earth.”[a] 7 A lead cover on the basket was raised, and a woman was sitting in the basket. 8 The angel said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and forced the lead cover down on top of it.
9 I looked up and saw two women coming forward with wind in their wings. They had wings like those of a stork. They carried the basket into the sky.
10 I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the basket?”
11 He answered me, “They are going to build a house for it in Shinar [Babylonia]. When the house is ready, they will set the basket there on a stand.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 5:6 One Hebrew manuscript, Greek, Syriac; other Hebrew manuscripts “This is their eye all over the earth.”
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.