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Then again I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, a flying scroll. He said to me, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits,[a] and its width ten cubits.”

Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the surface of the whole land; for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to it on the one side; and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off according to it on the other side. I will cause it to go out,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears falsely by my name; and it will remain in the middle of his house, and will destroy it with its timber and its stones.”

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

I said, “What is it?”

He said, “This is the ephah[b] basket that is appearing.” He said moreover, “This is their appearance in all the land (and behold, a talent[c] of lead was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting in the middle of the ephah[d] basket.” He said, “This is Wickedness;” and he threw her down into the middle of the ephah basket; and he threw the weight of lead on its mouth.

Then I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, there were two women, and the wind was in their wings. Now they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah basket between earth and the sky. 10 Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are these carrying the ephah basket?”

11 He said to me, “To build her a house in the land of Shinar. When it is prepared, she will be set there in her own place.”

Again I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of bronze. In the first chariot were red horses; in the second chariot black horses; in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot dappled horses, all of them powerful. Then I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”

The angel answered me, “These are the four winds of the sky, which go out from standing before the Lord of all the earth. The one with the black horses goes out toward the north country; and the white went out after them; and the dappled went out toward the south country.” The strong went out, and sought to go that they might walk back and forth through the earth: and he said, “Go around and through the earth!” So they walked back and forth through the earth.

Then he called to me, and spoke to me, saying, “Behold, those who go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.”

Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 10 “Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah; and come the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have come from Babylon. 11 Yes, take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest; 12 and speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build Yahweh’s temple; 13 even he shall build Yahweh’s temple; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on his throne; and he shall be a priest on his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. 14 The crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in Yahweh’s temple. 15 Those who are far off shall come and build in Yahweh’s temple; and you shall know that Yahweh of Armies has sent me to you. This will happen, if you will diligently obey Yahweh your God’s voice.”’”[e]

Footnotes

  1. 5:2 A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters.
  2. 5:6 An ephah is a measure of volume of about 22 liters, 5.8 U. S. gallons, or about 2/3 of a bushel.
  3. 5:7 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds.
  4. 5:7 1 ephah is about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel
  5. 6:15 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).

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)

Four Chariots

I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots(N) coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black,(O) the third white,(P) and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?”

The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits[d](Q) of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.(R) The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west,[e] and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”

When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth.(S) And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth.

Then he called to me, “Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit[f] rest(T) in the land of the north.”(U)

A Crown for Joshua

The word of the Lord came to me: 10 “Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon.(V) Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown,(W) and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua(X) son of Jozadak.[g](Y) 12 Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch,(Z) and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord.(AA) 13 It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he[h] will be a priest(AB) on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ 14 The crown will be given to Heldai,[i] Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen[j] son of Zephaniah as a memorial(AC) in the temple of the Lord. 15 Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord,(AD) and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.(AE) This will happen if you diligently obey(AF) the Lord your God.”

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
  4. Zechariah 6:5 Or winds
  5. Zechariah 6:6 Or horses after them
  6. Zechariah 6:8 Or spirit
  7. Zechariah 6:11 Hebrew Jehozadak, a variant of Jozadak
  8. Zechariah 6:13 Or there
  9. Zechariah 6:14 Syriac; Hebrew Helem
  10. Zechariah 6:14 Or and the gracious one, the