Introduction

Zechariah chapter 5 presents two additional visions given to the prophet, both emphasizing the themes of judgment and the removal of sin from the land. The first vision depicts a flying scroll of great size, inscribed with curses, representing God’s judgment against those who steal and those who swear falsely. This scroll symbolizes the certainty and reach of divine justice, showing that wrongdoing will not go unpunished, even affecting the households of the guilty.

The second vision introduces a woman sitting inside a basket, identified as wickedness, who is forcibly contained and covered with a lead weight to prevent her escape. Two winged figures then carry the basket away to the land of Shinar, symbolizing the removal of sin and corruption far from the land of Israel. This vision illustrates God’s determination to purify His people by physically and symbolically removing wickedness from their midst.

Together, these two visions reinforce the broader message of Zechariah regarding the necessity of holiness and justice as the returning exiles rebuild their community and their relationship with God. The chapter highlights that restoration involves not only rebuilding structures but also addressing moral and spiritual corruption.

Chapter 5 (BBE)

1 Then again lifting up my eyes I saw a roll in flight through the air.
2 And he said to me, What do you see? And I said, A roll going through the air; it is twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.
3 Then he said to me, This is the curse which goes out over the face of all the land: for long enough has every thief gone without punishment, and long enough has every taker of false oaths gone without punishment.
4 And I will send it out, says the Lord of armies, and it will go into the house of the thief and into the house of him who takes a false oath by my name: and it will be in his house, causing its complete destruction, with its woodwork and its stones.
5 And the angel who was talking to me went out and said to me, Let your eyes be lifted up now, and see the ephah which is going out.
6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah which is going out. And he said further, This is their evil-doing in all the land.
7 And I saw a round cover of lead lifted up; and a woman was seated in the middle of the ephah.
8 And he said, This is Sin; and pushing her down into the ephah, he put the weight of lead on the mouth of it.
9 And lifting up my eyes I saw two women coming out, and the wind was in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they took the ephah, lifting it up between earth and heaven.
10 And I said to the angel who was talking to me, Where are they taking the ephah?
11 And he said to me, To make a house for her in the land of Shinar: and they will make a place ready, and put her there in the place which is hers.

Important Verses

• Verse 3: The flying scroll represents a curse that will go throughout the land, addressing sins such as theft and false swearing.
• Verse 4: God declares that the curse will enter the house of the guilty and consume it, showing the seriousness of unpunished sin.
• Verse 7: A woman is revealed sitting in the basket, symbolizing wickedness that must be dealt with.
• Verse 8: The woman is forced back into the basket and sealed with a lead weight, representing the containment of sin.
• Verse 11: The basket is carried to Shinar, symbolizing the removal of wickedness far from the land of Israel.