New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Zechariah 5
2
"What do you see?" the angel asked me. "A flying scroll," I replied. "It's 30 feet long and 15 feet wide."
3
He said to me, "A curse sent by the Lord is written on it. It is going out over the whole land. Every thief will be driven out of the land. That is what it says on one side of the scroll. Everyone who lies when taking an oath to tell the truth will also be driven out. That is what it says on the other side.
Reference
Curse
Isaiah 24:6
Isaiah 43:28
Jeremiah 26:6
Malachi 4:6
Parallel theme
Exodus 20:15
Isaiah 48:1
Jeremiah 5:2
Zechariah 5:4
James 5:12
Leviticus 19:12
4
The Lord who rules over all announces, 'I will send the curse out. It will enter the house of the thief. It will also enter the house of anyone who lies when taking an oath in my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it. It will pull down its beams and stones.' "
Reference
5
Then the angel who was talking with me came forward. He said to me, "Look at what is coming."
Reference
Parallel theme
Zechariah 1:9
6
"What is it?" I asked. "A measuring basket," he replied. "The sins of the people all through the land are in it."
Reference
Parallel theme
Amos 8:5
7
Then the basket's cover was lifted up. It was made out of lead. A woman was sitting in the basket!
8
The angel said, "She stands for everything that is evil." Then he pushed her down into the basket. He put the lead cover back over its opening.
9
I looked up and saw two other women. They had wings like the wings of a stork. A wind sent by the Lord carried them along. They lifted the basket up between heaven and earth.
Reference
10
"Where are they taking the basket?" I asked the angel.
Summary of Zechariah 5
Zechariah 5 contains two visions about judgment and cleansing, showing that the restoration of God's people involves more than rebuilding the Temple and city. God also intends to confront dishonesty, theft, false worship, and wickedness and remove them from the community.
The chapter begins with Zechariah seeing a large flying scroll.
The scroll is unusual because it is moving through the air, suggesting that God's judgment is not restricted to one location.
The angel explains that the scroll represents a curse going throughout the land.
Two specific sins are mentioned: stealing and falsely using God's name.
These represent more than isolated acts.
They reveal a society in which people are willing to violate both their responsibilities toward others and their relationship with God.
The judgment therefore reaches into people's homes.
The thief and the person who falsely swears are both confronted by God's judgment.
The message is that wrongdoing cannot be hidden simply because it happens privately.
God sees what takes place inside people's homes and communities.
The second vision is even more unusual.
Zechariah sees an ephah, a large measuring container, with a woman sitting inside it.
The angel identifies the woman as wickedness.
The imagery presents evil almost as though it were a physical object that can be contained and transported away.
A heavy lead cover is placed over the basket, preventing the wickedness from escaping.
The picture is therefore not merely about identifying sin.
It is about removing sin from the restored community.
Two women with wings then carry the basket through the air.
Zechariah asks where they are taking it.
The answer is the land of Shinar, traditionally associated with Babylon.
This is especially meaningful because Babylon had been responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and had taken many people from Judah into exile.
In the vision, however, the direction is reversed.
The people of God are no longer being carried away to Babylon.
Instead, wickedness itself is being carried away from God's restored land.
The symbolism therefore communicates a powerful reversal of the exile.
The chapter also provides an important connection with the earlier visions.
Zechariah 4 focused on the Temple being rebuilt through God's Spirit.
Zechariah 5 now shows that the restored community must also experience moral cleansing.
A rebuilt Temple without transformed people would not accomplish God's larger purpose.
The flying scroll demonstrates that God will judge individual wrongdoing.
The basket demonstrates that wickedness will ultimately be removed from the community.
Together, the visions show that restoration involves both construction and purification.
The central message is that Zechariah 5 teaches that God's restoration of His people includes the removal of dishonesty, theft, false worship, and wickedness, because rebuilding the Temple and Jerusalem must be accompanied by a community that is increasingly separated from the sins that previously brought judgment.
The chapter also presents a striking reversal of Judah's history: Babylon once carried God's people away from Jerusalem, but in the vision wickedness itself is carried away to Babylon, symbolizing God's determination to remove corruption from His restored community and prevent the sins of the past from controlling its future.
The chapter begins with Zechariah seeing a large flying scroll.
The scroll is unusual because it is moving through the air, suggesting that God's judgment is not restricted to one location.
The angel explains that the scroll represents a curse going throughout the land.
Two specific sins are mentioned: stealing and falsely using God's name.
These represent more than isolated acts.
They reveal a society in which people are willing to violate both their responsibilities toward others and their relationship with God.
The judgment therefore reaches into people's homes.
The thief and the person who falsely swears are both confronted by God's judgment.
The message is that wrongdoing cannot be hidden simply because it happens privately.
God sees what takes place inside people's homes and communities.
The second vision is even more unusual.
Zechariah sees an ephah, a large measuring container, with a woman sitting inside it.
The angel identifies the woman as wickedness.
The imagery presents evil almost as though it were a physical object that can be contained and transported away.
A heavy lead cover is placed over the basket, preventing the wickedness from escaping.
The picture is therefore not merely about identifying sin.
It is about removing sin from the restored community.
Two women with wings then carry the basket through the air.
Zechariah asks where they are taking it.
The answer is the land of Shinar, traditionally associated with Babylon.
This is especially meaningful because Babylon had been responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and had taken many people from Judah into exile.
In the vision, however, the direction is reversed.
The people of God are no longer being carried away to Babylon.
Instead, wickedness itself is being carried away from God's restored land.
The symbolism therefore communicates a powerful reversal of the exile.
The chapter also provides an important connection with the earlier visions.
Zechariah 4 focused on the Temple being rebuilt through God's Spirit.
Zechariah 5 now shows that the restored community must also experience moral cleansing.
A rebuilt Temple without transformed people would not accomplish God's larger purpose.
The flying scroll demonstrates that God will judge individual wrongdoing.
The basket demonstrates that wickedness will ultimately be removed from the community.
Together, the visions show that restoration involves both construction and purification.
The central message is that Zechariah 5 teaches that God's restoration of His people includes the removal of dishonesty, theft, false worship, and wickedness, because rebuilding the Temple and Jerusalem must be accompanied by a community that is increasingly separated from the sins that previously brought judgment.
The chapter also presents a striking reversal of Judah's history: Babylon once carried God's people away from Jerusalem, but in the vision wickedness itself is carried away to Babylon, symbolizing God's determination to remove corruption from His restored community and prevent the sins of the past from controlling its future.