Zechariah Chapter 5
1 Then again I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, a flying scroll.
2 He said to me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits."
3 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.
4 I will cause it to go out," says the LORD 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."
5 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."
6 I said, "What is it?" He said, "This is the ephah basket that is appearing." He said moreover, "This is their appearance in all the land
7 (and behold, a talent of lead was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting in the middle of the ephah basket."
8 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.
9 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."
Footnotes
- Verse 2 (Cubit)
- 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 centimetres.
- Verse 6 (Ephah)
- An ephah is a measure of volume of about 22 litres, 5.8 U. S. gallons, or about 2/3 of a bushel.
- Verse 7 (Talent)
- A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds.
- Verse 7 (Ephah)
- 1 ephah is about 22 litres or about 2/3 of a bushel
Version: World English Bible
- About World English Bible (WEB)
- WEB Glossary
- WEB Web Site (source documents)
- Bible on one web page
- Download WEB (for MS Word)
Audio
To Listen to this Chapter
The mp3 Audio File should start to play in a new Tab. Then return to this Tab to follow the text whilst listening.
Zechariah Chapter 5 Guide
The vision of the flying roll represents the principle of law as it will be administered by Israel when she fulfils the true ideal. It must be considered as a sequence following the realization of those preceding. Israel, cleansed and anointed by the Spirit, becomes again a moral standard and influence among the peoples. The law is a curse on evil in action and in speech, not merely pronounced, but active. Thus while Israel in realization is to stand as priest, mediating, and as light-bearer, illuminating, she is also to affirm and apply the principle of law in the world.
The vision of the application of law is immediately followed by one showing the result. The ephah is the symbol of commerce, and, according to the distinct prophecy, the woman sitting in the midst of the ephah is the personification of wickedness. Thus the principle of wickedness is to find its last vantage ground in commerce. This ephah dominated by wickedness is borne into the land of Shinar, where the tower of Babel was erected and the city of Babylon was built.
The teaching of the vision, therefore, is that even in the administration of the ultimate, the spirit of lawlessness will exist, finding its vantage ground, as we have seen, in commerce, but that it will be restricted in its operations, being compelled to occupy its own house in its own land on its own basis.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Zechariah Chapter 5 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- The vision of a flying roll. -- (1-4)
- The vision of a woman and an ephah. -- (5-11)
Verses 1-4
The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are rolls, in which God has written the great things of his law and gospel; they are flying rolls. God's word runs very swiftly, Ps 147:15. This flying roll contains a declaration of the righteous wrath of God against sinners. Oh that we saw with an eye of faith the flying roll of God's curse hanging over the guilty world as a thick cloud, not only keeping off the sunbeams of God's favour, but big with thunders, lightnings, and storms, ready to destroy them! How welcome then would the tidings of a Saviour be, who came to redeem us from the curse of the law, being himself made a curse for us! Sin is the ruin of houses and families; especially the doing hurt to others and false witness. Who knows the power of God's anger? God's curse cannot be kept out by bars or locks. While one part of the curse of God ruins the substance of the sinner, another part will rest on the soul, and sink it to everlasting punishment. All are transgressors of the law, so we cannot escape this wrath of God, except we flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us in the gospel.
Verses 5-11
In this vision the prophet sees an ephah, something in the shape of a corn measure. This betokened the Jewish nation. They are filling the measure of their iniquity; and when it is full, they shall be delivered into the hands of those to whom God sold them for their sins. The woman sitting in the midst of the ephah represents the sinful church and nation of the Jews, in their latter and corrupt age. Guilt is upon the sinner as a weight of lead, to sink him to the lowest hell. This seems to mean the condemnation of the Jews, after they filled the measure of their iniquities by crucifying Christ and rejecting his gospel. Zechariah sees the ephah, with the woman thus pressed in it, carried away to some far country. This intimates that the Jews should be hurried out of their own land, and forced to dwell in far countries, as they had been in Babylon. There the ephah shall be firmly placed, and their sufferings shall continue far longer than in their late captivity. Blindness is happened unto Israel, and they are settled upon their own unbelief. Let sinners fear to treasure up wrath against the day of wrath; for the more they multiply crimes, the faster the measure fills.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.