Zechariah 5:4-11

4 I shall lead out it, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall come to the house of a thief, and to the house of him that sweareth falsely in my name; and it shall dwell in the middle of his house, and shall waste him, and his trees, and his stones. (I have sent it out, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall come to the thief's house, and to the house of him who sweareth falsely in my name; and it shall stay, or remain, in the midst of his house, and it shall destroy him, and his wood, or his timber, and his stones.)

5 And the angel went out, that spake in me (who spoke to me), and said to me, Raise (up) thine eyes, and see, what this thing is that goeth out.

6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an amphora, either a pot, going out. And he said, This is the eye of them in all earth (And he said, This is their sin in all the earth).

7 And lo! a talent of lead was borne (up from it); and lo! a woman (was) sitting in (the) middle of the pot.

8 And he said, This is unpiety, either unfaithfulness. And he casted down her in(to) the middle of the pot, and sent a gobbet of lead into the mouth thereof. (And he said, This is Unrighteousness, or Wickedness. And he threw her down into the midst of the pot, and put the piece of lead back into the mouth of the pot.)

9 And I raised mine eyes, and saw, and lo! two women going out, and a spirit in the wings of them; and they had wings as the wings of a kite, and raised the pot betwixt heaven and earth. (And I raised up my eyes, and saw, and lo! two women going out, and the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they raised up the pot between heaven and the earth.)

10 And I said to the angel that spake in me, Whither bear these the pot? (And I said to the angel who spoke to me, Where shall they take the pot?)

11 And he said to me, That an house be builded thereto in the land of Shinar, and be stablished, and set there on his foundament. (And he said to me, To the land of Shinar, or to Babylon, so that a house, or a temple, can be built for it, and it can be established, and put there upon its own foundation, or upon its own base.)

Zechariah 5:4-11 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH 5

This chapter treats of the judgments of God upon the wicked Jews for their sins and impieties, the measure of which was filled up, and of the execution of them, which are represented in two visions: the first is of a flying roll, which signifies the curse of God, and is described by its measure, the length being twenty cubits, and the breadth ten; and by the extent of it, it reaching to the whole earth, and particularly to thieves and false swearers, who shall be cut off by it; and by the certainty of its coming into the houses of such, and the utter desolation it should there make, Zec 5:1-4 and the other is the vision of an ephah, and a woman sitting in it, and a talent of lead cast upon the mouth of it, which signified wickedness, Zec 5:5-8 this "ephah" is seen to be lifted up between earth and heaven by two women, who are said to have wings like the wings of storks, and the wind to be in them; and who are said by the angel to carry the "ephah" into the land of Shinar, to build it a house, that it might be established and settled upon its own base, Zec 5:9-11.