Zechariah 5:4

4 "I will 1make it go forth," declares the LORD of hosts, "and it will 2enter the house of the 3thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and 4consume it with its timber and stones."

Zechariah 5:4 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 5:4

I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts
The roll was come forth, and was flying abroad; but the curse and wrath of God, signified by it, is what God would bring forth out of his treasures, according to his purposes and declarations, and execute upon sinners; which shows the certainty of it, and that there is no escaping it: and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the
house of him that sweareth falsely by my name; and it shall remain
in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber
thereof, and the stones thereof;
when wrath is gone forth from the Lord, there is no stopping it; and where it takes place it will remain, there is no getting rid of it; it makes an utter desolation of goods and estates, and entirely destroys both body and soul in hell: there seems to be an allusion to the plague of the leprosy, ( Leviticus 14:45 ) . So the son of Sirach says,

``a man that swears much shall be full of iniquity, and the plague shall not depart from his house:''
and again,
``if a man swears in vain, he shall not be innocent or justified, for his house shall be full of calamities F25.''
So the oracle in Herodotus F26, which Grotius has observed, makes an utter destruction of a man's house and family, to be the punishment of the sin of perjury. Moreover, by the house of the thief and swearer may be meant the temple, as in the times of Christ, which was become a den of thieves and perjurers, and for their sins, became desolate, ( Matthew 21:13 ) ( 23:38 ) .
FOOTNOTES:

F25 Ecclesiasticus xxiii. 11.
F26 Erato, sive l. 6. c. 86.

Zechariah 5:4 In-Context

2 And he said to me, "What do you see?" And 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 is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.
4 "I will make it go forth," declares the LORD of hosts, "and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones."
5 Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, "Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth."
6 I said, "What is it?" And he said, "This is the ephah going forth." Again he said, "This is their appearance in all the land

Cross References 4

  • 1. Malachi 3:5
  • 2. Hosea 4:2, 3
  • 3. Jeremiah 2:26
  • 4. Leviticus 14:34, 35; Job 18:15
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.