Zechariah 5:4

4 educam illud dicit Dominus exercituum et veniet ad domum furis et ad domum iurantis in nomine meo mendaciter et commorabitur in medio domus eius et consumet eam et ligna eius et lapides eius

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 et dixit ad me quid tu vides et dixi ego video volumen volans longitudo eius viginti cubitorum et latitudo eius decem cubitorum
3 et dixit ad me haec est maledictio quae egreditur super faciem omnis terrae quia omnis fur sicut ibi scriptum est iudicabitur et omnis iurans ex hoc similiter iudicabitur
4 educam illud dicit Dominus exercituum et veniet ad domum furis et ad domum iurantis in nomine meo mendaciter et commorabitur in medio domus eius et consumet eam et ligna eius et lapides eius
5 et egressus est angelus qui loquebatur in me et dixit ad me leva oculos tuos et vide quid est hoc quod egreditur
6 et dixi quidnam est et ait haec est amphora egrediens et dixit haec est oculus eorum in universa terra
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.