Zechariah 5:2

2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.^[a] ”

Zechariah 5:2 in Other Translations

2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

2 And 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."

2 “What do you see?” the angel asked. “I see a flying scroll,” I replied. “It appears to be about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide. ”

2 The Messenger-Angel said to me, "What do you see now?" I said, "I see a book flying, a huge book - thirty feet long and fifteen wide!"

2 "What do you see?" he asked me. "I see a flying scroll," I replied, "30 feet long and 15 feet wide."

Zechariah 5:2 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 5:2

And he said unto me
That is, the angel: What seest thou? and I answered, I see a flying roll, the length
whereof [is] twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits;
so that it was a very large one, a volume of a very uncommon size, especially it may so seem to us; but in other nations they have very long rolls or volumes, even longer than this: the Russians write their acts, protests, and other court matters, on long rolls of paper, some twenty ells, some thirty, and some sixty, and more ^F24: and this being the length and breadth of the porch before the temple, ( 1 Kings 6:3 ) hence the Jewish writers conclude that this flying roll came from thence: it may design either the roll or book in which the sins of men are written; which is very large, and will quickly be brought into judgment, when it will be opened, and men will be judged according to it; which shows the notice God takes of the sins of men; the exact knowledge he has of them; his strict remembrance of them; and the certain account men must give of them another day: or, the book of God's judgments upon sinners, such as was Ezekiel's roll, ( Ezekiel 2:9 Ezekiel 2:10 ) which are many and great; are rolled up, and not at present to be searched into; but are flying, coming on, and will be speedily executed: or rather the book of the law, called a roll or volume, ( Psalms 40:7 ) ( Luke 4:17 Luke 4:20 ) and which will be a swift witness against the breakers of it, as more fully appears from the explanation of it in the next verse ( Zechariah 5:3 ) . It is a mere fancy and conceit of some that the Talmud is meant by this roll, the body of the Jewish traditions, which make void the commands of God, take away the blessing, and leave a curse in the land, as they did in the land of Judea.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 Eskuche apud Burkium in loc.

Zechariah 5:2 In-Context

1 I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll.

2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide. ”

3 And he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished.

4 The LORD Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.’ ”

5 Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.”

Cross References

• 1. S Jeremiah 1:13

Footnotes

• [a]. That is, about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide or about 9 meters long and 4.5 meters wide