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Zechariah Sees a Flying Book

I looked up again and saw a flying book. And the angel said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see a flying book, as long as ten long steps and as wide as five long steps.” Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over all the land. Everyone who steals will be cut off by what is written on one side. And everyone who swears will be cut off by what is written on the other side. I will send it out,” says the Lord of All, “and it will go into the house of the robber and the house of the one who makes false promises using My name. It will spend the night in that house and destroy it, both its wood and stones.”

Zechariah Sees a Woman in a Basket

Then the angel who was speaking with me came out and said to me, “Look up and see what this is that is going out.” And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is the large basket going out.” And he said, “This is the sin of all the people in all the land.” Then the lead cover was lifted up, and there was a woman sitting in the large basket. The angel said, “This is Sin!” And he threw her back into the basket and threw the lead weight on its opening. Then I looked up and saw two women coming out with the wind in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork. And they lifted up the large basket between earth and heaven. 10 I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” 11 He said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar. When it is ready, it will be put in its place.”

The Flying Scroll

I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll.(A)

He asked me, “What do you see?”(B)

I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.[a]

And he said to me, “This is the curse(C) that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief(D) will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely(E) will be banished. 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(F) by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.(G)’”

The Woman in a Basket

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

I asked, “What is it?”

He replied, “It is a basket.(H)” And he added, “This is the iniquity[b] of the people throughout the land.”

Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.(I)

Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork,(J) and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.

10 “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking to me.

11 He replied, “To the country of Babylonia[c](K) to build a house(L) for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”(M)

Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 5:2 That is, about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide or about 9 meters long and 4.5 meters wide
  2. Zechariah 5:6 Or appearance
  3. Zechariah 5:11 Hebrew Shinar