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Zechariah 5

Zechariah’s two visions portray God’s judgment entering the houses of wrongdoers and wickedness being carried away from the land.

Zechariah sees a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide. His heavenly guide identifies it as a curse against theft and false oaths, and YHWH declares that it will enter and destroy offenders’ houses. A second vision shows a woman inside an ephah basket, sealed beneath a lead cover. The angel names her Wickedness. Two winged women carry the basket toward Shinar, where a house will be prepared for her.

injustice and angerguilt and confessionsermon or Bible study notes
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1Then again I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll.
2He said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.”
3Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the surface of the whole land, for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to it on the one side; and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off according to it on the other side.
4I will cause it to go out,” says the LORD of Armies, “and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears falsely by my name; and it will remain in the middle of his house, and will destroy it with its timber and its stones.”
5Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is that is appearing.”
6I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is the ephah basket that is appearing.” He said moreover, “This is their appearance in all the land—
7and behold, a lead cover weighing one talent was lifted up—and there was a woman sitting in the middle of the ephah basket.”
8He said, “This is Wickedness;” and he threw her down into the middle of the ephah basket; and he threw the lead weight on its mouth.
9Then I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, there were two women; and the wind was in their wings. Now they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah basket between earth and the sky.
11He said to me, “To build her a house in the land of Shinar. When it is prepared, she will be set there in her own place.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Zechariah 5:3The guide identifies the scroll as a curse, naming theft and false oaths as offenses under God’s judgment.
Zechariah 5:4YHWH declares that his curse will enter offenders’ homes and consume even their timber and stones.
Zechariah 5:2The scroll’s immense dimensions establish the striking scale of the vision before its message of judgment is explained.
Where this chapter reaches

Genesis and Daniel also name Shinar, the destination of the basket, linking the vision with the land of Babel and Babylon. Revelation shares the imagery of a woman associated with wickedness and Babylon, though the visions portray different scenes of judgment.

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After reading the whole chapter

What stands out to you about the curse entering a house and remaining there?

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How do the scroll’s destruction and the basket’s removal shape your understanding of God’s response to wickedness?

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Questions people ask about Zechariah 5

What does the flying scroll mean in Zechariah 5?

The guide identifies the flying scroll as the curse going out across the land. It announces judgment against those who steal and those who swear false oaths by God’s name. Its entry into their houses shows the reach of that judgment. The text gives no explanation for its exact dimensions.

Who is the woman in the basket in Zechariah 5?

The angel identifies the woman as Wickedness, making her a symbolic figure within the vision. She is confined inside an ephah basket beneath a lead cover and carried to Shinar. The text does not identify her as a particular person or imply that women as a group embody wickedness.

Why is the basket taken to Shinar?

The angel says a house will be built for the woman in Shinar, where she will be placed. Genesis associates Shinar with Babel, and Daniel with Babylon. The vision depicts wickedness being removed from the land and established elsewhere; it leaves the details of the house and its purpose unexplained.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).