Zechariah 5

Zechariah · Chapter 5

Zechariah 5:10

1Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.2And 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.3Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.4I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, 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.5Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.6And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.7And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.8And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.9Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.10Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?11And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
10Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?“Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking with me.Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

In one of his night visions, Zechariah sees wickedness, pictured as a woman, shut inside an ephah (a measuring basket) under a lid of lead. Two winged women lift the ephah between earth and heaven. In this verse Zechariah asks the angel where they are carrying it, and the angel answers that it goes to a house built for it in the land of Shinar. Zechariah 5:7Zechariah 5:8Zechariah 5:9Zechariah 5:10Zechariah 5:11

SpeakingZechariah the prophet speaks, asking a question of the angel who has been explaining the visions to him. Zechariah 5:10Zechariah 5:5Zechariah overview

ToThe question is put to 'the angel that talked with me.' The book as a whole was given to the people of Judah who had come back from exile, with Zerubbabel and Joshua. Zechariah 5:10Zechariah overview

Also involvedThe ephah holding the woman called 'wickedness' is what is being carried away. It is borne off by the two winged women. Zechariah 5:8Zechariah 5:9

Zechariah asks, 'Whither do these bear the ephah?' His question sets up the angel's answer that wickedness is being taken away to Shinar, to be set on its own base there. The text does not say who the two winged women are. Zechariah 5:10Zechariah 5:11Zechariah 5:9

Zechariah received and wrote his messages in Jerusalem among the returned exiles. In the vision, the ephah is carried between earth and heaven toward the land of Shinar. Zechariah overviewZechariah 5:9Zechariah 5:11

JUDAHMediterranean SeaJerusalemTyreSidonDamascusHamath 1GazaAshdodMegiddo

The eventsThis is part of the eight night visions in 1:7-6:8. The book's dated messages fall in the reign of Darius king of Persia, about 520-518 BC, while the temple was being rebuilt. Zechariah overview

WrittenTraditional: written by Zechariah, about 520-518 BC. Scholarly: most scholars agree chapters 1-8, which include this vision, come from Zechariah in 520-518 BC. Zechariah overview

HereThe question draws out the meaning of the vision: wickedness is shut up and taken away from God's people to another land. This follows the flying roll, the curse that cuts off the thief and the false swearer. Zechariah 5:10Zechariah 5:11Zechariah 5:3Zechariah 5:4

In the whole of ScriptureThe book calls the people to return to the LORD and promises that he will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Removing wickedness from the land fits that promise of a cleansed people with God among them. Zechariah overviewZechariah 5:8Zechariah 5:11

For readersGod does not leave sin in the midst of his people. He judges it and removes it, as the curse on the thief's house in 5:4 and the carrying away of wickedness in 5:11 both show. Zechariah 5:4Zechariah 5:8Zechariah 5:11

  • ephahאֵיפָה
    Hebrew · e.phah · H0374

    An ephah is a dry measure, and also the basket or container that holds that amount. The vision uses an everyday measuring container as the vessel that holds wickedness. Strong's H0374Zechariah 5:6Zechariah 5:8

  • the angelמַלְאָךְ
    Hebrew · ma.le.akh · H4397H

    The word means a messenger or representative, and also an angel. Here he is the one who explains the visions to Zechariah. Strong's H4397HZechariah 5:5Zechariah 5:10

Takeaway

Zechariah's question shows where wickedness goes in God's plan: it is shut up and carried away from his people to Shinar. God promises to dwell among a cleansed people. Zechariah 5:10Zechariah 5:11Zechariah overview

Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.

The world around the text

Behind this verse

The ephah
An ephah was the basket or vessel used to measure grain. The law required "a just ephah," and Amos condemns sellers "making the ephah small." Zechariah 5:6Leviticus 19:36Amos 8:5

About 520-518 BC. King of Persia: Darius I (522-486 BC). Where Zechariah prophesied. A small, poor community was rebuilding the temple among the ruins of the city Babylon had burned.

Who ruled
  • King of PersiaDarius I522-486 BC

    Zechariah dates his messages by the years of Darius. Darius confirmed Cyrus's decree and ordered the temple work to go on at royal expense. Zechariah 1:1Zechariah 7:1Ezra 6:1-12Haggai 1:1Behistun Inscription

  • Governor of JudahZerubbabelc. 520 BC

    A descendant of David who led the rebuilding. "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it." Zechariah 4:6-10Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:8

  • High priestJoshua the high priestc. 520 BC

    Called Jeshua in Ezra. He stands in Zechariah's vision clothed in filthy garments, which are taken away, and later receives crowns as a sign. Zechariah 3:1-10Zechariah 6:11Haggai 1:1Ezra 3:2

  • Persian governor "on this side the river"Tattenaic. 520 BC

    The governor of the province west of the Euphrates. He asked who had allowed the building, wrote to Darius, and was told to let the work go on. Ezra 5:3-6Ezra 6:6-13

What was happening, 539 BC to 332 BC
  1. 539 BC
    WarBabylon falls to Cyrus

    Cyrus king of Persia took Babylon, ending the empire that had destroyed Jerusalem. Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Cyrus Cylinder

  2. 538 BC
    God's peopleThe first return

    Cyrus let the exiles go home to build the LORD's house. About fifty thousand returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Ezra 1:1-4Ezra 2:1-2Ezra 2:64-65

  3. c. 536 BC
    God's peopleThe foundation is laid, then the work stops

    The returned exiles laid the temple's foundation with shouting and weeping. Opposition from their neighbors stopped the work until the second year of Darius. Ezra 3:10-13Ezra 4:4-5Ezra 4:24

  4. 525 BC
    WarPersia conquers Egypt

    Cyrus's son Cambyses invaded and took Egypt, bringing the whole region from the Nile to the Indus under one king. Herodotus, Histories 3.1-16

  5. 522-521 BC
    WarDarius crushes the revolts

    When Darius took the throne, provinces across the empire rebelled, Babylon twice. By 520 he had put them all down. Compare the riders' report in Zechariah's first vision: "all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." Behistun InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 3.150-159Zechariah 1:11

  6. 520 BC
    God's peopleHaggai and Zechariah stir the people to build

    In Darius's second year the two prophets urged the people to take up the temple work again, and Zerubbabel and Jeshua began to build. Ezra 5:1-2Haggai 1:1-15Zechariah 1:1

  7. c. 520-519 BC
    RulersDarius confirms Cyrus's decree

    Tattenai questioned the building. A search found Cyrus's decree at Achmetha, and Darius ordered the work to continue and be paid for from royal taxes. Ezra 5:3-6:12

  8. 515 BC
    BuildingThe second temple is finished

    The temple was finished on the third day of Adar in Darius's sixth year and dedicated with joy. Ezra 6:14-18Zechariah 4:9

  9. 490-479 BC
    WarPersia's wars with Greece

    Persia invaded Greece twice and was turned back at Marathon (490), Salamis (480) and Plataea (479). Greece, which Zechariah names in 9:13, was becoming Persia's great rival. Herodotus, Histories 6.102-117Herodotus, Histories 8.40-96Herodotus, Histories 9.1-89Zechariah 9:13

  10. 445 BC
    BuildingNehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem's walls

    Under the Persian king Artaxerxes, Nehemiah came from Shushan and rebuilt the walls in fifty-two days. Nehemiah 2:1-8Nehemiah 6:15

  11. 332 BC
    WarAlexander takes Tyre and Gaza

    Alexander the Great besieged island Tyre for seven months and then Gaza for two, on his way to Egypt. Zechariah 9 speaks of Tyre's "strong hold" and of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron and Ashdod. Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 2.15-27Zechariah 9:3-7

The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records (the Behistun Inscription, the Cyrus Cylinder, the Babylonian Chronicles) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and I saidוָאֹמַ֕רva-'o-MARH0559
to say

אָמַר (a.mar) 1) to say, speak, utter 1a) (Qal) to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend 1b) (Niphal) to be told, to be said, to be called 1c) (Hithpael) to boast, to act proudly 1d) (Hiphil) to avow, to avouch Aramaic equivalent: a.mar (אֲמַר "to say" H0560)

toאֶל־'el-H0413
to(wards)

אֶל (el) 1) to, toward, unto (of motion) 2) into (limit is actually entered) 2a) in among 3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion) 4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character) 5) in addition to, to 6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of 7) according to (rule or standard) 8) at, by, against (of one's presence) 9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to)

the angelהַמַּלְאָ֖ךְha-mal-'AKHH4397H
messenger

מַלְאָךְ (ma.le.akh) : messenger 1) messenger, representative 1a) messenger 1b) angel 1c) the theophanic angel

who was speakingהַדֹּבֵ֣רha-do-VERH1696G
to speak: speak

דָבַר (da.var) : speak/tell/command 1) to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing 1a) (Qal) to speak 1b) (Niphal) to speak with one another, talk 1c) (Piel) 1c1) to speak 1c2) to promise 1d) (Pual) to be spoken 1e) (Hithpael) to speak 1f) (Hiphil) to lead away, put to flight

where?אָ֛נָה'A-nahH0575
where?

אָן (an) 1) where?, whither? (of place) 2) when?, until when?, how long? (of time)

[are] theyהֵ֥מָּהHE-mahH1992
they

אִנּוּן (in.nun) these, those, they Aramaic of hem.mah (הֵ֫מָּה "they(masc.)" H1992)

takingמֽוֹלִכ֖וֹתmo-li-KHOTH1980J
to go: went

הָלַךְ (ha.lakh) : went/go[away] 1) to go, walk, come 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to go, walk, come, depart, proceed, move, go away 1a2) to die, live, manner of life (fig.) 1b) (Piel) 1b1) to walk 1b2) to walk (fig.) 1c) (Hithpael) 1c1) to traverse 1c2) to walk about 1d) (Niphal) to lead, bring, lead away, carry, cause to walk

the ephahהָאֵיפָֽה׃ha-'ei-FAHH0374
ephah

אֵיפָה (e.phah) 1) ephah 1a) a dry measure of quantity, equal to 3 seahs, 10 omers; the same as the liquid measure bath; (about 9 imperial gallons (40 l), rabbinical writings give sizes of one-half this amount) 1b) the receptacle for measuring or holding that amount

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.