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Zechariah 5

Zechariah 5 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Zechariah 5 presents two visions that deal with sin in the community. A flying scroll brings a warning against theft and false oaths, and a basket carries wickedness away from the land. The chapter shows that God sees wrongdoing and acts against it.

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What happens in Zechariah 5?

In the first vision, Zechariah sees a large flying scroll. The angel explains that it represents a curse moving through the land, aimed at thieves and those who swear falsely in God's name. It enters guilty households and brings ruin. In the second vision, a measuring basket appears with wickedness personified as a woman inside it. She is pressed down and sealed in, then carried away by two winged women to the land of Shinar, where a house will be built for it. The chapter portrays judgment, removal of evil, and God cleansing the land.

This chapter comes after the reassuring vision of restoration in chapter 4. Here the focus turns from rebuilding to moral purity. Zechariah's visions show that the restored community must also deal with sin, not only with the temple and city. The chapter prepares for the next vision by showing God's active concern for holiness in the land.

Themes to notice

  • Judgment on sinGod's curse is shown against theft and false witness, making clear that hidden wrong will not be ignored.
  • Removal of wickednessThe basket vision pictures evil being contained and taken away from among God's people.
  • Holiness in the landThe chapter ties public restoration to moral faithfulness, not just outward rebuilding.

Questions for Zechariah 5

  • What does the flying scroll teach about the seriousness of theft and false oaths?
  • Why is wickedness shown as something that must be carried away from the land?
  • How do these visions connect restoration with moral responsibility?

Read the full text of Zechariah 5 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Zechariah 5

The Vision of the Flying Scroll

1Again I lifted up my eyes and saw before me a flying scroll.2“What do you see?” asked the angel. “I see a flying scroll,” I replied, “twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.”

3Then he told me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of all the land, for according to one side of the scroll, every thief will be removed; and according to the other side, every perjurer will be removed.4I will send it out, declares the LORD of Hosts, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My name. It will remain inside his house and destroy it, down to its timbers and stones.”

The Vision of the Woman in a Basket

5Then the angel who was speaking with me came forward and told me, “Now lift up your eyes and see what is approaching.”

6“What is it?” I asked. And he replied, “A measuring basket is going forth.” Then he continued, “This is their iniquity in all the land.”7And behold, the cover of lead was raised, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket.8“This is Wickedness,” he said. And he shoved her down into the basket, pushing down the lead cover over its opening.

9Then I lifted up my eyes and saw two women approaching, with the wind in their wings. Their wings were like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.10“Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking with me.

11“To build a house for it in the land of Shinar,” he told me. “And when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its pedestal.”

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