Zechariah 5

1 And I turned and lifted up my eyes. And I saw, and behold, a book flying.

I looked up again, and I saw a scroll that was flying [through the air].

2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a book flying. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width is ten cubits.”

The angel asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a flying scroll that is [huge], (10 yards/9 meters) long and (5 yards/4.5 meters) wide.”

3 And he said to me, “This is the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole earth. For every thief will be judged, just as it has been written there, and everyone who swears by this, will be judged in like manner.”

Then he said to me, “On this scroll is written the [words that Yahweh is speaking to] curse the entire country. On [one side of] the scroll it is written that every thief will be banished. On [the other side] it is written that everyone who tells a lie when he is solemnly promising to tell the truth will also be banished from the country.

4 I will bring it forth, says the Lord of hosts, and it will approach to the house of the thief, and to the house of him who swears falsely by my name, and it will remain in the midst of his house and will consume it, with its wood and its stones.

The Commander of the armies of angels says, ‘I will send [copies of] this scroll to the places where thieves live and to the houses of those who use my name when they solemnly promise to tell the truth. [The copies of] this scroll will stay in their houses, until those houses and all their wood and stones are destroyed.’”

5 And the angel had departed, who was speaking with me. And he said to me, “Lift up your eyes, and see what this is, that goes forth.”

Then the angel who had been talking to me came closer to me and said, “Look up and see what is appearing!”

6 And I said, “What, then, is it?” And he said, “This is a container going forth.” And he said, “This is their eye in all the earth.”

I asked him, “What is it?” He replied, “It is a big basket [for measuring grain]. But it represents the sins that everyone in this nation has committed.”

7 And behold, a talent of lead was being carried; and behold, one woman sitting in the middle of the container.

Then [the angel] lifted the basket’s cover, [which was made] of lead. There was a woman sitting inside the basket!

8 And he said, “This is impiety.” And he cast her into the middle of the container, and he sent the weight of lead into its mouth.

The angel said, “She represents the wicked things [that people do].” Then the angel pushed her back into the basket and closed the very heavy lid [again].

9 And I lifted up my eyes and I saw. And behold, two women were departing, and a spirit was in their wings, and they had wings like the wings of a kite, and they lifted up the container between earth and heaven.

Then I looked up and saw two women in front of me. They [were flying toward us], with their wings spread out in the wind. Their wings were [large], like [SIM] storks’ wings. They lifted the big basket up into the sky.

10 And I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the container?”

I asked the angel who had been talking to me, “Where are they taking that basket?”

11 And he said to me, “To a house that may be built for it in the land of Shinar, and so that it may be established and set there upon its own base.”

He replied, “[They are taking it] to Babylonia to build a temple for it. When the temple is finished, they will set the basket there on a pedestal [for people to worship it].”