Zechariah 5 Study Notes: The Flying Scroll and the Basket
Zechariah sees a huge flying scroll, God's curse sent out against thieves and those who lie under oath in His name. In a further vision a woman named Wickedness is sealed inside a measuring basket and carried away to Shinar.
General
Where does the angel say the basket holding Wickedness is being taken?
Answer: To Shinar, where a house will be built to hold it
Zechariah asks where the winged women are taking the basket. The angel answers that they are carrying it off to Shinar, where a house will be made for it, and once that is finished it will be placed on its stand there (5:10-11). Elsewhere Shinar is the plain where the builders of Babel settled (Genesis 11:2) and the place to which Nebuchadnezzar carried things from God's house (Daniel 1:2), the region of Babylon. The main point is clear: wickedness is carried right out of the land God's people live in and taken far away.
- Zechariah 5:10-11 (BSB)““Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking with me. “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.””The angel tells Zechariah where the basket is going and what will be prepared for it there.
- Genesis 11:2 (BSB)“And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.”Shinar is the plain where people settled before building the tower of Babel.
- Daniel 1:2 (BSB)“And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god.”Nebuchadnezzar carried articles from God's house to Shinar, to his god's temple.
Theological
What destination does the angel give for the basket containing Wickedness (5:10-11)?
Answer: To Shinar, where a house will be built to hold it
Asked where the basket is going, the angel answers that it is bound for Shinar, where a house will be built for it and the basket installed on its base when all is prepared (5:10-11). In Scripture Shinar is the plain where the builders of Babel settled (Genesis 11:2) and the region of Babylon to which Nebuchadnezzar took vessels from God's house (Daniel 1:2). Its plain message is the removal of wickedness from the land of God's people to a far country, a sign of His purpose to purify the community He has restored.
- Zechariah 5:10-11 (BSB)““Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking with me. “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.””The angel tells Zechariah where the basket is going and what will be prepared for it there.
- Genesis 11:2 (BSB)“And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.”Shinar is the plain where people settled before building the tower of Babel.
- Daniel 1:2 (BSB)“And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god.”Nebuchadnezzar carried articles from God's house to Shinar, to his god's temple.
General
In the vision of the measuring basket, how does the angel identify what is inside it?
Answer: Wickedness, the people's guilt throughout the land
Zechariah sees a measuring basket, a container for grain, coming forward, and the angel says it stands for the people's sin throughout the land (5:6). When the lead cover is lifted, a woman is sitting inside, and the angel says she is Wickedness. He then shoves her back down and presses the heavy lid over the opening (5:7-8). The vision shows God dealing with sin itself, shutting it in so it cannot get out. It fits His promise in 3:9 to take away the land's guilt in one day, and the joy of Micah and the psalmist that God carries His people's sins far away (Micah 7:19; Psalm 103:12).
- Zechariah 5:6-8 (BSB)““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.” And behold, the cover of lead was raised, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket. “This is Wickedness,” he said. And he shoved her down into the basket, pushing down the lead cover over its opening.”The angel explains the measuring basket and names the woman inside it, then forces her down under the lead cover.
- Zechariah 3:9 (BSB)“See the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave on it an inscription, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.”In an earlier vision the LORD promised to take away the land's guilt in one day.
- Micah 7:19 (BSB)“He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea.”Micah praises God for overcoming His people's sins and hurling them into the sea.
- Psalm 103:12 (BSB)“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”God puts His people's transgressions far away from them.
Theological
How does the angel interpret the basket and the woman inside it (5:6-8)?
Answer: Wickedness, the people's guilt throughout the land
The angel calls the measuring basket the people's iniquity throughout the land (5:6). When its lead cover is raised, a woman is seen seated inside, and he names her Wickedness, then forces her down and seals the opening with the lead weight (5:7-8). She is wickedness pictured as a person. The scene complements the flying scroll: there God judges individual sinners, here He confines and removes sin from the land. It visualizes the promise of 3:9 that the LORD will take away the land's guilt in one day, the same removal of guilt Micah and the psalmist celebrate (Micah 7:19; Psalm 103:12).
- Zechariah 5:6-8 (BSB)““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.” And behold, the cover of lead was raised, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket. “This is Wickedness,” he said. And he shoved her down into the basket, pushing down the lead cover over its opening.”The angel explains the measuring basket and names the woman inside it, then forces her down under the lead cover.
- Zechariah 3:9 (BSB)“See the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave on it an inscription, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.”In an earlier vision the LORD promised to take away the land's guilt in one day.
- Micah 7:19 (BSB)“He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea.”Micah praises God for overcoming His people's sins and hurling them into the sea.
- Psalm 103:12 (BSB)“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”God puts His people's transgressions far away from them.
General
What does the angel say the flying scroll in Zechariah's vision is?
Answer: God's curse sent out across the whole land
In this sixth night vision Zechariah sees an enormous scroll flying through the air, twenty by ten cubits (a cubit is about a foot and a half). The angel tells him it represents the curse moving out across the entire land (5:1-3). A curse here means God's judgment on those who break His law, as the law itself had warned (Deuteronomy 28:15). It is God's word of judgment moving out to find the guilty. Paul teaches that everyone who stands on law-keeping is under such a curse (Galatians 3:10), and that Christ rescued His people by bearing that curse for them (Galatians 3:13).
- Zechariah 5:1-3 (BSB)“Again I lifted up my eyes and saw before me a flying scroll. “What do you see?” asked the angel. “I see a flying scroll,” I replied, “twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.” Then 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.”Zechariah sees a huge scroll in flight, and the angel explains what it is and whom it targets.
- Deuteronomy 28:15 (BSB)“If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:”The law warned that disobedience to God's commands would bring curses on Israel.
- Galatians 3:10 (BSB)“All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.””Paul says those depending on law-keeping stand cursed, since the law condemns anyone who fails to do all it demands.
- Galatians 3:13 (BSB)“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.””Christ bore the law's curse in the place of His people.
Theological
How does the interpreting angel identify the flying scroll?
Answer: God's curse sent out across the whole land
The sixth vision shows a vast scroll in flight, twenty by ten cubits, which the angel identifies as the curse spreading out across the entire land (5:1-3). It is the covenant curse that the law attached to disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15), now dispatched by God to search out covenant breakers among the returned community. The vision underlines that the restored people still live under God's holy law. Paul draws the same line: all who rest on law-keeping stand under its curse (Galatians 3:10), and deliverance comes only because Christ became a curse in the place of His people (Galatians 3:13).
- Zechariah 5:1-3 (BSB)“Again I lifted up my eyes and saw before me a flying scroll. “What do you see?” asked the angel. “I see a flying scroll,” I replied, “twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.” Then 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.”Zechariah sees a huge scroll in flight, and the angel explains what it is and whom it targets.
- Deuteronomy 28:15 (BSB)“If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:”The law warned that disobedience to God's commands would bring curses on Israel.
- Galatians 3:10 (BSB)“All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.””Paul says those depending on law-keeping stand cursed, since the law condemns anyone who fails to do all it demands.
- Galatians 3:13 (BSB)“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.””Christ bore the law's curse in the place of His people.
General
According to 5:3-4, which two kinds of people does the scroll's curse target?
Answer: Those who steal and those who lie under oath in God's name
The scroll's front deals with every thief and its back with every perjurer, someone who lies under oath (5:3). The LORD declares that He will send the curse into the home of each thief and each person who takes a false oath using His name, and it will stay there until it ruins the whole house, beams and stones alike (5:4). These two sins break God's commands against stealing (Exodus 20:15) and against using His name in a lying oath (Leviticus 19:12). One wrongs a neighbor and the other dishonors God, and Malachi likewise lists perjurers among those God will judge (Malachi 3:5). No hidden sin escapes God's searching judgment.
- Zechariah 5:3-4 (BSB)“Then 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. I 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 two sides of the scroll name thieves and perjurers, and the LORD says the curse will enter and ruin their homes.
- Exodus 20:15 (BSB)“You shall not steal.”The law forbids stealing outright.
- Leviticus 19:12 (BSB)“You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.”The law forbids false oaths in the LORD's name because they profane His name.
- Malachi 3:5 (BSB)““Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.”Malachi likewise names perjurers among those God will judge.
Theological
Which two offenders does the flying scroll's curse single out (5:3-4)?
Answer: Those who steal and those who lie under oath in God's name
The scroll is written on both sides: one against every thief, the other against every perjurer (5:3). The LORD declares that He will send it into the dwelling of each thief and of whoever takes a lying oath in His name, where it will lodge and consume the house down to its beams and stones (5:4). The two offenses represent the law's demands toward neighbor and toward God: the prohibition of theft (Exodus 20:15) and of false oaths that profane the divine name (Leviticus 19:12). Malachi likewise names perjurers among those God will judge (Malachi 3:5). The judgment is personal, thorough and inescapable.
- Zechariah 5:3-4 (BSB)“Then 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. I 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 two sides of the scroll name thieves and perjurers, and the LORD says the curse will enter and ruin their homes.
- Exodus 20:15 (BSB)“You shall not steal.”The law forbids stealing outright.
- Leviticus 19:12 (BSB)“You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.”The law forbids false oaths in the LORD's name because they profane His name.
- Malachi 3:5 (BSB)““Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.”Malachi likewise names perjurers among those God will judge.
General
True or False: In the vision, the woman in the basket breaks free and flies away on her own wings.
Answer: False
This is false. When the woman called Wickedness is seen, the angel shoves her back into the basket and presses the lead cover down over its opening (5:8). She does not fly anywhere herself. Instead Zechariah sees two women with wings like a stork's, carried along by the wind, who raise the closed basket up into the air (5:9). Wickedness is kept under God's control the whole time. Nothing can slip out from under God's hand or hide from Him (Psalm 139:7-8; Hebrews 4:13).
- Zechariah 5:8-9 (BSB)““This is Wickedness,” he said. And he shoved her down into the basket, pushing down the lead cover over its opening. Then 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.”The angel pushes the woman down and seals the basket, and two winged women carry it off.
- Psalm 139:7-8 (BSB)“Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.”No one can go anywhere beyond God's presence and reach.
- Hebrews 4:13 (BSB)“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”No created thing is concealed from God.
Theological
True or False: The woman in the basket escapes and flies off by her own wings.
Answer: False
This is false. The angel thrusts Wickedness back into the basket and seals it with the lead cover (5:8). The flight is not hers: two winged women, with wings like a stork's and the wind filling their wings, lift the sealed basket aloft (5:9). The vision keeps sin wholly under divine restraint from start to finish. God's sovereign reach leaves no place of escape and nothing concealed from Him (Psalm 139:7-8; Hebrews 4:13).
- Zechariah 5:8-9 (BSB)““This is Wickedness,” he said. And he shoved her down into the basket, pushing down the lead cover over its opening. Then 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.”The angel pushes the woman down and seals the basket, and two winged women carry it off.
- Psalm 139:7-8 (BSB)“Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.”No one can go anywhere beyond God's presence and reach.
- Hebrews 4:13 (BSB)“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”No created thing is concealed from God.