Zacharias 5

1 And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked and behold a flying sickle.

Again I lifted up my eyes and saw before me a flying scroll.

2 And he said to me, What see you? And I said, I see a flying sickle, of the length of twenty cubits, and of the breadth of ten cubits.

“What do you see?” asked the angel. “I see a flying scroll,” I replied, “twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.”

3 And he said to me, This is the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole earth: for every thief shall be punished with death on this side, and every false swearer shall be punished on that side.

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.

4 And I will bring it forth, says the Lord Almighty, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that swears falsely by my name: and it shall rest in the midst of his house, and shall consume it, and the timber of it, and the stones of it.

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.”

5 And the angel that talked with me went forth, and said to me, Lift up your eyes, and see this that goes forth.

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

6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is the measure that goes forth. And he said, This is their iniquity in all the earth.

“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.”

7 And behold a talent of lead lifted up: and behold a woman sat in the midst of the measure.

And behold, the cover of lead was raised, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket.

8 And he said, This is iniquity. And he cast it into the midst of the measure, and cast the weight of lead on the mouth of it.

“This is Wickedness,” he said. And he shoved her down into the basket, pushing down the lead cover over its opening.

9 And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, two women coming forth, and the wind was in their wings; and they had stork's wings: and they lifted up the measure between the earth and the sky.

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.

10 And I said to the angel that spoke with me, Whither do these carry away the measure?

“Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking with me.

11 And he said to me, To build it a house in the land of Babylon, and to prepare [a place for it]; and they shall set it there on its own base.

“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.”