< Zechariah 5 >
1 And I turned and lifted up my eyes: and I saw, and behold a volume flying.
I looked up again, and I saw a scroll that was flying [through the air].
2 And he said to me: What seest thou? And I said: I see a volume flying: the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof 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 goeth forth over the face of the earth: for every thief shall be judged as is there written: and every one that sweareth in like manner shall be judged by it.
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, saith the Lord of hosts: and it shall come to the house of the thief, and to 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.
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 went forth that spoke in me, and he said to me: Lift up thy eyes, and see what this is, that goeth 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 is it? And he said: This is a vessel 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 carried, and behold a woman sitting in the midst of the vessel.
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 wickedness. And he cast her into the midst of the vessel, and cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.
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 looked: and behold there came out two women, and wind was in their wings, and they had wings like the wings of a kite: and they lifted up the vessel between the earth and the 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 that spoke in me: Whither do these carry the vessel?
I asked the angel who had been talking to me, “Where are they taking that basket?”
11 And he said to me: That a house may be built for it in the land of Sennaar, and that it may be established, and set there upon its own basis.
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].”