Zechariah 5:6

Zechariah 5:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.
• New International Version (NIV)I asked, “What is it?” He replied, “It is a basket.” And he added, “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And I said, "What is it?" He said, "This is the basket that is going out." And he said, "This is their iniquity in all the land."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a basket that is going forth.” He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth:

Context of Zechariah 5:6

4And this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: I am sending this curse into the house of every thief and into the house of everyone who swears falsely using my name. And my curse will remain in that house and completely destroy it—even its timbers and stones.” 5Then the angel who was talking with me came forward and said, “Look up and see what’s coming.” “What is it?” I asked. He replied, “It is a basket for measuring grain, and it’s filled with the sins of everyone throughout the land.” 7Then the heavy lead cover was lifted off the basket, and there was a woman sitting inside it. 8The angel said, “The woman’s name is Wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and closed the heavy lid again.

Zechariah 5:6 word by word

וָאֹמַ֖ר מַה־הִ֑יא וַיֹּ֗אמֶר זֹ֤את הָֽאֵיפָה֙ הַיּוֹצֵ֔את וַיֹּ֕אמֶר זֹ֥את עֵינָ֖ם בְּכָל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And I saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• an ephahאֵיפָה'êyphâh 'êphâh · ephahH374
• that goeth forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• their resemblanceעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: sinH5869
• through all the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776

Cross-references for Zechariah 5:6

• Ezekiel 44:10And the men of the tribe of Levi who abandoned me when Israel strayed away from me to worship idols must bear the consequences of their unfaithfulness.
• Amos 8:5You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over and the religious festivals to end so you can get back to cheating the helpless. You measure out grain with dishonest measures and cheat the buyer with dishonest scales.

Commentaries on Zechariah 5:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6This is an ephah that goeth forth - This, among the Jews, was the ordinary measure of grain. The woman in the ephah is supposed to represent Judea, which shall be visited for its sins; the talent of lead on the ephah, within which the woman was enclosed, the wrath of God, bending down this culprit nation, in the measure of its sins; for the angel said, "This is wickedness;" that is, the woman represents the mass of iniquity of this nation.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6This is the ephah that goeth forth - Theodoret: “We too are taught by this, that the Lord of all administers all things in weight and measure. So, foretelling to Abraham that his seed should be a sojourner and the cause thereof, He says, “for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” Genesis 15:16, that is, they have not yet committed sins enough to merit entire destruction, wherefore I cannot yet endure to give them over to the slaughter, but will…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-11Verses 5-11 In this vision the prophet sees an ephah, something in the shape of a corn measure. This betokened the Jewish nation. They are filling the measure of their iniquity; and when it is full, they shall be delivered into the hands of those to whom God sold them for their sins. The woman sitting in the midst of the ephah represents the sinful church and nation of the Jews, in their latter and corrupt age. Guilt is upon the sinner as a weight of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6The measuring basket, known as an ephah in Hebrew, was a standard unit for measuring dry goods. An ephah was about half a bushel. Old Testament prophets condemned unfair ephahs. They associated the ephah basket with wrongdoing (see Ezekiel 45:10; Micah 6:10).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. This is their resemblance--literally, "eye" (compare Eze 1:4, 5, 16). Hengstenberg translates, "Their (the people's) eye" was all directed to evil. But English Version is better. "This is the appearance (that is, an image) of the Jews in all the land" (not as English Version, "in all the earth"), that is, of the wicked Jews. This--Here used of what was within the ephah, not the ephah itself.Read the comment

Topics related to Zechariah 5:6

• Measure
• Symbols and Similitudes

In the dictionaries

• Angel
• Ephah
• Bible, the
• Ephah (2)
• Joshua (3)
• Zechariah, Book of

Commentaries on Zechariah 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings