The Woman in the Ephah

5 Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. 6 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. 7 And, behold, there was lifted up a talent [1] of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. 8 And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. 9 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. 10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? 11 And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.

Other Translations of Zechariah 5:5-11

New International Version

The Woman in the Ephah

5 Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, "Look up and see what is appearing." 6 I asked, "What is it?" He replied, "It is a basket." And he added, "This is the iniquityOr "appearance" of the people throughout the land." 7 Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! 8 He said, "This is wickedness," and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it. 9 Then I looked up-and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth. 10 "Where are they taking the basket?" I asked the angel who was speaking to me. 11 He replied, "To the country of BabyloniaHebrew "Shinar" to build a house for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place."

English Standard Version

The Woman in the Ephah

5 Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, "Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out." 6 And I said, "What is it?" He said, "This is the basketHebrew ephah; also verses 7-11. An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters that is going out." And he said, "This is their iniquityOne Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts eye in all the land." 7 And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket! 8 And he said, "This is Wickedness." And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down the leaden weight on its opening. 9 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. 10 Then I said to the angel who talked with me, "Where are they taking the basket?" 11 He said to me, "To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base."

The Message

The Woman in the Ephah

5 The Messenger-Angel appeared and said, "Look up. Tell me what you see." 6 I said, "What in the world is that?" He said, "This is a bushel basket on a journey. It holds the sin of everyone, everywhere." 7 Then the lid made of lead was removed from the basket - and there was a woman sitting in it! 8 He said, "This is Miss Wicked." He pushed her back down into the basket and clamped the lead lid over her. 9 Then I looked up and to my surprise saw two women flying. On outstretched wings they airlifted the bushel basket into the sky. 10 I said to the Messenger-Angel, "Where are they taking the bushel basket?" 11 He said, "East to the land of Shinar. They will build a garage to house it. When it's finished, the basket will be stored there."

New King James Version

The Woman in the Ephah

5 Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, "Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth." 6 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: 7 Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket"; 8 then he said, "This is Wickedness!" And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth. 9 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. 10 So I said to the angel who talked with me, "Where are they carrying the basket?" 11 And he said to me, "To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base."

New Living Translation

The Woman in the Ephah

5 Then the angel who was talking with me came forward and said, "Look up and see what's coming." 6 "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." 7 Then the heavy lead cover was lifted off the basket, and there was a woman sitting inside it. 8 The angel said, "The woman's name is Wickedness," and he pushed her back into the basket and closed the heavy lid again. 9 Then I looked up and saw two women flying toward us, gliding on the wind. They had wings like a stork, and they picked up the basket and flew into the sky. 10 "Where are they taking the basket?" I asked the angel. 11 He replied, "To the land of Babylonia, where they will build a temple for the basket. And when the temple is ready, they will set the basket there on its pedestal."

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Zechariah 5:5-11

Commentary on Zechariah 5:5-11

(Read Zechariah 5:5-11)

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 lead, to sink him to the lowest hell. This seems to mean the condemnation of the Jews, after they filled the measure of their iniquities by crucifying Christ and rejecting his gospel. Zechariah sees the ephah, with the woman thus pressed in it, carried away to some far country. This intimates that the Jews should be hurried out of their own land, and forced to dwell in far countries, as they had been in Babylon. There the ephah shall be firmly placed, and their sufferings shall continue far longer than in their late captivity. Blindness is happened unto Israel, and they are settled upon their own unbelief. Let sinners fear to treasure up wrath against the day of wrath; for the more they multiply crimes, the faster the measure fills.