Zechariah 5

I looked up again and saw a scroll flying through the air.

The angel asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a scroll flying through the air. It is about 30 feet long and about 15 feet wide.” \*

Then he said to me, “This scroll contains the words that God speaks to punish people throughout the whole land. On one side, the scroll says that God will remove everyone who steals. On the other side, it says that he will remove everyone who lies when making a solemn promise.

God, the commander of the heavenly armies, declares, ‘I will send this scroll to the houses of people who steal and to the houses of people who use my authority to make false promises. The scroll will remain in those houses and will destroy them completely, including all their wooden beams and stones.’” \*

Then the angel who had been talking to me came closer and said, “Look up and see what is coming out.”

I asked him, “What is it?” He replied, “It is a large measuring basket that is coming out.” Then he said, “It represents what the people are doing throughout the whole land.”

Then I saw someone lifting the heavy lead cover off the basket. There was a woman sitting inside the basket! \*

The angel said, “She represents how wicked the people are.” Then the angel threw her back down into the basket and put the heavy lead cover back over the opening.

Then I looked up and saw two women coming toward me. The wind was blowing under their wings, and they had large wings like those of a stork. They lifted the basket up high between the ground and the sky. \*

I asked the angel who had been talking to me, “Where are they taking that basket?”

He replied, “They are taking it to Babylonia to build a temple for it there. When they finish building the temple, they will place the basket inside on a pedestal.” \*