Commentary - Zechariah 5:5-11

Bird's-eye view

Following the vision of the flying scroll, which pronounces God's curse on specific sins within the covenant community, Zechariah is shown another vision that deals with the corporate reality of sin itself. This is not just about individual thieves and liars anymore; this is about the very principle of lawlessness. The vision of the woman in the ephah is a dramatic picture of God's final solution to the sin problem. It is not managed, contained, or reformed. It is identified, sealed, and banished. God is not interested in a renovation project for our sin nature; He is in the business of total removal and relocation. This passage shows us the Lord's holy intolerance for sin among His people and His sovereign power to deal with it decisively. The wickedness that plagues God's people is ultimately destined for a home built for it, a place of worship even, but that place is Babylon, not Jerusalem. This is a profound encouragement for a post-exilic community struggling to rebuild and remain pure in a fallen world. God will finish the job.

The vision unfolds as a divine object lesson. An ephah, a standard measure for commerce, represents the economic and social life of the people. Inside it is a woman, who the angel flatly identifies as "Wickedness." This personification of sin is then sealed with a heavy lead lid and transported by supernatural means to the land of Shinar, the original seat of organized rebellion against God. The message is clear: God is going to purge His covenant people of their iniquitous systems and rebellious nature, and He will do so by exiling the very principle of wickedness back to its source. It is a promise of sanctification on a cosmic scale, a true and final cleansing that points forward to the work of Christ, who bears our sin and removes it from us as far as the east is from the west.

Outline

Context In Zechariah

This vision is the seventh in a series of eight night visions given to Zechariah. These visions are designed to encourage the Jews who had returned from Babylon to rebuild the temple and re-establish their covenant life. The preceding visions have promised God's presence, the removal of Gentile opposition, and the cleansing of the leadership (Joshua the high priest). The vision of the flying scroll (5:1-4) just before this one showed God's law actively cursing and purging individual sin from the land. This vision of the woman in the ephah takes that theme of purging to its logical and ultimate conclusion. It moves from the symptoms (theft, false oaths) to the disease itself, which is personified as "Wickedness." This progression shows that God's plan is not just to deal with sinful acts, but to eradicate the sinful nature that produces them. This vision, therefore, is a key part of the book's overarching message of hope: God is not just restoring a building in Jerusalem, but is restoring His people to holiness.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 5 Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.”

The interpreting angel, who has been Zechariah's guide through these visions, once again directs the prophet's attention. The command to "lift up now your eyes" is a recurring summons in Zechariah's visions. It signifies a shift in focus, a call to pay close attention to a new aspect of God's revelation. God does not want us to be passive observers of His work. He calls us to look, to see, to engage our minds with what He is doing. The Christian life requires attentiveness. The angel doesn't just show him, he tells him to look. Divine revelation requires human participation.

v. 6 So I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land.”

Zechariah, in his humility and dependence, asks the obvious question. He does not pretend to understand. This is a model for us when we approach the more difficult portions of Scripture. The angel's answer is twofold. First, the object is an "ephah." An ephah was a common dry measure, a basket used in the marketplace. It immediately brings to mind commerce, trade, and the daily economic life of the people. The law was very clear about the need for just weights and measures (Lev. 19:36, Deut. 25:15). An ephah, therefore, represents the system of public and economic life, a place where righteousness or corruption is displayed for all to see. The angel then adds that this is "their appearance in all the land." The word can be translated "iniquity" or "eye." The sense here is that this commercial system, represented by the ephah, is the visible manifestation of the people's sin throughout the land. It's how their sin "looks."

v. 7 (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.”

The vision intensifies. A heavy lead cover is lifted from the basket, revealing its contents. The weight of the cover suggests something that needs to be kept securely contained. And what is inside? A woman. In Scripture, a woman is often used as a symbol for a system of belief or a spiritual entity. We have the bride of Christ, which is the Church, and we have the great whore of Babylon. Here, the woman represents the animating spirit behind the corrupt system symbolized by the ephah. She is sitting, as though she is enthroned, right in the middle of their commercial and social life.

v. 8 Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead weight on its opening.

There is no ambiguity here. The angel gives her a name tag: "This is Wickedness." The Hebrew word, rishah, is grammatically feminine, which fits the imagery, but the point is theological. This is not just any woman; she is the personification of lawlessness itself. And notice the angel's action. He doesn't reason with her or try to rehabilitate her. He acts with holy violence. He throws her back down into the basket and slams the heavy lead lid on top. This is a picture of God's decisive judgment against sin. He doesn't negotiate with it; He contains and condemns it. The gospel is not about making wickedness more presentable; it is about its execution and removal.

v. 9 Then I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens.

Zechariah looks up again, and the scene becomes even more strange and wonderful. Two more women appear, but these are agents of God's purpose. They have wings, and there is "wind in their wings." The word for wind is also the word for Spirit (ruach). This is a Spirit-powered operation. Their wings are like those of a stork, a large, powerful, migratory bird. In the law, the stork was an unclean bird (Lev. 11:19). This is a striking detail. God is using unclean agents to remove uncleanness. This is a picture of His absolute sovereignty. He can press anything into His service to accomplish His holy will. He used the pagan Babylonians to judge Judah, and here He uses these stork-like figures to remove the very principle of wickedness. They lift the entire container, with Wickedness sealed inside, up into the air, a public spectacle of removal.

v. 10 And I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?”

Once again, Zechariah asks the right question. It is not enough to know that sin is being removed. We must know where it is going. This is a question of finality. Is this a temporary fix, or is this a permanent solution? The destination matters. God does not just sweep sin under the rug. He has a specific destination in mind for it.

v. 11 Then he said to me, “To build a house for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”

The answer is breathtaking. They are taking Wickedness to the land of Shinar. Shinar is the location of the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:2). It is the biblical ground zero for organized, idolatrous, humanistic rebellion against God. It is Babylon. God is not just getting rid of wickedness; He is sending it home. And what will they do there? They will "build a house for her." This is the language of a temple. And when it is ready, she will be "set there on her own pedestal." Wickedness is going to be set up, established, and worshipped in her own temple, in her own land. This is a prophecy that looks forward to the final manifestation of evil in the world, the great apostasy, the system of Antichrist, which Revelation calls "Mystery, Babylon the Great" (Rev. 17:5). The vision tells the returning exiles, and it tells us, that God's ultimate plan for sin is to quarantine it, to let it consolidate in its own kingdom, so that it can be judged finally and completely. The world will build a house for Wickedness, but the saints are building a house for God. And we know which house will stand in the end.

Application

This vision is a profound encouragement to the people of God in every age. We are engaged in a battle against sin, both in our own hearts and in the world around us. At times, it can feel like wickedness is not just present, but enthroned in the middle of our public life, in our commerce, our politics, and our culture. This vision assures us that God sees it, has named it, and has a final plan for it.

Our task is not to despair, nor is it to try to pretty up the woman in the basket. Our task is to be faithful in building the true house of God, the Church, while trusting in His sovereign power to deal with sin. God is the one who seals wickedness under a lead lid. God is the one who provides the Spirit-power for its removal. He is removing sin from His people, and He is also removing it to its final destination. This vision gives us a long-term perspective. The world may appear to be building a grand temple for wickedness, setting it up on a pedestal. But this is all according to God's plan. He is gathering it together for a final judgment. We, therefore, should not be dismayed, but rather should live as a holy people, a people from whom wickedness is being removed, eagerly awaiting the day when it is banished forever.