The big picture
Zechariah 5 opens in verse 1 with “Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.”, reaches its middle movement near verse 6 with “And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said…”, and closes in verse 11 with “And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be…” Repeated or prominent terms include ephah, house, lifted, earth, eyes. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Zechariah · King James Version · 11Zechariah 5:1-6
1–6: I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.
Zechariah 5:1–6 opens with “Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.” and reaches “And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The flying scroll and the woman restrained within the ephah, with particular weight carried by goeth, house, cubits.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 2 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.” The line’s distinctive content terms include eyes, flying, lifted. Its relationship to verses 2 shows what work it does in this passage.
“And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and…” The question slows the passage down. Notice who is being pressed to answer, what the question assumes, and whether the next lines provide a response.
Zechariah 5:1-6
King James Version1Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.
2And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.
3Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.
4I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into 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.
5Then 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.
6And 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.
Zechariah 5:7-11
7–11: And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman…
Zechariah 5:7–11 opens with “And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst…” and reaches “And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The flying scroll and the woman restrained within the ephah, with particular weight carried by ephah, lifted, wings.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.” The line’s distinctive content terms include ephah, lead, lifted. Its relationship to verses 8 shows what work it does in this passage.
Zechariah 5:7-11
King James Version7And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.
8And 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.
9Then 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.
10Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?
11And 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Zechariah 5:1 begins with “Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.”
Where the chapter turns
Zechariah 5:6 forms a natural hinge: “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.”
The final note
Zechariah 5:11 leaves the reader with “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.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words ephah, house, lifted, earth, eyes, goeth help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
What does the repeated ending make readers feel?
Death becomes the chapter's persistent refrain, even as generation follows generation.
What two interruptions offer hope?
Enoch's walk with God and Lamech's hope attached to Noah.
KJV words made clear
- behold
- look, or pay close attention
- unto
- to
- thou
- you
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.