Zechariah 5:3
in Zechariah 5Then he told me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of all the land, for according to one side of the scroll, every thief will be removed; and according to the other side, every perjurer will be removed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole land: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off on the one side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off on the other side according to it.
KJV
Then 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.
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This verse in Zechariah 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Over the face of the whole earth - primarily land, since the perjured persons, upon whom the curse was to fall Zec 5:4, were those who swore falsely by the name of God: and this was in Judah only. The reference to the two tables of the law also confines it primarily to those who were under the law. Yet, since the moral law abides under the Gospel, ultimately these visions related to the Christian Church, which was to be spread over the whole earth.
This site's exposition
This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth
on Zechariah 5:3-4
The angel names the roll the curse going out over the whole land, cutting off the thief on the one side and the false swearer on the other, theft against neighbor and perjury against God's own name standing for the two tables of the law together. The curse does not merely condemn on paper; it enters the offender's house and consumes it with its own timber and stones, the same active, dwelling judgment Leviticus pictures in the house infected with leprosy. Henry reads the two sins as representative rather than exhaustive, covering the whole law under its two halves, duty to neighbor and duty to God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 5, verses 1 onwards) Then I turned and lifted up my eyes, and behold, a flying scroll! And he said to me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits." Then he said to me, "This is the curse that is going out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side.
The Reformation1 voice
Then 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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But two sorts of sinners are here specified as the objects of this curse:-- (1.) Thieves; it is for every one that steals, that by fraud or force takes that which is not his own, especially that robs God and converts to his own use what was devoted to God and his honour, which was a sin much complained of among the Jews at this time, Mal. iii.
), or only over Jerusalem, is not certain. But, it seems, the prophet now, through either the distance or the dimness of his sight, could not well tell what it was, but asked, What is it?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
This - This roll or book containeth the curse, due to sinners. The whole earth - Either the whole land of Judea, or all the world, wherever these sins are found.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then said he unto me, This is the curse,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
From this place . . . from this place (repeated twice, as "the house" is repeated in Zec 5:4) [MAURER]; so "hence" is used, Ge 37:17 (or, "on this and on that side," that is, on every side) [HENDERSON]. None can escape, sin where he may: for God from one side to the other shall call all without exception to judgment [CALVIN].
Every one that stealeth - and every one that sweareth - It seems that the roll was written both on the front and back: stealing and swearing are supposed to be two general heads of crimes; the former, comprising sins against men; the latter, sins against God. It is supposed that the roll contained the sins and punishments of the Chaldeans.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלַ֔י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| זֹ֚את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| הָֽאָלָ֔ה | haalah | [is] the curse | H423 → | |
| הַיּוֹצֵ֖את | haiyotzet | which is about to go forth | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַגֹּנֵ֗ב | hagonev | <the> [one who] steals | H1589 → | |
| מִזֶּה֙ | mizeh | from this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| כָּמ֣וֹהָ | kamoha | according to it | H3644 → | 143 times |
| נִקָּ֔ה | nikah | he will be purged | H5352 → | |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַנִּ֨שְׁבָּ֔ע | hanishba' | <the> [one who] swears an oath | H7650 → | |
| מִזֶּ֖ה | mizeh | from this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| כָּמ֥וֹהָ | kamoha | according to it | H3644 → | 143 times |
| נִקָּֽה׃ | nikah | he will be purged | H5352 → |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלַ֔יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
זֹ֚אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
הָֽאָלָ֔ה[is] the curse
haalahH423 →
הַיּוֹצֵ֖אתwhich is about to go forth
haiyotzetH3318 →1067 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] surface of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
כָל־every
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הַגֹּנֵ֗ב<the> [one who] steals
hagonevH1589 →
מִזֶּה֙from this
mizehH2088 →1180 times
כָּמ֣וֹהָaccording to it
kamohaH3644 →143 times
נִקָּ֔הhe will be purged
nikahH5352 →
וְכָל־and every
vekholH3605 →5413 times
הַנִּ֨שְׁבָּ֔ע<the> [one who] swears an oath
hanishba'H7650 →
מִזֶּ֖הfrom this
mizehH2088 →1180 times
כָּמ֥וֹהָaccording to it
kamohaH3644 →143 times
נִקָּֽה׃he will be purged
nikahH5352 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
James 5:12Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under…
it leads to
- Matthew 5:33–37
Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’
- Matthew 23:16–22
Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
- 2 Corinthians 1:17–20
When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” when I really mean “No, no”?
- Matthew 5:33–37
Through
Exodus 20:15You shall not steal.
it leads to
- Romans 13:9
The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Ephesians 4:28
He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.
- Leviticus 19:11
You must not steal. You must not lie or deceive one another.
- Leviticus 19:13
You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.
- Matthew 19:18
“Which ones?” the man asked. Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness,
- Romans 13:9
About Zechariah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zechariah; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.