The Meaning of Zechariah 5:3 Explained

Zechariah 5:3

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.

YLT: And he saith unto me, 'This is the execration that is going forth over the face of all the land, for every one who is stealing, on the one side, according to it, hath been declared innocent, and every one who hath sworn, on the other side, according to it, hath been declared innocent.

Darby: And he said 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 according to it on this side; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off according to it on that side.

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 Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Zechariah 5:3 Mean?

Study Notes

earth
Lit. land, i.e. Palestine.

Verse Meaning

The angel explained that the scroll represented the curses that God had decreed against the Israelites who stole and who swore falsely in the Lord"s name ( Zechariah 5:4; cf. Deuteronomy 28). According to what God had previously written in the Law, those who stole and profaned His name would die, thus purging the land of sin. The Hebrew word ha"arets can mean either "the earth" or "the land." Here and in Zechariah 5:6 the primary meaning seems to be "the land," namely, the land of Israel. Writing was on both sides of the scroll, as it had been on the stone tables that contained the Ten Commandments ( Exodus 32:15). On one side there was a curse against Israelites who broke the eighth commandment ( Exodus 20:15), and on the other side was a curse for breaking the third commandment ( Exodus 20:7). These two commandments, from the first part of the Decalogue and the second part, which Zechariah"s contemporaries were apparently breaking frequently, probably represent by synecdoche the whole Law (cf. James 2:10). Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which the writer uses a part or parts to represent the whole or the whole to represent a part.

Context Summary

Zechariah 5:1-11 - The Vision Of The Flying Roll
This huge sheet of parchment, 30 by 15 feet, was covered with the solemn curses of the Law, on one side against the thief and on the other against false-swearing. The young community was notorious for these two sins. They brought the dry-rot with them, Zechariah 5:4. Their commercial life also, represented by the ephah, was full of wickedness. But it was to be eliminated. The swift stork wings would bear it away. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zechariah 5

1  By the flying scroll is shown the curse of thieves and swearers;
5  and by a woman pressed in an ephah the final judgment of wickedness

What do the individual words in Zechariah 5:3 mean?

And he said to me this [is] the oath that goes out over the face of all the earth for every thief this [side] of [the scroll] according [to] shall be expelled and every perjurer this [side of it] according [to] shall be expelled
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַ֔י זֹ֚את הָֽאָלָ֔ה הַיּוֹצֵ֖את עַל־ פְּנֵ֣י כָל־ הָאָ֑רֶץ כִּ֣י כָל־ הַגֹּנֵ֗ב מִזֶּה֙ כָּמ֣וֹהָ נִקָּ֔ה וְכָל־ הַנִּ֨שְׁבָּ֔ע מִזֶּ֖ה כָּמ֥וֹהָ נִקָּֽה

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר  And  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֵלַ֔י  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
זֹ֚את  this  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
הָֽאָלָ֔ה  the  oath 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אָלָה  
Sense: oath.
הַיּוֹצֵ֖את  that  goes  out 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
עַל־  over 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
פְּנֵ֣י  the  face 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
כָל־  of  all 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הָאָ֑רֶץ  the  earth 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
כָל־  every 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הַגֹּנֵ֗ב  thief 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: גָּנַב  
Sense: to steal, steal away, carry away.
מִזֶּה֙  this  [side]  of  [the  scroll] 
Parse: Preposition-m, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
כָּמ֣וֹהָ  according  [to] 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
Root: כְּמֹו  
Sense: like, as, the like of which conj.
נִקָּ֔ה  shall  be  expelled 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָקָה  
Sense: to be empty, be clear, be pure, be free, be innocent, be desolate, be cut off.
וְכָל־  and  every 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הַנִּ֨שְׁבָּ֔ע  perjurer 
Parse: Article, Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁבַע  
Sense: to swear, adjure.
מִזֶּ֖ה  this  [side  of  it] 
Parse: Preposition-m, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
כָּמ֥וֹהָ  according  [to] 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
Root: כְּמֹו  
Sense: like, as, the like of which conj.
נִקָּֽה  shall  be  expelled 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָקָה  
Sense: to be empty, be clear, be pure, be free, be innocent, be desolate, be cut off.