“This is Wickedness,” he said. And he shoved her down into the basket, pushing down the lead cover over its opening.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “This is Wickedness”; and he threw her down into the middle of the ephah basket; and he threw the weight of lead on its mouth.
- KJV And 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.
- NKJV then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth.
- NASB Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead weight on its opening.
- NLT The angel said, “The woman’s name is Wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and closed the heavy lid again.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The angel names the woman 'Wickedness' and presses her down with the lead weight. Sin is identified and firmly suppressed.
Overview
By naming the figure Wickedness and sealing her with the heavy lead cover, the vision dramatizes God's determination to restrain and remove evil from His people. Sin is not negotiated with but contained and cast out. This portrays God's holy intent to purge His community, fulfilled in Christ who deals decisively with sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Mic 6:11Can I excuse dishonest scales or bags of false weights?
- Lam 1:14My transgressions are bound into a yoke, knit together by His hand; they are draped over my neck, and the Lord has broken my strength. He has delivered me into the hands of those I cannot withstand.
- Gen 15:16In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
- Ps 38:4For my iniquities have overwhelmed me; they are a burden too heavy to bear.
- Prov 5:22The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.
- Amos 9:1–4I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.
- Matt 23:32Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.
- Zech 5:7And behold, the cover of lead was raised, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket.
- 1 Th 2:16hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Branch who is both priest and king, the shepherd struck and the flock scattered, the king coming humble on a donkey, the one they pierced, the fountain opened for sin — Zechariah is dense with Christ.
How Zechariah 5:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.