Zechariah 5:3

¹ Again I lifted up my eyes and saw before me a flying scroll.

² “What do you see?” asked the angel. “I see a flying scroll,” I replied, “twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.”

Then 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.

⁴ I will send it out, declares the LORD of Hosts, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My name. It will remain inside his house and destroy it, down to its timbers and stones.”

⁵ Then the angel who was speaking with me came forward and told me, “Now lift up your eyes and see what is approaching.”

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Then 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.
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.
WEB: Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the surface of the whole land, for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to it on the one side; and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off according to it on the other 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.
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.
BLB: And he said to me, “This [is] the curse that is going out over the face of all the earth. For everyone stealing, on this side according to it he will be cleaned out, and everyone swearing falsely, on this side according to it he will be cleaned out.

ÅB: Da sa han til meg: Dette er den forbannelse som går ut over det hele land; for hver den som stjeler, skal etter det som står på den ene side av den, bli utryddet, og likeså skal hver den som sverger falsk, etter det som står på dens andre side, bli utryddet.
OTB: Da sa han til meg: «Dette er forbannelsen som går ut over hele landet; for hver den som stjeler, skal bli fjernet i henhold til skriften på den ene siden, og hver den som sverger falskt, skal bli fjernet i henhold til skriften på den andre siden.
B1930: Da sa han til mig: Dette er den forbannelse som går ut over det hele land; for hver den som stjeler, skal efter det som står på den ene side av den, bli utryddet, og likeså skal hver den som sverger falsk, efter det som står på dens andre side, bli utryddet.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Exodus 20:15
You shall not steal.
Read in context
Isaiah 48:1
“Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, who have descended from the line of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD, who invoke the God of Israel— but not in truth or righteousness—
Read in context
Isaiah 43:28
So I will disgrace the princes of your sanctuary, and I will devote Jacob to destruction and Israel to reproach.”
Read in context
James 5:12
Above 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 judgment.
Read in context
Isaiah 24:6
Therefore a curse has consumed the earth, and its inhabitants must bear the guilt; the earth’s dwellers have been burned, and only a few survive.
Read in context
Zechariah 5:4
I will send it out, declares the LORD of Hosts, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My name. It will remain inside his house and destroy it, down to its timbers and stones.”
Read in context
James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
Read in context
Galatians 3:10–13
All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
Read in context