Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Zechariah 5:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse interprets the scroll as a curse moving through the land against stealing and false swearing.
Read It With
- Zechariah 5:1-4
Read Zechariah 5:3 with 5:1-4. This verse interprets the scroll as a curse moving through the land against stealing and false swearing. The complete unit establishes this movement: Restoration includes moral judgment: a publicly enormous covenant curse reaches into houses where theft and false swearing have been protected, refusing to let rebuilt institutions hide private exploitation.
Why This Verse Appears Here
After leadership and temple encouragement, the visions insist that a restored community must also remove theft and oath-corruption. Within that movement, this verse interprets the scroll as a curse moving through the land against stealing and false swearing.
Follow the Context
- Zechariah sees a flying scroll.
- Its twenty-by-ten-cubit dimensions make it conspicuous.
- The angel interprets it as a curse going through the land.
- The two named offenses are stealing and swearing falsely by the LORD's name.
- The curse enters and consumes the offender's house down to timber and stone.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
The curse does not authorize humans to destroy or seize an accused person's home.
What Remains True
Restoration confronts property abuse and dishonest invocation of God's name.
How It Can Shape Life
- Strengthen financial controls and truthful testimony with due process.
Teach It Back
Explain Zechariah 5:3's contribution to Zechariah 5:1-4: interprets the scroll as a curse moving through the land against stealing and false swearing. Include what the surrounding verses add, the stated uncertainty, and what this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Zechariah 5:1-4 — The Flying Scroll Enters the Guilty HouseSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Land or earth and cut-off or cleared-away renderings remain debated.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Zechariah 5:1-4, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Zechariah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, speaker changes, repeated formulas, names, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Zech.xml, 5:1-4
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Zechariah with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, literary, historical, and canonical-reception notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Zechariah PDF, printed pp. 1792, translation and notes on 5:1-4
Open source ↗modern critical commentary
Zechariah
Rex Mason
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001
Supports: Whole-book movement, Persian and later horizons, literary boundaries, composition, and material alternatives.
Exact location: Mason, 'Zechariah,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 612-613, discussion of 5:1-4
Open source ↗open access scholarly monograph
Exploring Zechariah, Volume 2: The Development and Role of Biblical Traditions in Zechariah
Mark J. Boda
SBL Press, Ancient Near East Monographs 17, 2017
Supports: Inner-biblical allusion, vision traditions, Persian and Babylon imagery, leadership, burden headings, and shepherd units.
Exact location: Boda, Exploring Zechariah, Volume 2, printed pp. 17-38 and 83-100, chapters 2 and 5 on Persia, Babylon, and visionary traditions
Open source ↗