5
1 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and hinei a megillah flying! 2 And he said unto me: What seest thou? And I answered: I see a megillah flying; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. 3 Then said he unto me:
This is ha'alah (the curse) that goeth forth
over the face of kol ha'aretz;
for every ganav that stealeth
shall be purged out* according to what it says on one side of the megillah;
and every perjurer that sweareth falsely
shall be purged out according to what it says on the other side.†
4 I will send it‡ forth, saith Hashem Tzva'os,
and it shall enter into the bais haganav,
and into the bais of him that sweareth falsely biShmi (by My Name);
and it§ shall remain inside his bais,
and shall destroy it
with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
5 Then the malach that spoke with me came forward, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that cometh into view. 6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is the eifah (measuring basket) going out. He said moreover, This is their* appearance throughout kol ha'aretz. 7 And, hinei, there was lifted up a lead cover; and there was an isha (woman) yoshevet (sitting) inside the eifah (measuring basket)! 8 And he said, This is HaRishah (The Wickedness). And he pushed her inside the eifah; and he pushed the lead cover over the mouth of the eifah.
9 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, hinei, there came forth two nashim (women), and the ruach (wind) was in their kenafayim (wings); for they had kenafayim (wings) like the kenafayim of a stork: and they lifted up the eifah between ha'aretz and HaShomayim. 10 Then said I to the malach that spoke with me, Whither are these taking the eifah? 11 And he said unto me, To build it a bais† in Eretz Shinar (Babylon); and it shall be placed there and set upon its own base.
* 5:3 i.e., banished † 5:3 Ex 20:7,15 ‡ 5:4 ha'alah, the curse § 5:4 ha'alah * 5:6 i.e., that of ganavim and perjurors † 5:11 i.e., ziggurat