1 Then I turned, and lift vp mine eyes, and looked, and behold, a flying roule.
2 And hee said vnto mee, What seest thou? and I answered, I see a flying roule, the length thereof is twentie cubites, and the breadth thereof tenne cubites.
3 Then said hee vnto mee; This is the curse, that goeth forth ouer the face of the whole earth: for euery one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side, according to it; and euery one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side, according to it.
4 I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hostes, and it shall enter into the house of the theefe, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remaine in the midst of his house, and shall consume it, with the timber thereof, and the stones thereof.
5 ¶ Then the Angell that talked with me, went forth and said vnto me, Lift vp now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.
6 And I said, What is it? and hee said, This is an Ephah that goeth forth. Hee said moreouer, This is their resemblance through all the earth.
7 And behold, there was lift vp a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the Ephah.
8 And he said, This is wickednesse, and he cast it into the midst of the Ephah, and he cast the weight of lead vpon the mouth thereof.
9 Then lift I vp mine eyes, and looked, & behold, there came out two women, and the winde was in their wings (for they had wings like the wings of a storke) and they lift vp the Ephah betweene the earth and the heauen.
10 Then saide I to the Angel that talked with me, Whither do these beare the Ephah?
11 And he said vnto mee, To build it an house in the land of Shinar, and it shall be established, and set there vpon her owne base.
The vision of a flying roll. (1-4) The vision of a woman and an ephah. (5-11)1-4 The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are rolls, in which God has written the great things of his law and gospel; they are flying rolls. God's word runs very swiftly, #Ps 147:15|. This flying roll contains a declaration of the righteous wrath of God against sinners. Oh that we saw with an eye of faith the flying roll of God's curse hanging over the guilty world as a thick cloud, not only keeping off the sunbeams of God's favour, but big with thunders, lightnings, and storms, ready to destroy them! How welcome then would the tidings of a Saviour be, who came to redeem us from the curse of the law, being himself made a curse for us! Sin is the ruin of houses and families; especially the doing hurt to others and false witness. Who knows the power of God's anger? God's curse cannot be kept out by bars or locks. While one part of the curse of God ruins the substance of the sinner, another part will rest on the soul, and sink it to everlasting punishment. All are transgressors of the law, so we cannot escape this wrath of God, except we flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us in the gospel.
5-11 In this vision the prophet sees an ephah, something in the shape of a corn measure. This betokened the Jewish nation. They are filling the measure of their iniquity; and when it is full, they shall be delivered into the hands of those to whom God sold them for their sins. The woman sitting in the midst of the ephah represents the sinful church and nation of the Jews, in their latter and corrupt age. Guilt is upon the sinner as a weight of lead, to sink him to the lowest hell. This seems to mean the condemnation of the Jews, after they filled the measure of their iniquities by crucifying Christ and rejecting his gospel. Zechariah sees the ephah, with the woman thus pressed in it, carried away to some far country. This intimates that the Jews should be hurried out of their own land, and forced to dwell in far countries, as they had been in Babylon. There the ephah shall be firmly placed, and their sufferings shall continue far longer than in their late captivity. Blindness is happened unto Israel, and they are settled upon their own unbelief. Let sinners fear to treasure up wrath against the day of wrath; for the more they multiply crimes, the faster the measure fills.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.