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. I will cause it to go out,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears falsely by my name; and it will remain in the middle of his house, and will destroy it with its timber and its stones.”
Parallel Translations
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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.
I will cause it to go out,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears falsely by my name; and it will remain in the middle of his house, and will destroy it with its timber and its stones.”
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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.
I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
Show all 3 translations
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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 swept away on the one side like it; and every one that sweareth shall be swept away on the other side like it.
I cause it to go forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by My name; and it shall abide in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.'
Cross-references (46)
- Proverbs 3:33 (vv3–4) Yahweh’s curse is in the house of the wicked, but he blesses the habitation of the righteous.
- Exodus 20:15 (v3) “You shall not steal.
- Habakkuk 2:9-11 (v4) Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil! You have…
- Malachi 3:5 (vv3–4) I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the…
- Leviticus 14:34-45 (v4) “When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in the land of…
Show all 44 cross-references
- Isaiah 24:6 (v3) Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell therein are found guilty. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are…
- Isaiah 43:28 (v3) Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; and I will make Jacob a curse, and Israel an insult.”
- Isaiah 48:1 (v3) “Hear this, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, and have come out of the waters of Judah. You swear by Yahweh’s name,…
- James 5:12 (v3) But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear— not by heaven, or by the earth, or by any other oath; but let your “yes” be “yes”, and your…
- Leviticus 19:12 (v3) “ ‘You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.
- Deuteronomy 7:26 (v4) You shall not bring an abomination into your house and become a devoted thing like it. You shall utterly detest it. You shall utterly abhor…
- Job 18:15 (v4) There will dwell in his tent that which is none of his. Sulfur will be scattered on his habitation.
- Psalms 109:17-20 (v3) Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him. He didn’t delight in blessing, and it was far from him. He clothed himself also with cursing as…
- Proverbs 30:9 (v3) lest I be full, deny you, and say, ‘Who is Yahweh?’ or lest I be poor, and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
- Jeremiah 5:2 (v3) Though they say, ‘As Yahweh lives,’ surely they swear falsely.”
- Jeremiah 26:6 (v3) then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.” ’ ”
- Zechariah 5:4 (v3) I will cause it to go out,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears…
- Malachi 4:6 (v3) He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth…
- Matthew 23:16-22 (v3) “Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is…
- Galatians 3:10-13 (v3) For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in all things…
- James 5:2-3 (v4) Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a…
- James 5:4 (v3) Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped have…
- Revelation 22:15 (v3) Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- Deuteronomy 11:28-29 (v3) and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, but turn away out of the way which I command you today, to go…
- Deuteronomy 27:15-26 (v3) ‘Cursed is the man who makes an engraved or molten image, an abomination to Yahweh, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up…
- Deuteronomy 28:15-68 (v3) But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which…
- Deuteronomy 29:19-28 (v3) and it happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, “I shall have peace, though I walk in the…
- Job 20:26 (v4) All darkness is laid up for his treasures. An unfanned fire will devour him. It will consume that which is left in his tent.
- Proverbs 29:24 (v3) Whoever is an accomplice of a thief is an enemy of his own soul. He takes an oath, but dares not testify.
- Jeremiah 7:9 (v3) Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known,
- Jeremiah 23:10 (v3) For the land is full of adulterers; for because of the curse the land mourns. The pastures of the wilderness have dried up. Their course is…
- Ezekiel 17:13-16 (v3) He took some of the royal offspring, and made a covenant with him. He also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land;…
- Daniel 9:11 (v3) Yes, all Israel have transgressed your law, turning aside, that they should not obey your voice. “Therefore the curse and the oath written…
- Hosea 4:2 (v3) There is cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break boundaries, and bloodshed causes bloodshed.
- Zechariah 8:17 (v3) and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate,” says…
- Malachi 3:8-10 (v3) Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with the curse; for you…
- Matthew 5:33-37 (v3) “Again you have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’ but I…
- Matthew 25:41 (v3) Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his…
- Luke 21:35 (v3) For it will come like a snare on all those who dwell on the surface of all the earth.
- 1 Corinthians 6:7-9 (v3) Therefore it is already altogether a defect in you, that you have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be…
- Ephesians 4:28 (v3) Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, producing with his hands something that is good, that he may have something to…
- 1 Timothy 1:9 (v3) as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and sinners, for the…
- Hebrews 6:6-8 (v3) and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put…
- Revelation 21:8 (v3) But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in…
44 distinct cross-references across this passage (46 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv3–4 The angel then says, that it was the curse…
The angel then says, that it was the curse which went forth over the face of the whole land. We must remember what I have just said, that God’s judgment is here set forth before the Jews, that they might know how justly both their fathers and themselves have been with so much severity chastised by God, inasmuch as they had procured for themselves such punishments by their sins. From the saying of the angel, that the roll went through the whole land, we learn, that not only a few were guilty, or that some corner of the land only had been polluted, but that the wrath of God raged everywhere, as no part of the land was pure or free from wickedness. As then Judea was full of pollutions, it was no wonder that the Lord poured forth his wrath and overwhelmed, as it were with a deluge, the whole land.
It afterwards follows, for every thief, or every one that steals, shall on this as on that side, be punished, or receive his own reward; and every one who swears, shall on this as on that side be punished. As to the words, interpreters differ with regard to the particles, מזה כמוה, mese camue; some take the meaning to be, “by this roll, as it is written;” others, “on this side of the roll, as on the other;” for they think that the roll was written on both sides, and that God denounced punishment on thieves as well as on perjurers. But I rather apply the words to the land, and doubt not but that this is the real meaning of the Prophet. As then there is no respect of persons with God, the Prophet, after having spoken of the whole land, says, that no one who had sinned could anywhere escape unpunished, for God would from one part to the other summon all to judgment without any exception.
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Now the Prophet says, that all perjurers, as well as thieves, shall be punished; and there is nothing strange in this, for God, who has forbidden to steal, has also forbidden to forswear. He is therefore the punisher of all transgressions. Those who think that this roll was disapproved, as though it contained false and degenerate doctrine, bring this reason to prove its injustice, that the thief is as grievously punished as the perjurer: but this is extremely frivolous. For, as I have said already, God shows here that he will be the defender of his law in whatever respect men may have transgressed it. We must therefore remember that saying of James,
“he who forbids to commit adultery, forbids also to steal: whosoever then offends in one thing is a transgressor of the whole law:” (James 2:11)
for we ought not simply to regard what God either commands or forbids, but we ought ever to fix our eyes on his majesty, as there is nothing so minute in the law which all ought not reverently to receive; for the laws themselves are not only to be regarded, but especially the lawgiver. As then the majesty of God is dishonored, when any one steals, and when any one transgresses in the least point, he clearly shows that the word of God is not much regarded by him. It is hence right that thieves and perjurers should be alike punished: yet the Scripture while it thus speaks, does not teach that sins are equal in enormity, as the Stoics in former times foolishly and falsely taught. But the equality of punishment is not what is here referred to; the angel means only, that neither thieves nor perjurers shall go unpunished, as they have transgressed the law of God.
We must also observe, that the mode of speaking adopted here is that of stating a part for the whole; for under the word theft is comprehended whatever is opposed to the duties of love; so that it is to be referred to the second table at the law. And the Prophet calls all those perjurers who profane the worship of God; and so perjury includes whatever is contrary to the first table of the law, and tends to pollute the service due to God. The meaning is, — that God, as I have said, will be the punisher of all kinds of wickedness, for he has not in vain given his law. Much deceived then are those who flatter themselves, as though by evasions they can elude the judgment of God, for both thieves and perjurers shall be brought before God’s tribunal, so that no one can escape, that is, no wickedness shall remain unpunished; for not in vain has he once declared by his own mouth, that cursed are all who fulfill not whatever has been written. (Deuteronomy 27:26.)
And the same thing the Prophet more clearly expresses in the following verse, where God himself declares what he would do, that he would cause the curse to go forth over the whole land; as though he had said, “I will really show, that I have not given the law that it may be despised; for what the law teaches shall be so efficacious, that every one who violates it shall find that he has to do, not with a mortal man, nor with sounds of words, but with the heavenly judge; I will bring forth the curse over the whole land.”
I have said, that the Prophet was instructed in the import of this vision, that all the Jews might know that it was nothing strange that they had been so severely chastised, inasmuch as they had polluted the whole land by their sins, so that no part of the law was observed by them; for on the one hand they had corrupted the worship of God and departed from true religion; and on the other, they distressed one another by many wrongs, and oppressed them by frauds. As then no equity prevailed among the people, nor any true religion, God shows that he would punish them all, as none were guiltless.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v3 Meaning, wheresoever he be in the world.
Meaning, wheresoever he be in the world.
He that transgresseth the first table, and serveth not God aright but abuseth God’s Name.
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That is, useth any injury toward his neighbor.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3–4 Zec 5:3 Then said he unto me, This [is]…
Zec 5:3 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.
Ver. 3. This is the curse] Or oath, with execration and cursing. Cursing men are cursed men, and God hath sworn that swearers shall not enter into his rest. {Num 5:21. אלה, ut et αρα Graece, iuramentum et execrationem significat. Mercer}
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That goeth forth] Yea, flieth, Zec 5:2, more swiftly than an eagle, an arrow, a flash of lightning. Or, if not, yet
“ Poena venit gravior, quo mage sera venit. ”
Over the face of the whole earth] Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil; but of the Jew first ( Ingentia beneficia flagitia, supplicia), who is therefore the worse, because he ought to have been better; and then of the Gentile also, Rom 2:9. Theodoret, Lyra, and Vatablus think that Judaea is hinted in the measure of the book (twenty cubits long, and ten broad) as being twice so long (and somewhat more) as it is broad: witness Jerome in his epistle to Dardanus (Epist. 129). But let the whole earth here be taken in its utmost latitude, since the Gentiles that sin without the law are yet liable to the punishments of the law. And some of them by the light of nature saw the evil of swearing; but all generally of stealing; but especially of perjury and sacrilege, here principally meant. Confer Mal 3:8 Neh 13:10.
For every one that stealeth shall be cut off] By stealing understand all sins against the second table; as by swearing, all against the first; and so the sense is the same with that of the apostle, "Every transgression and disobedience receiveth a just recompence of reward," Heb 2:2. And "cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them," Gal 3:10. Howbeit because these two sins were more frequently and more impudently committed in those days, therefore are they, by a speciality, instanced. The Jews, coming poor out of Babylon, held it no great sin to steal for supply of their necessities; and then to forswear themselves for the better hiding of their theft. "Give me not poverty," said holy Agur, "lest, being poor, I steal, and" (as one sin draws on another) "I take the name of my God in vain," Pro 30:9. {See Trapp on "Pro 30:9"} Hunger is an evil counsellor, necessity a hard weapon, a sore temptation, when it comes to this, Either I must steal or starve. But then to this must be opposed that of the law, Thou shalt in no case steal. Thou must rather die than do wickedly. Aut faciendum aut patiendum, Either obey the law or suffer the curse.
As on this side according to it] i.e. According to the curse, described in the roll, the thief shall be cut off as well as the swearer; they shall speed alike. The tares shall be bound up in bundles, thieves with thieves, and swearers with swearers, and burnt in the fire, Mat 13:30; Mat 13:40. According to the prediction shall be the execution. Whether on this side, that is, in Judaea (so some sense it), or on that side, in other parts of the world, such persons appear, they shall have their payment.
And every one that sweareth] Not only falsely, as Zec 5:4, but lightly, vainly, causelessly, in jest and not in judgment; whether by God, or by creatures and qualities; Iudaeis et Pharisaeis vulgare vitium, saith Paraeus on Jas 5:12, a common fault among the Jews and Pharisees, Mat 5:34-35; Mat 23:16; Mat 23:18. {See Trapp on "Mat 5:34"} {See Trapp on "Mat 5:35"} {See Trapp on "Mat 23:16"} {See Trapp on "Mat 23:18"} Among the Christians in Chrysostom’s time, as appears by his many sermons against it at Antioch; and in these days, if ever, because of oaths the land mourneth, God hath a controversy, Hos 4:1-2. We have lived to see iniquity in the fulness of oaths and blasphemies unparallelled darted with hellish mouths against God and our Saviour so ordinarily and openly, that some of them are become very interjections of speech to the common people, and other some mere phrases of gallantry to the bravo. I knew a great swearer, saith a great divine (Mr Bolton), who, coming to his death bed, Satan so filled his heart with a madded and enraged greediness after that most gainless and pleasureless sin, that though himself swore as fast and as furiously as he could, yet, as though he had been already among the bannings and blasphemies of hell, he desperately desired the bystanders to help him with oaths, and to swear for him.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv3–4 Then said he; the angel, which instructed the prophet.
Then said he; the angel, which instructed the prophet.
This is the curse; this roll or book containeth the curse, the menaced punishment due to sinners, of which too many were still among the Jews.
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That goeth forth; that goeth speedily, for it flieth.
Over the face of the whole earth; either the whole land of Judea, or over all the world; wherever these sins are found, this curse will come upon the sinners, unless they repent.
Every one that stealeth: theft is here first mentioned, a sin that had abounded among them, and front which they were not free then; they robbed one another, and they robbed God, they were sacrilegious.
Shall be cut off; shall be punished with an extermination of his house, as well as with cutting off his life.
According to it; according to the just threats of the law.
Every one that sweareth, profanely, or falsely, the perjured person,
shall be cut off too.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–4 Then said he unto me, This is the curse,....…
Then said he unto me, This is the curse,.... So the law of Moses is called, because it has curses written in it, Deu 27:15 which curse is not causeless, but is according to law and justice; it is from the Lord, and is no other than the wrath of the Almighty; and, wherever it lights, it will remain and continue for ever. Vitringa, on Isa 24:6 says, this is the curse which Isaiah there prophesies of, which had its accomplishment in the times of Antiochus; but there the prophet is speaking, not of the land of Judea, but of the antichristian states.
That goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: over the whole land of Judea, and the inhabitants of it, for their breach of the law, contempt of the Gospel, and the rejection of the Messiah; and which had its accomplishment when wrath came upon them to the uttermost, in the destruction of their nation, city, and temple; and is the curse God threatened to smite their land with, Mal 4:6 and this curse also reaches to the whole world, and the inhabitants of it, who lie in wickedness; and to all sorts of sinners, particularly those next mentioned:
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for everyone that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side, according to it; as it is written and declared on one side of the roll:
and everyone that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it; as is written and declared on the other side of the roll; which two sins of theft and false swearing, the one being against the second, and the other the first table of the law, show that the curse of the law reaches to all sorts of sins and sinners; to all who do not keep it in every respect: and, indeed, to all but those who are redeemed from it by the blood of Christ; and that it is proportioned according to a man's sins: and those two are particularly mentioned, because they are sins which prevailed among the Jews at the time Christ was on earth. Theft did, both in a literal and figurative sense, Mat 23:14 and so did vain swearing, Mat 5:33.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv3–4 This - This roll or book containeth the curse,…
This - This roll or book containeth the curse, due to sinners. The whole earth - Either the whole land of Judea, or all the world, wherever these sins are found. According to it - According to the threats inscribed thereon. Sweareth - Profanely, or falsely.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3–4 Verse 3. Every one that stealeth - and every…
Verse 3. Every one that stealeth - and every one that sweareth] It seems that the roll was written both on the front and back: stealing and swearing are supposed to be two general heads of crimes; the former, comprising sins against men; the latter, sins against God. It is supposed that the roll contained the sins and punishments of the Chaldeans.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv3–4 Over the face of the whole earth - primarily…
Over the face of the whole earth - primarily land, since the perjured persons, upon whom the curse was to fall Zec 5:4, were those who swore falsely by the name of God: and this was in Judah only. The reference to the two tables of the law also confines it primarily to those who were under the law. Yet, since the moral law abides under the Gospel, ultimately these visions related to the Christian Church, which was to be spread over the whole earth. The roll apparently was shown, as written on both sides; the commandments of the first table, in which perjury is forbidden, on the one side; those relating to the love of our neighbor, in which stealing is forbidden, on the other. Theodoret: “He calleth curse that vengeance, which goeth through the whole world, and is brought upon the workers of iniquity. But hereby both prophets and people were taught, that the God of all is the judge of all people, and will exact meet punishment of all, bringing utter destruction not on those only who live ungodly toward Himself, but on those also who are unjust to their neighbors. For let no one think that this threat was only against thieves and false-swearers; for He gave sentence against all iniquity. For since all the law and the prophets hang on this word, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself,” He comprised every sort of sin under false swearing and theft. The violation of oaths is the head of all ungodliness. One who so doeth is devoid of the love of God. But theft indicates injustice to one’s neighbor; for no one who loves his neighbor will endure to be unjust to him. These heads then comprehend all the other laws.”
Shall be cut off - Literally, “cleansed away” , as something defiled and defiling, which has to be cleared away as offensive: as God says, “I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, until it be all gone” (1Ki 14:10, add 1Ki 21:21), and so often in Deuteronomy, “thou shalt put the evil away from the midst of thee” (Deu 13:5 (6 Heb.); Deu 17:7; Deu 19:19; Deu 21:21; Deu 22:21, Deu 22:24; Deu 24:7), or “of Israel” Deu 17:12; Deu 23:22, and in Ezekiel, “I will disperse thee in the countries and will consume thy filthiness out of thee” Eze 22:15. Set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot and may burn, and the filthiness of it may be molten, that the scum of it may be consumed” Eze 24:11.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv3–4 In like. Protestants, "shall cut off as on that…
In like. Protestants, "shall cut off as on that side standing to it." (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv3–4 curse . . . earth-- (Mal 4:6). The Gentiles…
curse . . . earth-- (Mal 4:6). The Gentiles are amenable to the curse of the law, as they have its substance, so far as they have not seared and corrupted conscience, written on their hearts (Rom 2:15).
cut off--literally, "cleared away."
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as on this side . . . as on that side--both sides of the roll [VATABLUS]. From this place . . . from this place (repeated twice, as "the house" is repeated in Zac 5:4) [MAURER]; so "hence" is used, Gen 37:17 (or, "on this and on that side," that is, on every side) [HENDERSON]. None can escape, sin where he may: for God from one side to the other shall call all without exception to judgment [CALVIN]. God will not spare even "this place," Jerusalem, when it sins [PEMBELLUS]. English Version seems to take VATABLUS' view.
according to it--according as it is written.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–4 3. earth] Rather land, i.e. the land of Judah.
3. earth] Rather land, i.e. the land of Judah.
every one that stealeth] The breach of one commandment of each table of the law, every one that stealeth, and so breaks the eighth commandment in the second table, every one that sweareth (i.e. falsely by God’s name Zec_5:4), and so breaks the third commandment in the first table, is singled out, perhaps because these were then the most prevalent sins amongst the Jews, as typical of all transgression. “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” Jas_2:10-11.
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on this side according to it] If we retain this translation (or, on the one side, on the other side, R. V.) it will mean that the roll was written on both sides, and that on the one side was inscribed the curse against those who broke the first table of the law, and on the other side the curse against those who broke the second table. Some however translate for every thief shall be driven out hence (from hence, R. V. margin), i.e. from this land, according to it, and every swearer shall be driven out hence according to it. The objection to this is, that in the following verse we learn that the mission of the curse is not to expel sinners from the land, but to consume them in it. If with Pusey we take the word “cut off,” A. V. to mean “cleansed away” (purged out, R. V.), as something defiled and defiling, which has to be cleared away as offensive, the objection would be removed. The sinner is cleansed away from the land when he is utterly destroyed.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–4 (3) The whole earth.—Better, the whole land: viz., of…
(3) The whole earth.—Better, the whole land: viz., of Israel.
For every one . . . on this side . . . on that side according to it—i.e., according to the curse written on this side and on that side of the scroll. But the Hebrew will hardly bear this interpretation. Koehler proposes to render, instead of “on this side” and “on that side,” “from hence” in both cases—viz., from the land. (Comp. Exo_11:1). But the contrast, which is evidently implied here, precludes this interpretation. We prefer to render, For every one that stealeth, on the one hand, shall, in accordance therewith, be certainly destroyed; and every one that sweareth [falsely], on the other hand, shall, in accordance therewith, be certainly destroyed. Thieves are mentioned as a specimen of sinners against the second table of the Decalogue: viz., as false to man; and false swearers as sinners against the first table: viz., as false to God.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3–4 This is the curse. The roll contained the curse…
This is the curse. The roll contained the curse written upon it on both sides. (For the curse of fled upon guilty nations, comp. Isa_24:6 Dan_9:11) Earth; land; for Judaea is meant. The curse was ready to fall on all who might come under it by their transgressions. This would be a warning also to exterior nations. Every one that stealeth...every one that sweareth. Thieves and perjurers are especially mentioned as incurring the curse. Perjury is a chief offence in one table of the Law, theft in the other; so these sins may stand for all offences against the Decalogue. (comp. Jam_2:10, etc.) But probably they are named because they were particularly rife among the returned Jews. Daring their long sojourn in Babylon they had engaged in commercial pursuits and had fallen into the lax morality which such occupations often engender. These bad habits they had brought with them and practised in their new home. (comp. Zec_8:17, and note there) Shall be out off as on this side according to it; Revised Version, shall be purged out on the one side (margin, from hence) according to it; Ewald, "driven hence like it." The reference is to the two sides of the roll, answering to the two tables of the Decalogue. Sinners shall be i.e. utterly consumed, cleansed away, i.e. according to the tenor of the roll. The Vulgate has judicabitur; the LXX, ewv yanatou ekdikhyhsetai "shall be punished unto death." That sweareth; i.e. falsely, as is plain from ver. 4; Septuagint, pav o epiorkov , "every perjurer."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v3 Lit. land, i.e. Palestine.
earth
Lit. land, i.e. Palestine.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v3 General Information:
General Information:
The angel continues to speak with Zechariah.
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This is the curse
The word "this" refers to the scroll. The scroll is a metonym for what is written on the scroll. AT: "On this scroll is the curse" (See: Metonymy)
that goes out over the surface of the whole land
The phrase "the surface of the whole land" refers to every place within the land. It is implied that the curse will apply to every person who lives in the land. AT: "that is upon every person within the whole land" (See: Idiom and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
every thief will be cut off ... everyone who swears a false oath will be cut off
Yahweh removing these people from the land is spoken of as if he were cutting them off, like a person would cut a branch from a tree. This can be stated in active form. AT: "Yahweh will cut off every thief ... Yahweh will cut off everyone who swears a false oath" or "Yahweh will remove every thief from the land ... Yahweh will remove from the land everyone who swears a false oath" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)
what it says on the one side ... what it says on the other side
"what the scroll says on one side ... what the scroll says on the other side"
I will send it out
"I will send out the curse"
this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts
Yahweh speaks of himself by name to express the certainty of what he is declaring. See how you translated this in Zechariah 1:3. AT: "this is what Yahweh of hosts has declared" or "this is what I, Yahweh of hosts, have declared" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
consume its timber and stones
The curse destroying the houses of the thief and of the one who swears falsely is spoken of as if the curse would consume the building materials that people had used to build the houses. AT: "destroy its wood and stones" or "completely destroy it" (See: Metaphor and Synecdoche)
translationWords
curse
face
cut off
oath
send
declare
Yahweh of hosts
name
consume
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3–4 5:3 curse (or oath): A covenant included curses on…
5:3 curse (or oath): A covenant included curses on violators of the agreement (see Deut 29:12-21).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.