Zechariah 5:2

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

He said to me, 'What do you see?' I answered, 'I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.'

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַ֔י מָ֥ה אַתָּ֖ה רֹאֶ֑ה וָאֹמַ֗ר אֲנִ֤י רֹאֶה֙ מְגִלָּ֣ה עָפָ֔ה אָרְכָּהּ֙ עֶשְׂרִ֣ים בָּֽאַמָּ֔ה וְרָחְבָּ֖הּ עֶ֥שֶׂר בָּאַמָּֽה׃

Transliteration

And wayyōʾmer to me, What ʾattāh rōʾeh? And wāʾōmar, I ʾănî rōʾeh məgillāh ʿāp̄āh, ʾārekāh twenty bāʾammāh and rāḥbāh ten bāʾammāh

Grammar Details

• *wayyōʾmer*: waw consecutive + qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular - and he said
• *ʾattāh*: pronoun, 2nd person masculine singular - you
• *rōʾeh*: qal participle, masculine singular - seeing
• *wāʾōmar*: waw consecutive + qal imperfect, 1st person singular - and I said
• *ʾănî*: pronoun, 1st person singular - I
• *məgillāh*: noun, feminine singular absolute - scroll/roll
• *ʿāp̄āh*: adjective, feminine singular - flying
• *ʾārekāh*: noun, feminine singular construct with 3rd person feminine singular suffix - its length
• *bāʾammāh*: preposition + noun, feminine singular - in the cubit
• *rāḥbāh*: noun, feminine singular construct with 3rd person feminine singular suffix - its width

Word Meanings

• *məgillāh*: scroll/roll/volume
• *ʿāp̄āh*: flying/floating/soaring
• *ʾammāh*: cubit/forearm (unit of measurement)

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  And he said to me, What do you see? And I answered, I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  And he sayde vnto me: what seist thou? I answered: I se a flyenge boke of xx. cubites longe & x. cubites brode.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  And he said vnto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying booke: the length thereof is twentie cubites, and the breadth thereof tenne cubites.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And he saide vnto me: what seest thou? I aunswered: I see a fleeing booke of twentie cubites long, and ten cubites broade.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof [is] twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  He said to me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its breadth ten cubits."

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  And he saith unto me, `What art thou seeing?' And I say, `I am seeing a flying roll, its length twenty by the cubit, and its breadth ten by the cubit.'

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And he said to me, What do you see? And I said, A roll going through the air; it is twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.

• World English Bible (2000)

  He said to me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its breadth ten cubits."

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  Someone asked me,“What do you see?” I replied,“I see a flying scroll thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.”

Referenced Verses

• Zech 4:2 : 2 He said to me, 'What do you see?' I replied, 'I see a gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, each having seven spouts to the lamps on it.'
• 2 Pet 2:3 : 3 In their greed, they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
• Rev 18:5 : 5 For her sins have piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her injustices.
• Gen 6:11-13 : 11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all flesh had ruined their way on the earth. 13 Then God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, because the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I am going to destroy them along with the earth.
• Jer 1:11-14 : 11 The word of the LORD came to me: 'What do you see, Jeremiah?' I replied, 'I see a branch of an almond tree.' 12 The LORD said to me, 'You have seen correctly, for I am watching over My word to accomplish it.' 13 The word of the LORD came to me a second time: 'What do you see?' I replied, 'I see a boiling pot, and it is tilting away from the north.' 14 Then the LORD said to me, 'From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land.'
• Amos 7:8 : 8 The Lord asked me, 'What do you see, Amos?' I replied, 'A plumb line.' Then the Lord said, 'I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel. I will no longer spare them.'
• Zeph 1:14 : 14 The great day of the Lord is near, near and rapidly approaching. The sound of the day of the Lord is bitter; there, even the mighty warrior cries out.