^5:6I asked, “What is it?” And he replied, “It is a basket for measuring grain⁵ that is moving away from here.” Moreover, he said, “This is their ‘eye’⁶ throughout all the earth.” ^5:7Then a round lead cover was raised up, revealing a woman sitting inside the basket. ^5:8He then said, “This woman represents wickedness,” and he pushed her down into the basket and placed the lead cover on top. ^5:9Then I looked again and saw two women⁷ going forth with the wind in their wings (they had wings like those of a stork) and they lifted up the basket between the earth and the sky. ^5:10I asked the messenger who was speaking to me, “Where are they taking the basket?”

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Footnotes

5 Heb “[This is] the ephah.” An ephah was a liquid or solid measure of about a bushel (five gallons or just under twenty liters). By metonymy it refers here to a measuring container (probably a basket) of that quantity.
6 The and read עֲוֹנָם (’avonam, “their iniquity,” so ; similar) for the עֵינָם (’enam, “their eye”), a reading that is consistent with the identification of the woman in v. 8 as wickedness, but one that is unnecessary. In 4:10 the “eye” represented divine omniscience and power; here it represents the demonic counterfeit.
7 Here two women appear as the agents of the Lord because the whole scene is feminine in nature. The Hebrew word for “wickedness” in v. 8 (רִשְׁעָה) is grammatically feminine, so feminine imagery is appropriate throughout.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is the basket that is going out.” And he said, “This is their iniquity in all the land.” And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket! And he said, “This is Wickedness.” And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down the leaden weight on its opening.

Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they taking the basket?”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

I asked, “What is it?”

He replied, “It is a basket.” And he added, “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.”

Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.

Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.

“Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking to me.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

So I asked, “What is it?”

He responded, “It’s a measuring basket that is approaching.” And he continued, “This is their iniquity in all the land.” Then a lead cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket. “This is Wickedness,” he said. He shoved her down into the basket and pushed the lead weight over its opening. Then I looked up and saw two women approaching with the wind in their wings. Their wings were like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and sky.

So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the basket?”

NLTNew Living Translation

“What is it?” I asked.

He replied, “It is a basket for measuring grain, and it’s filled with the sins of everyone throughout the land.”

Then the heavy lead cover was lifted off the basket, and there was a woman sitting inside it. The angel said, “The woman’s name is Wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and closed the heavy lid again.

Then I looked up and saw two women flying toward us, gliding on the wind. They had wings like a stork, and they picked up the basket and flew into the sky.

“Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “This is a basket going out. And he said, “This is their iniquity throughout all the earth. And look, the lead cover was lifted and a woman was sitting inside the basket. And he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her back down into the basket, and threw the lead cover on top of it. And I looked up and saw, and look!—two women coming forward, and the wind was in their wings, and they had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between the earth and the sky. And I asked the angel who was talking to me, “Where are they taking the basket?”

KJV 1900King James Version

And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?

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