Verse 3a says, "Then he said to me, This is the curse that goes forth over the face of all the land." The curse signifies God's punishment in judging sins according to His righteous law. God's law is righteous, and this righteous law does not tolerate unrighteousness. The fact that God's judgment is a curse indicates that it is a very serious matter. This scroll will be the base of God's thorough judgment over all the sin on earth.
Verses 3b and 4b speak of those who steal. Stealing signifies sins toward man, which are the issue of covetousness. Stealing issues from greed and covetousness. Today is an age of stealing. Business and trade involve stealing. Everyone is greedy and full of covetousness. The apostle Paul could keep many of the Ten Commandments, but he could not fulfill the commandment concerning coveting (Rom. 7:7-8).
Zechariah 5 also speaks concerning those who swear falsely by Jehovah's name (vv. 3c, 4c). Swearing falsely by Jehovah's name signifies sins toward God, which are the issue of a wrong relationship with God. Those who swear falsely in this way are not honest, faithful, and sincere with God. They may claim to speak and act in the name of God, but their claim is a falsehood. Such falsehood is surely an offense to God.
The law of God given to Moses is of two sections. One section concerns the relationship between man and God, and the other concerns the relationships among men. God requires that we be right with Him and also right with other people. To be right in this way is to be righteous. Those who are not right with both God and man will suffer God's judgment.
Speaking of God's judgment, verse 4 says, "I will cause it to go forth, declares Jehovah of hosts; and it will enter the house of him who steals and the house of him who swears falsely by My name; and it will lodge overnight within his house and consume it, both with its timbers and its stones." From this we see that the exercise of God's judgment of sins will be most serious and also very thorough.