5 Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, Lift up now your eyes and see what this is that goes forth. 6 And I said, What is it? [What does it symbolize?] And he said, This that goes forth is an ephah[-sized vessel for separate grains all collected together]. This, he continued, is the symbol of the sinners mentioned above and is the resemblance of their iniquity throughout the whole land. 7 And behold, a round, flat weight of lead was lifted and there sat a woman in the midst of the ephah[-sized vessel]. 8 And he said, This is lawlessness (wickedness)! And he thrust her back into the ephah[-sized vessel] and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth of it!
9 Then lifted I up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings, for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah[-sized vessel] between the earth and the heavens. 10 Then said I to the angel who talked with me, Where are they taking the ephah[-sized vessel]? 11 And he said to me, To the land of Shinar [Babylonia] to build it a house, and when it is finished, to set up the ephah[-sized vessel--the symbol of such sinners and their guilt] there upon its own base.