5:1-9 The judgment of the flying roll (scroll) was leveled against those who violated God’s law, specifically by stealing and lying (5:1-4). The woman in a basket personified wickedness, and so this vision showed that wickedness would be not only severely punished (the vision of the flying scroll) but also banished (the vision of the woman in a basket, 5:6-9).
5:9-11 The woman in a basket was carried away to Babylon (“the land of Shinar”), which had become a symbol for the center of world idolatry and wickedness. This woman was a picture to Zechariah that wickedness and sin would be taken away from Israel and that one day sin would be removed from the entire earth. When Christ died, he removed sin’s power and penalty. When we trust Christ to forgive us, he removes the penalty of sin and gives us the power to overcome sin in our lives. When Christ returns, he will remove all sin from the earth, allowing people to live in eternal safety and security.