This is an ephah that goeth forth— The ephah that is going forth. An ephah was a dry measure containing somewhat less than our bushel, consequently too small for a woman to sit in; we must therefore understand here a measure in the form only of an ephah, but of a larger size. And this is implied in its not being said in the original to be an ephah, but "the ephah that is going forth;" doubly corresponding with the iniquities that prevailed in the land, both as exceeding the ordinary measure, and also continually increasing, so as already to have risen to such a pitch, as made it necessary to repress them. This is the ephah that is going forth, and such both in their extent and in their progressive state are iniquities over the land.
This is their resemblance, &c.— This is their iniquity through all the land. Houbigant, after the LXX and many other versions. See also Zechariah 5:8 where it is said, This is wickedness, or iniquity; that is to say, "This is their theft, their perjury, when they sell by a false measure of the ephah what they swear to be true and exact."