Malachi 1:4
2 “I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved,
3 but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”
Though Edom may say, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness, and a people with whom the LORD is indignant forever.
5 You will see this with your own eyes, and you yourselves will say, ‘The LORD is great—even beyond the borders of Israel.’”
6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Though Edom may say, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness, and a people with whom the LORD is indignant forever.
- KJV
- Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.
- WEB
- Whereas Edom says, “We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places,” the LORD of Armies says, “They shall build, but I will throw down; and men will call them ‘The Wicked Land,’ even the people against whom the LORD shows wrath forever.”
- ASV
- Whereas Edom saith, We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places; thus saith Jehovah of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and men shall call them The border of wickedness, and The people against whom Jehovah hath indignation for ever.
- DARBY
- If Edom say, We are broken down, but we will build again the ruined places, thus saith Jehovah of hosts: They shall build, but I will throw down; and [men] shall call them the territory of wickedness, and the people against whom Jehovah hath indignation for ever.
- BLB
- If Edom should say, “We have been beaten down, and we will return and will build the ruins,” thus says YHWH of Hosts: “They may build, and I, I will tear down; and they will call to them the Territory of Wickedness, The people with whom YHWH will be angry even to forever.
- ÅB
- Når Edom sier: Vi er knust, men vi skal bygge ruinene opp igjen, da sier Herren, hærskarenes Gud, så: De skal bygge, men jeg skal rive ned, og de skal kalles ugudelighetens land og det folk som Herren til evig tid er vred på.
- OTB
- Edom kan si, "Vi har blitt slått ned, men vi vil vende tilbake og bygge ruinene." Men dette er hva Herren, hærskarenes Gud, sier: "De kan bygge, men jeg vil rive ned. De vil bli kalt ondskapens territorium, og folket som Herren er harm på for alltid."
- B1930
- Når Edom sier: Vi er knust, men vi skal bygge ruinene op igjen, da sier Herren, hærskarenes Gud, så: De skal bygge, men jeg skal rive ned, og de skal kalles ugudelighetens land og det folk som Herren til evig tid er vred på.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Ezekiel 25:14
I will take My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to My anger and wrath. Then they will know My vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.’
Read in contextEzekiel 35:9
I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
Read in contextIsaiah 10:15–16
Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff lifting him who is not wood!
Read in contextIsaiah 9:9–10
All the people will know it— Ephraim and the dwellers of Samaria. With pride and arrogance of heart they will say:
Read in contextIsaiah 11:14
They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines to the west; together they will plunder the sons of the east. They will lay their hands on Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
Read in contextJeremiah 31:17
So there is hope for your future, declares the LORD, and your children will return to their own land.
Read in contextEzekiel 11:10
You will fall by the sword, and I will judge you even to the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
Read in contextLamentations 4:21–22
So rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz. Yet the cup will pass to you as well; you will get drunk and expose yourself.
Read in context