EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Malachi 1:2
2The Lord says, ‘I have loved you.’ But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ The Lord says, ‘I chose to love Jacob and his descendants. Esau was Jacob's brother.
Malachi 1:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob,
- New International Version (NIV)“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 I have loved Jacob,
- English Standard Version (ESV)"I have loved you," says the Lord. But you say, "How have you loved us?" "Is not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the Lord. "Yet I have loved Jacob
- New King James Version (NKJV)“I have loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved;
Context of Malachi 1:2
1This is the message that the Lord told to Malachi. Malachi knew that he must tell this message to the Israelites. The Lord says, ‘I have loved you.’ But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ The Lord says, ‘I chose to love Jacob and his descendants. Esau was Jacob's brother. 3But I have not loved Esau and his descendants. Instead, I have caused trouble for Esau. I caused Esau's mountains to become a wilderness. Nobody uses that land any longer. Now there are only jackals in the land that belongs to Esau.’ 4Esau's descendants in Edom may say, ‘They have destroyed our towns, but we will build our houses again.’ But the Lord Almighty says, ‘They may build again, but I will knock everything down. People will call Edom, “The Evil Land”. They will call them, “The Nation that the Lord is angry with for ever”.
Read all of Malachi 1Malachi 1:2 word by word
אָהַ֤בְתִּי אֶתְכֶם֙ אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֖ם בַּמָּ֣ה אֲהַבְתָּ֑נוּ הֲלוֹא־אָ֨ח עֵשָׂ֤ו לְיַֽעֲקֹב֙ נְאֻם־יְהוָ֔ה וָאֹהַ֖ב אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹֽב׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Malachi 1:2
- Deuteronomy 7:6Remember that you are a special people who belong to the Lord your God. He has chosen you for himself out of all the other people who live on the earth. He loves you as his special people.
- Deuteronomy 10:15But the Lord chose to love your ancestors with a faithful love. You are their descendants. He has chosen you from among all the people of the world. You can see that this is true today!
- Deuteronomy 32:8The Most High God gave land to be the home of each nation. When he made people into separate groups, he decided where their borders should be. He did that to match the number of angels in heaven.
- Isaiah 41:8‘But you, Israel, are my servant. Yes, I have chosen you, descendants of Jacob. You are descendants of my friend, Abraham.
- Isaiah 43:4You are very valuable to me. You are my special people, and I love you. So I will give other people to their enemies, to keep your lives safe. Other nations will pay the price, instead of you.
- Jeremiah 31:3At that time long ago, the Lord showed himself to his people. He said, ‘I have always loved you and I always will love you. My faithful love for you continues for ever.
- Romans 11:28Israel's people have become God's enemies, because they have refused to believe the good news about Christ. This has happened to help you Gentiles. But God still loves Israel's people, because he has chosen them as his own people. That is what he promised to their ancestors.
- Malachi 1:6The Lord Almighty says this to the priests: ‘A son respects his father. A servant respects his master. If I am really your father and your master, why do you not respect me? You are my priests, but you insult my name. But then you ask, “What have we done to insult your name?”
- Malachi 2:17The Lord has become tired as he listens to your words. You ask, ‘Why is he tired? What have we done to cause that?’ You say, ‘The Lord thinks that all people who do evil things are good! He does not punish them but he is happy with them.’ You also say, ‘God is not here to bring justice!’
- Malachi 3:7I have told you my commands. But you do not listen to me any longer. You have not obeyed me, even since the time of your ancestors. Now, return to me! Then I will return to bless you.’ That is what the Lord Almighty says. ‘But you ask, “How do we return to you?”
- Jeremiah 2:5This is the Lord's message to you: ‘I had done nothing wrong against your ancestors, but they turned away from me. Instead, they worshipped useless idols. So they themselves became useless.
- Luke 10:29But the man wanted to show that he had been right to ask a question. So he asked, ‘Who are the people near to me that I must love?’
- Genesis 25:23The Lord said to Rebekah, ‘The two children who are in your body will become two separate nations of people. One group will be stronger than the other. The older son will become a servant to the younger son.’
- Genesis 27:27So Jacob went to Isaac and kissed him. Isaac smelled the clothes that Jacob wore. Then Isaac blessed him. He said, ‘The smell of my son is like the smell of a field. It is like a field that the Lord has blessed.
- Genesis 28:3I pray that God Almighty will bless you. I pray that he will give you many children, so that your descendants become a large nation of people.
- Genesis 32:28Then the man said, ‘Your name will not be Jacob any longer. Your name will now be Israel. That is because you have fought with God and you have fought with men. And you have won!’
Commentaries on Malachi 1:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Was not Esau Jacob's brother? - Have I not shown a greater partiality to the Israelites than I have to the Edomites? I loved Jacob - My love to Jacob has been proved by giving him greater privileges and a better inheritance than what I have given to Esau.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2I have loved you, saith the Lord - What a volume of God‘s relations to us in two simple words, “I-have-loved you”. So would not God speak, unless He still loved. “I have loved and do love you,” is the force of the words. When? And since when? In all eternity God loved; in all our past, God loved. Tokens of His love, past or present, in good or seeming ill, are but an effluence of that everlasting love. He, the Unchangeable, ever loved, as the apostle of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2loved: The relationship between the Lord and Israel involves covenant implications. This love can mean God's choice or election of Israel as his people. Malachi's message shows that other aspects of God's unconditional covenant love for Israel, like his patient mercy (see Malachi 3:6, 17), are still active. See also Romans 9:13.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. I have loved you--above other men; nay, even above the other descendants of Abraham and Isaac. Such gratuitous love on My part called for love on yours. But the return ye make is sin and dishonor to Me. This which is to be supplied is left unexpressed, sorrow as it were breaking off the sentence [Menochius], (De 7:8; Ho 11:1). Wherein hast thou loved us?--In painful contrast to the tearful tenderness of God's love stands their insolent challenge. The…Read the comment
Topics related to Malachi 1:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Malachi 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
EasyEnglish Bible 2018 — Copyright © MissionAssist 2018
Commentaries