Malachi 3:14

Malachi 3:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?
• New International Version (NIV)“You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty?
• English Standard Version (ESV)You have said, 'It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?
• New King James Version (NKJV)You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God; What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, And that we have walked as mourners Before the Lord of hosts?

Context of Malachi 3:14

12You will be happy to live in your land. The people of all the other nations will see that God has blessed you.’ That is what the Lord Almighty says. 13The Lord says, ‘You have spoken bad words against me. But you ask, “What have we said against you?” You have said, “We serve God, but that has not helped us at all. We are careful to do what he tells us to do. When we do wrong things, we have sad faces to show the Lord Almighty that we are sorry. 15But it is proud people that God blesses! Yes, it is the people who do evil things who become rich! God does not even punish people who like to test him. That is what we think.” ’ 16Then the people who respected the Lord talked to each other. The Lord listened to what they said. While the Lord watched, someone wrote names on a scroll. Those were the names of the people who worshipped the Lord and respected the Lord's name. They wrote down their names so that people would remember them.

Malachi 3:14 word by word

אֲמַרְתֶּ֕ם שָׁ֖וְא עֲבֹ֣ד אֱלֹהִ֑ים וּמַה־בֶּ֗צַע כִּ֤י שָׁמַ֙רְנוּ֙ מִשְׁמַרְתּ֔וֹ וְכִ֤י הָלַ֙כְנוּ֙ קְדֹ֣רַנִּ֔ית מִפְּנֵ֖י יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Ye have saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• vainשָׁוְאshâv' shav · vanity: vainH7723
• to serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• and what profitבֶּ֫צַעbetsa‛ · unjust-gainH1215
• that we have keptשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: obeyH8104
• his ordinanceמִשְׁמֶ֫רֶתmishmereth · chargeH4931
• and that we have walkedהָלַךְhâlak · to go: walkH1980
• mournfullyקְדֹרַנִּיתqedôrannîyth · mournfullyH6941
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635

Cross-references for Malachi 3:14

• Job 21:14They say to God, “Leave us alone! We do not want to know about your ways.
• Job 22:17They said to God, “Leave us alone!” They thought that Almighty God could not hurt them.
• Job 34:9Job says, “If anyone tries to please God, it does not help them at all.”
• Job 35:3But you also say, “If I do nothing wrong, God does not bless me. No good thing comes to me.”
• Psalms 73:8They laugh at people and they say bad things about them. They proudly speak about cruel things that they want to do to people.
• Isaiah 58:3They say to me, “We have fasted to please you, but you do not see it. We make ourselves humble and you do not even look.” Listen to me! Yes you fast, but you do it to please yourselves. At the same time as you are fasting, you are being cruel to the people who work for you.
• Zephaniah 1:12‘At that time, I will look in all Jerusalem's dark corners. I will take lights with me. I will find the drunks and I will punish them. These people say in their minds, “The Lord will do neither good things nor bad things to us.”
• Joel 2:12‘Even now,’ the Lord says, ‘return to me and put me first. Eat no food. Cry and be very sad.
• Zechariah 7:3They came to the house of the Lord Almighty to speak to the priests and to the prophets. They asked, ‘Should we cry and not eat our food in the fifth month? We have done this for many years.’
• James 4:9Be sorry about your sins and weep. Stop laughing and instead be sad. Do not be happy but be very upset.

Commentaries on Malachi 3:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Ye have said, It is vain to serve God - They strove to destroy the Divine worship; they asserted that it was vanity; that, if they performed acts of worship, they should be nothing the better; and if they abstained, they should be nothing the worse. This was their teaching to the people. Walked mournfully - Even repentance they have declared to be useless. This was a high pitch of ungodliness; but see what follows; behold the general conclusions of these…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Ye have said, It is vain to serve the God - o“as receiving no gain or reward for their service. This is the judgment of the world, whereby worldlings think pious, just, sincere, strict men, vain, i. e., especially when they see them impoverished, despised, oppressed, afflicted, because they know not the true goods of virtue and eternal glory, but measure all things by sight, sense and taste. Truly, if the righteous had not hope of another and better life…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-18Verses 13-18 Among the Jews at this time, some plainly discovered themselves to be children of the wicked one. The yoke of Christ is easy. But those who work wickedness, tempt God by presumptuous sins. Judge of things as they will appear when the doom of these proud sinners comes to be executed. Those that feared the Lord, spake kindly, for preserving and promoting mutual love, when sin thus abounded. They spake one to another, in the language of those…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14What have we gained: People believed that doing good deeds would lead to material blessings (Deuteronomy 28). walking mournfully: People thought that showing sadness or wearing funeral clothes showed true repentance, as if these actions were righteous by themselves (see Matthew 6:1–18).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1813-18. He notices the complaint of the Jews that it is of no profit to serve Jehovah, for that the ungodly proud are happy; and declares He will soon bring the day when it shall be known that He puts an everlasting distinction between the godly and the ungodly. words ... stout--Hebrew, "hard"; so "the hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him" (Jude 15) [Henderson]. have we spoken--The Hebrew expresses at once their assiduity and habit…Read the comment

Topics related to Malachi 3:14

• Blasphemy
• Condescension of God
• Hypocrisy
• Infidelity
• Malachi
• Murmuring
• Skepticism
• Vanity

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Lord of Hosts
• Change
• Mournfully
• Prove
• Rob
• Joel (2)
• Malachi
• Ordinance

Commentaries on Malachi 3

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings