New Living Translation
Malachi 3:7
7Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’
Malachi 3:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
- New International Version (NIV)Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’
- English Standard Version (ESV)From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, 'How shall we return?'
- New King James Version (NKJV)Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the Lord of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’
Context of Malachi 3:7
5“At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 6“I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’ 8“Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me.
Read all of Malachi 3Malachi 3:7 word by word
לְמִימֵ֨י אֲבֹתֵיכֶ֜ם סַרְתֶּ֤ם מֵֽחֻקַּי֙ וְלֹ֣א שְׁמַרְתֶּ֔ם שׁ֤וּבוּ אֵלַי֙ וְאָשׁ֣וּבָה אֲלֵיכֶ֔ם אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֖ם בַּמֶּ֥ה נָשֽׁוּב׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Even from the daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- of your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- ye are gone awayסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: turn asideH5493
- from mine ordinancesחֹקchôq · statute: decreeH2706
- and have not keptשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: obeyH8104
- Returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- unto you, saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
Cross-references for Malachi 3:7
- Deuteronomy 9:7“Remember and never forget how angry you made the Lord your God out in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until now, you have been constantly rebelling against him.
- Deuteronomy 31:20For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey. There they will become prosperous, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant.
- Nehemiah 9:16“But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to your commands.
- Psalms 78:8Then they will not be like their ancestors— stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.
- Ezekiel 20:8“But they rebelled against me and would not listen. They did not get rid of the vile images they were obsessed with, or forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I threatened to pour out my fury on them to satisfy my anger while they were still in Egypt.
- Luke 11:48But in fact, you stand as witnesses who agree with what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you join in their crime by building the monuments!
- Acts 7:51“You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!
- Leviticus 26:40“But at last my people will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors for betraying me and being hostile toward me.
- Deuteronomy 4:29But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.
- Deuteronomy 30:1“In the future, when you experience all these blessings and curses I have listed for you, and when you are living among the nations to which the Lord your God has exiled you, take to heart all these instructions.
- 1 Kings 8:47But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, ‘We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.’
- Nehemiah 1:8“Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations.
- Isaiah 55:6Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.
- Jeremiah 3:12Therefore, go and give this message to Israel. This is what the Lord says: “O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever.
- Ezekiel 18:30“Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you!
- Hosea 14:1Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down.
Commentaries on Malachi 3:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Gone away from mine ordinances - Never acting according to their spirit and design. Return unto me - There is still space to repent. Wherein shall we return? - Their consciences were seared, and they knew not that they were sinners.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Even from the days of your fathers - Back to those days and from them ye are gone away from My ordinances. “I am not changed from good; ye are not changed from evil. I am unchangeable in holiness; ye are unchangeable in perversity.” Return unto Me - The beginning of our return is from the preventing grace of God. Jeremiah 31:18; Lamentations 5:21, “turn Thou me, and I shall be turned, for Thou art the Lord my God,” is the voice of the soul to God…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-12Verses 7-12 The men of that generation turned away from God, they had not kept his ordinances. God gives them a gracious call. But they said, Wherein shall we return? God notices what returns our hearts make to the calls of his word. It shows great perverseness in sin, when men make afflictions excuses for sin, which are sent to part between them and their sins. Here is an earnest exhortation to reform. God must be served in the first place; and the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7turn away: In a covenant relationship, this phrase expresses a change in loyalty by Israel or God. It usually means repentance, a complete turn back to God or a full shift toward the Lord. The command is urgent and requires an immediate response. The accusation of fake worship builds on similar charges in the second argument (see Malachi 1:6–14). God's promise to open the windows of heaven (Malachi 3:10) shows his power as a great King (see 1:14).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-127-12. Reproof for the non-payment of tithes and offerings, which is the cause of their national calamities, and promise of prosperity on their paying them. from ... days of your fathers--Ye live as your fathers did when they brought on themselves the Babylonian captivity, and ye wish to follow in their steps. This shows that nothing but God's unchanging long-suffering had prevented their being long ago "consumed" (Mal 3:6). Return unto me--in penitence. I…Read the comment
Topics related to Malachi 3:7
In the dictionaries
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
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