Malachi 1:4

Malachi 1:4 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.” But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)If Edom says, "We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins," the Lord of hosts says, "They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called 'the wicked country,' and 'the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.'"
• New King James Version (NKJV)Even though Edom has said, “We have been impoverished, But we will return and build the desolate places,” Thus says the Lord of hosts: “They may build, but I will throw down; They shall be called the Territory of Wickedness, And the people against whom the Lord will have indignation forever.

Context of Malachi 1:4

2“I loved you,” says Adonai. But you say: “How have you loved us?” “Was Esau not Jacob’s brother?” —it is the declaration of Adonai— “Yet I loved Jacob 3and Esau I hated. I made his hills a wasteland and gave his inheritance to jackals of the wilderness.” For Edom may say, “We have been beaten down, but we will return and rebuild the ruins.” Thus Adonai-Tzva’ot says: “They may rebuild but I will tear down. They will be called a wicked territory, the people Adonai denounced forever. 5So you will see, and you will say: ‘May Adonai be magnified beyond the border of Israel!’” 6“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. So if I am Father, where is My honor? If I am Master, where is My reverence?”—says Adonai-Tzva’ot—“you, kohanim who despise My Name!” But you say, “How did we despise Your Name?”

Malachi 1:4 word by word

כִּֽי־תֹאמַ֨ר אֱד֜וֹם רֻשַּׁ֗שְׁנוּ וְנָשׁוּב֙ וְנִבְנֶ֣ה חֳרָב֔וֹת כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֔וֹת הֵ֥מָּה יִבְנ֖וּ וַאֲנִ֣י אֶהֱר֑וֹס וְקָרְא֤וּ לָהֶם֙ גְּב֣וּל רִשְׁעָ֔ה וְהָעָ֛ם אֲשֶׁר־זָעַ֥ם יְהוָ֖ה עַד־עוֹלָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whereas Edomאֱדוֹם'ĕdôm 'ĕdôm · EdomH123
• saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• We are impoverishedרָשַׁשׁrâshash · to beatH7567
• but we will returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: rescueH7725
• and buildבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• the desolate placesחׇרְבָּהchorbâh · desolationH2723
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
• but I will throw downהָרַסhâras · to overthrowH2040
• and they shall callקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call byH7121
• them, The borderגְּבוּלgebûl gebûl · border: areaH1366
• of wickednessרִשְׁעָהrish‛âh · wickednessH7564
• and, The peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• hath indignationזָעַםzâ‛am · be indignantH2194
• forעַד‛ad · tillH5704
• everעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769

Cross-references for Malachi 1:4

• Isaiah 9:9“The bricks are fallen, but we will rebuild with cut stones. The sycamores are cut down, but we will replace them with cedars.”
• James 4:13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”
• Job 9:4He is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and come out whole?
• Job 12:14If He tears down, it cannot be rebuilt; one He imprisons cannot be released.
• Job 34:29“But if He is quiet, who can condemn Him? If He hides His face, who can see Him? Yet He is over a nation and an individual alike,
• Psalms 127:1A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. Unless Adonai builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless Adonai watches over the city, the watchman stands guard in vain.
• Proverbs 21:30There is no wisdom, there is no understanding, there is no counsel— against Adonai.
• Isaiah 10:4One can only crouch among the captives or collapse among the slain. For all this His anger is not turned away, yet His hand is still outstretched.
• Lamentations 3:37Who speaks and it comes to pass unless the Lord has decreed it?
• Matthew 12:30He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
• Jeremiah 31:17I indeed heard Ephraim grieving: ‘You have disciplined me— I was disciplined like an untrained calf. Restore me, and I will return, for you are Adonai my God.
• Ezekiel 11:10You will fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel. So you will know that I am Adonai.
• Amos 6:2Go over to Calneh and look. From there go to great Hamath, go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory larger than yours?
• Malachi 1:3and Esau I hated. I made his hills a wasteland and gave his inheritance to jackals of the wilderness.”
• Psalms 137:7Remember, Adonai, the children of Edom, what they said on the day Jerusalem fell: “Strip her, strip her to her very foundation!”
• Isaiah 11:14They will swoop down on the Philistine slope to the west. Together they will plunder the children of the east— laying their hand on Edom and Moab, the children of Ammon obeying them.

Commentaries on Malachi 1:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4They shall build, but I will throw down - We have already seen enough of the wickedness of the Edomites to justify the utmost severity of Divine justice against them. The pulling down predicted here was by Judas Maccabeus; see 1 Maccabees 5:65; and by John Hyrcanus; see Joseph Antiq., lib. 13 c. 9. s. 1. They shall call them, The border of wickedness - A wicked land. Among this people scarcely any trace of good could ever be noted.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Whereas Edom saith - oWe are impoverished - oידשׁשׁ .), or, more probably, “we were crushed.” Either gives an adequate sense. Human self-confidence will admit anything, as to the past; nay, will even exaggerate past evil to itself, “Crush us how they may, we will arise and repair our losses.” So Ephraim said of old Isaiah 9:9-10, “in the pride and stoutness of heart, The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn-stones: the sycamores are cut…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4the LORD of Hosts (Hebrew Yahweh tseba’oth): This name for God is important in Old Testament prophetic writings. Hosts are the angelic forces under God's command. This phrase emphasizes God's power, which cannot be defeated. the Land of Wickedness: Esau was selfish and showed disrespect for the Lord’s covenant symbols (see Genesis 25:34). The nation of Edom came to represent the pride of a self-centered life (see Jeremiah 49:16). The Edomites also allied…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Whereas--"But if" Edom say [Maurer]. Edom may strive as she may to recover herself, but it shall be in vain, for I doom her to perpetual desolation, whereas I restore Israel. This Jehovah states, to illustrate His gratuitous love to Israel, rather than to Edom. border of wickedness--a region given over to the curse of reprobation [Calvin]. For a time Judea seemed as desolate as Idumea; but though the latter was once the highway of Eastern commerce, now…Read the comment

Topics related to Malachi 1:4

• Edomites

In the dictionaries

• Edom
• Edom; Edomites
• Edom, Edomite, Idumea
• Lord of Hosts
• Malachi, Prophecies of
• Malachi
• Nabataeans; Nabathaeans
• Obadiah, Book of

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