Malachi 1:4

1:4 Edom ¹  says, “Though we are devastated, we will once again build the ruined places.” So the Lord who rules over all ²  responds, “They indeed may build, but I will overthrow. They will be known as ³  the land of evil, the people with whom the Lord is permanently displeased.

Malachi 1:14

1:14 “There will be harsh condemnation for the hypocrite who has a valuable male animal in his flock but vows and sacrifices something inferior to the Lord. For I am a great king,” ⁴  says the Lord who rules over all, “and my name is awesome among the nations.”

Malachi 2:2

2:2 If you do not listen and take seriously ⁵  the need to honor my name,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will send judgment ⁶  on you and turn your blessings into curses – indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart.

Malachi 2:14

2:14 Yet you ask, “Why?” The Lord is testifying against you on behalf of the wife you married when you were young, ⁷  to whom you have become unfaithful even though she is your companion and wife by law. ⁸ 

Malachi 4:1

4:1 (3:19) ⁹  “For indeed the day ¹⁰  is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant evildoers will be chaff. The coming day will burn them up,” says the Lord who rules over all. “It ¹¹  will not leave even a root or branch.

¹ sn Edom, a “brother” nation to Israel, became almost paradigmatic of hostility toward Israel and God (see Num 20:14-21; Deut 2:8; Jer 49:7-22; Ezek 25:12-14; Amos 1:11-12; Obad 10-12).

² sn The epithet Lord who rules over all occurs frequently as a divine title throughout Malachi (24 times total). This name (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, yÿhvah tsÿva’ot), traditionally translated “Lord of hosts” (so KJV, NAB, NASB; cf. NIV NLT “Lord Almighty”; NCV, CEV “Lord All-Powerful”), emphasizes the majestic sovereignty of the Lord, an especially important concept in the postexilic world of great human empires and rulers. For a thorough study of the divine title, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 123-57.

³ tn Heb “and they will call them.” The third person plural subject is indefinite; one could translate, “and people will call them.”

⁴ sn The epithet great king was used to describe the Hittite rulers on their covenant documents and so, in the covenant ideology of Malachi, is an apt description of the Lord.

⁷ tn Heb “and if you do not place upon [the] heart”; KJV, NAB, NRSV “lay it to heart.”

⁸ tn Heb “the curse” (so NASB, NRSV); NLT “a terrible curse.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “the Lord is a witness between you and [between] the wife of your youth.”

¹¹ sn Though there is no explicit reference to marriage vows in the OT (but see Job 7:13; Prov 2:17; Ezek 16:8), the term law (Heb “covenant”) here asserts that such vows or agreements must have existed. References to divorce documents (e.g., Deut 24:1-3; Jer 3:8) also presuppose the existence of marriage documents.

¹³ sn Beginning with 4:1, the verse numbers through 4:6 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:1 ET = 3:19 HT, 4:2 ET = 3:20 HT, etc., through 4:6 ET = 3:24 HT. Thus the book of Malachi in the Hebrew Bible has only three chapters, with 24 verses in ch. 3.

¹⁴ sn This day is the well-known “day of the Lord” so pervasive in OT eschatological texts (see Joel 2:30-31; Amos 5:18; Obad 15). For the believer it is a day of grace and salvation; for the sinner, a day of judgment and destruction.

¹⁵ tn Heb “so that it” (so NASB, NRSV). For stylistic reasons a new sentence was begun here in the translation.