Malachi 4:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Malachi 4:1
For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD
יְהוָ֣הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
of hosts
צְבָא֔וֹתtze.va.'ot
H6635
a mass of persons (or figuratively · noun, common feminine plural absolute
that it shall leave
יַעֲזֹ֥בya.'a.Zo
H5800
to loosen · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
them neither root
שֹׁ֥רֶשׁSho.resh
H8328
a root (literally or figuratively) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
nor branch
וְעָנָֽףve.'a.Naf
H6057
a twig (as covering the limbs) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
2 Thessalonians 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Peter 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perditi…
Malachi 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
Isaiah 47:14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not b…
Isaiah 5:24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shal…
Obadiah 1:18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, a…
Malachi 3:15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.
Job 18:16 His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Malachi 4:1-3
The great and terrible day of the Lord is here prophesied of. This, like the pillar of cloud and fire, shall have a dark side turned towards the Egyptians that fight against God, and a bright side towards the faithful Israelites that follow him: The day cometh, that is, the Lord cometh, the day of the Lord; and it has reference both to the first and to the second coming of Jesus Christ; the day of both was fixed, and should answer the character here given of it.
I. In both Christ is a consuming fire to those that rebel against him. The day of his coming shall burn as an oven; it shall be a day of wrath, of fiery indignation. This was foretold concerning the Messiah, Psa 21:9, Thy hand shall…
For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven,.... Not the day of judgment, as Kimchi and other interpreters, both Jewish and Christian, think; but the day of Christ's coming in his kingdom and power, to take vengeance on the Jewish nation, which burned like an oven, both figuratively and literally; when the wrath of God, which is compared to fire, came upon that people to the uttermost; and when their city and temple were burnt about their ears, and they were surrounded with fire, as if they had been in a burning oven: and this being so terrible, as can hardly be conceived and expressed, the word "behold" is prefixed to it, not only to excite attention, but horror and terror at so…
Malachi 4:1
1. For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
1. Quia ecce dies venit ardens tanquam clibanus; et erunt omnes superbi et omnes facientes iniquitatem stipula; et inflammabit eos dies qui venturus est, dicit Iehova exercituum, qui non relinquet illis radicem et ramum.
He confirms the previous verse, for he denounces ruin on all the reprobate and the despisers of God; and he also confirms what I have mentioned, -- that he sets this threatening in opposition to the slanders which th…
The Church Fathers
So, brothers, having received no slight opportunity to repent, let us, when there is yet time, turn to God who called us, while we still have one who awaits us. For if we bid farewell to these pleasures and overcome our soul by refusing to carry out its evil desires, we shall share in the mercy of Jesus. But you know that "the day" of judgment "is now coming, kindled as a furnace," and "the powers of heaven shall dissolve," and the whole earth shall be as lead melting in the fire, and then shall the secret and public deeds of people be made known. Almsgiving, therefore, is good as penance for sin; fasting is better than prayer, but almsgiving is better than both; and "charity covers a multitude of sins," but prayer from a good conscience delivers from death. Blessed is everyone who is found full of these things; for almsgiving relieves the burden of sin.
(Chapter 4, verse 1) Behold, for the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the proud and all the evildoers will be stubble; and the coming day will set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. LXX: For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when it will burn them up, and all the aliens and all the evildoers will be stubble; the day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. For the wicked have made me labor in their speeches, and have said: Every one that doth evil, is good in the sight of the Lord, and such please him: and if it be not so, who will confront him? and since he is good to those who serve him not, they have said: Where is the God of justice? And behold I speak these things to justify myself, for I am full of complaints against the ungodly; but if I had a cause, I would just speak, and would not fear him as he is. And when He shall have inflamed and burnt them, He will leave in them no root nor germ of wickedness. This is what the impious will suffer on the day of judgment.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Furnace · .Of hell — .Of hell
Malachi · The — The
Oven · FIGURATIVE — FIGURATIVE
Pride · They who are guilty of, shall be: Punished — They who are guilty of, shall be: Punished
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
This message shifts away from the disputation format, directly warning the people that repentance is the only proper response to the Lord’s message because God’s judgment is inescapable.
