Malachi 3:6

Breaking Covenant by Withholding Tithes

6 “I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

Malachi 3:6 in Other Translations

KJV
6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
ESV
6 "For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
NLT
6 “I am the LORD, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.
MSG
6 "I am God - yes, I Am. I haven't changed. And because I haven't changed, you, the descendants of Jacob, haven't been destroyed.
CSB
6 "Because I, Yahweh, have not changed, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.

Malachi 3:6 Meaning and Commentary

Malachi 3:6

For I [am] the Lord
Or Jehovah; a name peculiar to the most High, and so a proof of the deity of Christ, who here speaks; and is expressive of his being; of his self-existence; of his purity and simplicity; of his immensity and infinity; and of his eternity and sovereignty: I change not;
being the same today, yesterday, and forever; he changed not in his divine nature and personality by becoming man; he took that into union with him he had not before, but remained the same he ever was; nor did he change in his threatenings of destruction to the Jews, which came upon them according to his word; nor in his promises of his Spirit, and presence, and protection to his people; nor will he ever change in his love and affections to them; nor in the efficacy of his blood, sacrifice, and righteousness; wherefore, as this is introduced to assure the truth and certainty of what is said before, concerning his being a swift witness against the wicked, so also for the comfort of the saints, as follows. The Targum is,

``for I the Lord have not changed my covenant.''
Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed;
such who were Israelites indeed, true believers in Christ; these were not consumed when the wicked Jews were, but were directed to leave the city before its destruction, and go to another place, as they did, whereby they were preserved; and so it was, that not one Christian perished in it; (See Gill on Matthew 24:13) and so it is owing to the unchangeable love, grace, and power of Christ, that none of his perish internally or eternally, but have everlasting life.

Malachi 3:6 In-Context

4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
5 “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.
6 “I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
7 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?’
8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.

Cross References 2

  • 1. S Numbers 23:19; S Hebrews 7:21; James 1:17
  • 2. S Job 34:15; S Hosea 11:9
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