18 And ye have turned back and considered, Between the righteous and the wicked, Between the servant of God and him who is not His servant.
Far be it from Thee to do according to this thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked; that it hath been -- as the righteous so the wicked -- far be it from Thee; doth the Judge of all the earth not do justice?'
Ye have said, `A vain thing to serve God! And what gain when we kept His charge? And when we have gone in black, Because of Jehovah of Hosts? And now, we are declaring the proud happy, Yea, built up have been those doing wickedness, Yea they have tempted God, and escape.'
And these shall go away to punishment age-during, but the righteous to life age-during.'
And it hath been, after My plucking them out, I turn back, and have pitied them, And I have brought them back, Each to his inheritance, and each to his land.
and if wrong in your eyes to serve Jehovah -- choose for you to-day whom ye do serve; -- whether the gods whom your fathers served, which `are' beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorite in whose land ye are dwelling; and I and my house -- we serve Jehovah.'
for there stood by me this night a messenger of God -- whose I am, and whom I serve --
a token of the righteous judgment of God, for your being counted worthy of the reign of God, for which also ye suffer, since `it is' a righteous thing with God to give back to those troubling you -- trouble, and to you who are troubled -- rest with us in the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven, with messengers of his power, in flaming fire, giving vengeance to those not knowing God, and to those not obeying the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall suffer justice -- destruction age-during -- from the face of the Lord, and from the glory of his strength, when He may come to be glorified in his saints, and to be wondered at in all those believing -- because our testimony was believed among you -- in that day;
but, according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou dost treasure up to thyself wrath, in a day of wrath and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who shall render to each according to his works;
for God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the good news of His Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you,
if any one may minister to me, let him follow me, and where I am, there also my ministrant shall be; and if any one may minister to me -- honour him will the Father.
Because Edom saith, `We have been made poor, And we turn back and we build the wastes,' Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: They do build, and I do destroy, And `men' have called to them, `O region of wickedness,' `O people whom Jehovah defied to the age.'
Only, My words, and My statutes, That I commanded My servants the prophets, Have they not overtaken your fathers, And they turn back and say: As Jehovah of Hosts designed to do to us, According to our ways, and according to our doings, So He hath done to us?'
Who knoweth -- He doth turn back, Yea -- He hath repented, And He hath left behind Him a blessing, A present and libation of Jehovah your God?
`And at that time stand up doth Michael, the great head, who is standing up for the sons of thy people, and there hath been a time of distress, such as hath not been since there hath been a nation till that time, and at that time do thy people escape, every one who is found written in the book. `And the multitude of those sleeping in the dust of the ground do awake, some to life age-during, and some to reproaches -- to abhorrence age-during. And those teaching do shine as the brightness of the expanse, and those justifying the multitude as stars to the age and for ever.
Lo, it is; our God whom we are serving, is able to deliver us from a burning fiery furnace; and from thy hand, O king, He doth deliver. And lo -- not! be it known to thee, O king, that thy gods we are not serving, and to the golden image thou hast raised up we do no obeisance.' Then Nebuchadnezzar hath been full of fury, and the expression of his face hath been changed concerning Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; he answered and said to heat the furnace seven times above that which it is seen to be heated; and to certain mighty men who `are' in his force he hath said to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, to cast into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men have been bound in their coats, their tunics, and their turbans, and their clothing, and have been cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because that the word of the king is urgent, and the furnace heated exceedingly, those men who have taken up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego -- killed them hath the spark of the fire. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, have fallen down in the midst of the burning fiery furnace -- bound. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king hath been astonished, and hath risen in haste; he hath answered and said to his counsellors, `Have we not cast three men into the midst of the fire -- bound?' They have answered and are saying to the king, `Certainly, O king.' He answered and hath said, `Lo, I am seeing four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the appearance of the fourth `is' like to a son of the gods.' Then Nebuchadnezzar hath drawn near to the gate of the burning fiery furnace; he hath answered and said, `Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of God Most High come forth, yea, come;' then come forth do Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, from the midst of the fire;
Say ye to the righteous, that `it is' good, Because the fruit of their doings they eat. Wo to the wicked -- evil, Because the deed of his hand is done to him.
Turn back, I pray you, let it not be perverseness, Yea, turn back again -- my righteousness `is' in it.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Malachi 3
Commentary on Malachi 3 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 3
In this chapter we have,
Mal 3:1-6
The first words of this chapter seem a direct answer to the profane atheistical demand of the scoffers of those days which closed the foregoing chapter: Where is the God of judgment? To which it is readily answered, "Here he is; he is just at the door; the long-expected Messiah is ready to appear; and he says, For judgment have I come into this world, for that judgment which you have so impudently bid defiance to.' One of the rabbin says that the meaning of this is, That God will raise up a righteous King, to set things in order, even the king Messiah. And the beginning of the gospel of Christ is expressly said to be the accomplishment of this promise, with which the Old Testament concludes, Mk. 1:1, 2. So that by this the two Testaments are, as it were, tacked together, and made to answer one another. Now here we have,
Mal 3:7-12
We have here God's controversy with the men of that generation, for deserting his service and robbing him-wicked servants indeed, that not only run away from their Master, but run away with their Master's goods.
Mal 3:13-18
Among the people of the Jews at this time, though they all enjoyed the same privileges and advantages, there were men of very different characters (as ever were, and ever will be, in the world and in the church), like Jeremiah's figs, some very good and others very bad, some that plainly appeared to be the children of God and others that as plainly discovered themselves to be the children of the wicked one. There are tares and wheat in the same field, chaff and corn in the same floor; and here we have an account of both.