2 And risen to you, ye who fear My name, Hath the sun of righteousness -- and healing in its wings, And ye have gone forth, and have increased as calves of a stall.
And the light of the moon hath been as the light of the sun, And the light of the sun is sevenfold, As the light of seven days, In the day of Jehovah's binding up the breach of His people, When the stroke of its wound He healeth.
Again, therefore, Jesus spake to them, saying, `I am the light of the world; he who is following me shall not walk in the darkness, but he shall have the light of the life.'
Lo, I am increasing to it health and cure, And have healed them, and revealed to them The abundance of peace and truth.
And as the light of morning he riseth, A morning sun -- no clouds! By the shining, by the rain, Tender grass of the earth!
And he is pierced for our transgressions, Bruised for our iniquities, The chastisement of our peace `is' on him, And by his bruise there is healing to us.
in the midst of its broad place, and of the river on this side and on that, `is' a tree of life, yielding twelve fruits, in each several month rendering its fruits, and the leaves of the tree `are' for the service of the nations;
Then have those fearing Jehovah spoken one to another, And Jehovah doth attend and hear, And written is a book of memorial before Him Of those fearing Jehovah, And of those esteeming His name.
for so hath the Lord commanded us: I have set thee for a light of nations -- for thy being for salvation unto the end of the earth.'
and the nations were angry, and Thine anger did come, and the time of the dead, to be judged, and to give the reward to Thy servants, to the prophets, and to the saints, and to those fearing Thy name, to the small and to the great, and to destroy those who are destroying the land.'
And His kindness `is' to generations of generations, To those fearing Him,
again, a new command I write to you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the darkness doth pass away, and the true light doth now shine;
We ought to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because increase greatly doth your faith, and abound doth the love of each one of you all, to one another;
for ye were once darkness, and now light in the Lord; as children of light walk ye, for the fruit of the Spirit `is' in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth, proving what is well-pleasing to the Lord, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of the darkness and rather even convict, for the things in secret done by them it is a shame even to speak of, and all the things reproved by the light are manifested, for everything that is manifested is light; wherefore he saith, `Arouse thyself, thou who art sleeping, and arise out of the dead, and the Christ shall shine upon thee.'
`Men, brethren, sons of the race of Abraham, and those among you fearing God, to you was the word of this salvation sent,
every branch in me not bearing fruit, He doth take it away, and every one bearing fruit, He doth cleanse by pruning it, that it may bear more fruit; already ye are clean, because of the word that I have spoken to you; remain in me, and I in you, as the branch is not able to bear fruit of itself, if it may not remain in the vine, so neither ye, if ye may not remain in me. `I am the vine, ye the branches; he who is remaining in me, and I in him, this one doth bear much fruit, because apart from me ye are not able to do anything;
Jesus, therefore, said to them, `Yet a little time is the light with you; walk while ye have the light, that darkness may not overtake you; and he who is walking in the darkness hath not known where he goeth; while ye have the light, believe in the light, that sons of light ye may become.' These things spake Jesus, and having gone away, he was hid from them,
it behoveth me to be working the works of Him who sent me while it is day; night doth come, when no one is able to work: --
And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth.
a light to the uncovering of nations, and the glory of Thy people Israel.'
`Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that art killing the prophets, and stoning those sent unto thee, how often did I will to gather thy children together, as a hen doth gather her own chickens under the wings, and ye did not will.
To the Overseer, with stringed instruments. -- A Psalm, a Song. God doth favour us and bless us, Doth cause His face to shine with us. Selah.
Only, near to those fearing Him `is' His salvation, That honour may dwell in our land.
Who is giving healing to the broken of heart, And is binding up their griefs.
And the path of the righteous `is' as a shining light, Going and brightening till the day is established,
Then leap as a hart doth the lame, And sing doth the tongue of the dumb, For broken up in a wilderness have been waters, And streams in a desert.
And He saith, `It hath been a light thing That thou art to Me for a servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And the preserved of Israel to bring back, And I have given thee for a light of nations, To be My salvation unto the end of the earth.'
To say to the bound, Go out, To those in darkness, Be uncovered. On the ways they feed, And in all high places is their pasture. They do not hunger, nor thirst, Nor smite them doth mirage and sun, For He who is pitying them doth lead them, And by fountains of waters doth tend them.
Who `is' among you, fearing Jehovah, Hearkening to the voice of His servant, That hath walked in dark places, And there is no brightness for him? Let him trust in the name of Jehovah, And lean upon his God.
For with joy ye go forth, And with peace ye are brought in, The mountains and the hills Break forth before you `with' singing, And all trees of the field clap the hand. Instead of the thorn come up doth fir, Instead of the brier come up doth myrtle, And it hath been to Jehovah for a name, For a sign age-during -- it is not cut off!
Arise, be bright, for come hath thy light, And the honour of Jehovah hath risen on thee. For, lo, the darkness doth cover the earth, And thick darkness the peoples, And on thee rise doth Jehovah, And His honour on thee is seen. And come have nations to thy light, And kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Thus said Jehovah: The heavens `are' My throne, And the earth My footstool, Where `is' this -- the house that ye build for Me? And where `is' this -- the place -- My rest? And all these My hand hath made, And all these things are, An affirmation of Jehovah! And unto this one I look attentively, Unto the humble and bruised in spirit, And who is trembling at My word.
With weeping they come in, And with supplications I bring them, I cause them to go unto streams of waters, In a right way -- they stumble not in it, For I have been to Israel for a father, And Ephraim -- My first-born `is' he. Hear a word of Jehovah, O nations, And declare ye among isles afar off, and say: He who is scattering Israel doth gather him, And hath kept him as a shepherd `doth' his flock, For Jehovah hath ransomed Jacob, And redeemed him from a hand stronger than he. And they have come in, And have sung in the high place of Zion, And flowed unto the goodness of Jehovah, For wheat, and for new wine, and for oil, And for the young of the flock and herd, And their soul hath been as a watered garden, And they add not to grieve any more. Then rejoice doth a virgin in a chorus, Both young men and old men -- together, And I have turned their mourning to joy, And have comforted them, And gladdened them above their sorrow, And satisfied the soul of the priests `with' fatness, And My people with My goodness are satisfied, An affirmation of Jehovah.
And by the stream there cometh up on its edge, on this side and on that side, every `kind of' fruit-tree whose leaf fadeth not, and not consumed is its fruit, according to its months it yieldeth first-fruits, because its waters from the sanctuary are coming forth; and its fruits hath been for food, and its leaf for medicine.
And we know -- we pursue to know Jehovah, As the dawn prepared is His going forth, And He cometh in as a shower to us, As gathered rain -- sprinkling earth.'
I heal their backsliding, I love them freely, For turned back hath Mine anger from him. I am as dew to Israel, he flourisheth as a lily, And he striketh forth his roots as Lebanon. Go on do his sucklings, And his beauty is as an olive, And he hath fragrance as Lebanon. Return do the dwellers under his shadow, They revive `as' corn, and flourish as a vine, His memorial `is' as wine of Lebanon.
blind receive sight, and lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and deaf hear, dead are raised, and poor have good news proclaimed,
Who is forgiving all thine iniquities, Who is healing all thy diseases,
To thee no more is the sun for a light by day, And for brightness the moon giveth not light to thee, And Jehovah hath become to thee A light age-during, and thy God thy beauty. Thy sun goeth no more in, And thy moon is not removed, For Jehovah becometh to thee a light age-during. And the days of thy mourning have been completed.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Malachi 4
Commentary on Malachi 4 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 4
We have here proper instructions given us (very proper to close the canon of the Old Testament with),
Mal 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.
Mal 4:4-6
This is doubtless intended for a solemn conclusion, not only of this prophecy, but of the canon of the Old Testament, and is a plain information that they were not to expect any more sayings nor writing by divine inspiration, any more of the dictates of the Spirit of prophecy, till the beginning of the gospel of the Messiah, which sets aside the Apocrypha as no part of holy writ, and which therefore the Jews never received.
Now that prophecy ceases, and is about to be sealed up, there are two things required of the people of God, that lived then:-