Malachi 1:4
in Malachi 1Though Edom may say, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness, and a people with whom the LORD is indignant forever.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Whereas Edom saith, We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places; thus saith Jehovah of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and men shall call them The border of wickedness, and The people against whom Jehovah hath indignation for ever.
KJV
Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever.
⋯
This verse in Malachi 1
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThey shall build, but I will throw down - We have already seen enough of the wickedness of the Edomites to justify the utmost severity of Divine justice against them. The pulling down predicted here was by Judas Maccabeus; see 1 Maccabees 5:65; and by John Hyrcanus; see Joseph Antiq., lib. 13 c. 9. s. 1. They shall call them, The border of wickedness - A wicked land. Among this people scarcely any trace of good could ever be noted.
This site's exposition
Whereas Edom saith
on Malachi 1:4-5
Edom answers the Lord's judgment with defiance, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places, the same resolve that rebuilt Judah after exile turned toward rebuilding a ruin the Lord himself has cursed. The Lord's reply is total, they shall build, but I will throw down, so that Edom's very name becomes a byword, the border of wickedness, the people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever. Israel's own eyes are meant to see the contrast and conclude that the Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel, hatred and love both proven by their outcomes on the ground.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
All that see them shall call them the border of wickedness, a sinful nation, incurably so, and therefore the people against whom the Lord has indignation for ever. Since their wickedness is such as will never be reformed, their desolations shall be such as are never to be repaired. Against Israel God was a little displeased ( Zech. i.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished,.... Or the Idumeans, as the Targum; the posterity of Esau, who acknowledge themselves greatly reduced by the desolations made in their country, cities, towns, and houses, being plundered of all their valuable things.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
For a time Judea seemed as desolate as Idumea; but though the latter was once the highway of Eastern commerce, now the lonely rock-houses of Petra attest the fulfilment of the prophecy. It is still "the border of wickedness," being the resort of the marauding tribes of the desert.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Whereas Edom saith - o. We are impoverished - o, ידשׁשׁ.), or, more probably, “we were crushed.” Either gives an adequate sense. Human self-confidence will admit anything, as to the past; nay, will even exaggerate past evil to itself, “Crush us how they may, we will arise and repair our losses.” So Ephraim said of old Isa 9:9-10, “in the pride and stoutness of heart, The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn-stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.” It is the one language of what calls itself, “indomitable;” in other words, “untameable,” conquerors or every other gambler; “we will repair our losses.” All is again staked and lost. “They shall call them the border of wickedness.” Formerly, it had its own proper name, “the border of Edom,” as other countries Exo 10:14, Exo 10:19, “all the border of Egypt Deu 2:18, the border of Moab 1Sa 11:3, 1Sa 11:7; 1Sa 27:1; 1Ch 21:12, the whole border of Israel 2Ch 11:13, the border of Israel Jdg 11:22, the whole border of the Amorite.” Henceforth, it should be known no more by its own name; but as “the border of wickedness,” where wickedness formerly dwelt, and, hence, the judgment of God and desolation from Him came upon it, “an accursed land.” In a similar manner, Jeremiah says somewhat of Jerusalem (Jer 22:8-9. Compare Deu 29:23-28.) “Many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say, every man to his neighbor, Wherfore hath the Lord done this unto this great city? Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.” Only Israel would retain its name, as it has; Edom should be blotted out wholly and forever.
The words behind it
25 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תֹאמַ֨ר | tomar | it will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֱד֜וֹם | ʾedom | Edom | H123 → | |
| רֻשַּׁ֗שְׁנוּ | rushashnu | we have been shattered | H7567 → | |
| וְנָשׁוּב֙ | venashuv | and we may return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וְנִבְנֶ֣ה | venivneh | so we may rebuild | H1129 → | 376 times |
| חֳרָב֔וֹת | choravot | [the] ruins | H2723 → | |
| כֹּ֤ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | |
| אָמַר֙ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֔וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| הֵ֥מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | |
| יִבְנ֖וּ | yivnu | they will build | H1129 → | 376 times |
| וַאֲנִ֣י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֶהֱר֑וֹס | ʾeheros | I will tear down | H2040 → | |
| וְקָרְא֤וּ | vekareu | and people will call | H7121 → | |
| לָהֶם֙ | lahem | <to> them | ||
| גְּב֣וּל | gevul | a territory of | H1366 → | |
| רִשְׁעָ֔ה | rishah | wickedness | H7564 → | 15 times |
| וְהָעָ֛ם | vehaam | and the people | H5971 → | |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| זָעַ֥ם | zaam | he was indignant | H2194 → | |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עוֹלָֽם׃ | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תֹאמַ֨רit will say
tomarH559 →5305 times
אֱד֜וֹםEdom
ʾedomH123 →
רֻשַּׁ֗שְׁנוּwe have been shattered
rushashnuH7567 →
וְנָשׁוּב֙and we may return
venashuvH7725 →1056 times
וְנִבְנֶ֣הso we may rebuild
venivnehH1129 →376 times
חֳרָב֔וֹת[the] ruins
choravotH2723 →
כֹּ֤הthus
kohH3541 →
אָמַר֙he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֔וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
הֵ֥מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →
יִבְנ֖וּthey will build
yivnuH1129 →376 times
וַאֲנִ֣יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
אֶהֱר֑וֹסI will tear down
ʾeherosH2040 →
וְקָרְא֤וּand people will call
vekareuH7121 →
לָהֶם֙<to> them
lahem
גְּב֣וּלa territory of
gevulH1366 →
רִשְׁעָ֔הwickedness
rishahH7564 →15 times
וְהָעָ֛םand the people
vehaamH5971 →
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
זָעַ֥םhe was indignant
zaamH2194 →
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
עוֹלָֽם׃perpetuity
olamH5769 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Lamentations 3:37Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
it leads to
- Psalms 33:9–11
For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.
- Isaiah 46:10
I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
- Proverbs 16:9
A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
- Proverbs 19:21
Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.
- Proverbs 21:30
There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
- Psalms 33:9–11
Through
Isaiah 11:14They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines to the west; together they will plunder the sons of the east. They will lay their hands on Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites…
it leads to
- Joel 3:19
Egypt will become desolate, and Edom a desert wasteland, because of the violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.
- Daniel 11:41
He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. But these will be delivered from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites.
- Joel 3:19
Through
Ezekiel 35:9I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 25:13
therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off from it both man and beast. I will make it a wasteland, and from Teman…
- Ezekiel 25:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Malachi
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.