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Malachi 3:11

in Malachi 3

I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before the time in the field, saith Jehovah of hosts.

KJV

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

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This verse in Malachi 3

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Caesarius of Arles

SERMON 33:2 · Written before 542.

Listen, then, impious one. You know that everything belongs to God; you will not give the Creator of all things something of his own? The Lord God is not in want; he does not demand recompense but honor. He does not require you to pay …

This site's exposition

I will rebuke the devourer

on Malachi 3:11-12

I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes extends the promise into practical agricultural terms, the fruits of the ground preserved and the vine no longer casting her fruit before the time, reversing a specific covenant curse from Deuteronomy's own warnings. All nations shall call you blessed widens the promise outward, a delightsome land visible enough to draw the nations' own notice, the same universal horizon touched at 1:11 now turned toward Israel's own restoration rather than the Gentiles' worship. The blessing is corporate and covenantal throughout, tied to the obedience already described rather than offered as an isolated guarantee.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Malachi · Written before 420.

proposed

(Verse 7 and following) Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, 'How shall we return?' Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

They had said it as their deliberate judgment. (1.) That there is nothing to be got in the service of God, thought it is a service that subjects men to labour and sorrow. They said, It is vain to serve God, or, " He is vain that serves God, that is, he labours in vain and to no purpose; he has his labour for his pains, and therefore is a fool for his labour.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

And I will rebuke the devourer - , the locust, caterpillar, or any like scourge of God. It might be, that when the rain watered the fields, the locust or caterpillar etc. might destroy the grain, so that the labors of man should perish; wherefore he adds, “I will rebuke the devourer. Neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time,” holding out a fair promise, but cut off by the frost-wind or the hail; the blossoms or the unripe fruit strewing the earth, as a token of God’s displeasure.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Reproof for the non-payment of tithes and offerings, which is the cause of their national calamities, and promise of prosperity on their paying them. from . . . days of your fathers--Ye live as your fathers did when they brought on themselves the Babylonian captivity, and ye wish to follow in their steps.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

I wilt rebuke the devourer - The locusts, etc., shall not come on your crops; and those that are in the country I will disperse and destroy. Neither shall your vine cast her fruit - Every blossom shall bear fruit, and every bunch of grapes come to maturity.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake The finishing locusts and the shearing locusts, which devour the grain of your field and your vines.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Malachi 3:11:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
so that there may be nourishment in My House There shall be food accessible for My servants.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Malachi 3:10:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

17 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְגָעַרְתִּ֤יand I will rebuke

    vegaartiH1605 →

  • לָכֶם֙for you

    lakhem

  • בָּֽאֹכֵ֔ל<in> the devourer

    baokhelH398 →

  • וְלֹֽא־and not

    velo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • יַשְׁחִ֥תit will destroy

    yashchitH7843 →146 times

  • לָכֶ֖םof you

    lakhem

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • פְּרִ֣י[the] fruit of

    periH6529 →

  • הָאֲדָמָ֑הthe ground

    haadamahH127 →

  • וְלֹא־and not

    velo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • תְשַׁכֵּ֨לit will prove barren

    teshakelH7921 →

  • לָכֶ֤םof you

    lakhem

  • הַגֶּ֙פֶן֙the vine

    hagefenH1612 →

  • בַּשָּׂדֶ֔הin the field

    basadehH7704 →

  • אָמַ֖רhe says

    ʾamarH559 →5305 times

  • יְהוָ֥הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • צְבָאֽוֹת׃of hosts

    tzevaotH6635 →485 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

12 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Deuteronomy 11:14then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil.16 worksJoel 2:22Do not be afraid, O beasts of the field, for the open pastures have turned green, the trees bear their fruit, and the fig tree and vine yield their best.10 worksZechariah 8:12“For the seed will be prosperous, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will yield its produce, and the skies will give their dew. To the remnant of this people I will give all these things as an inheritance.8 worksJoel 1:4What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.6 worksJoel 2:20The northern army I will drive away from you, banishing it to a barren and desolate land, its front ranks into the Eastern Sea, and its rear guard into the Western Sea. And its stench will rise; its foul odor will ascend. For He has done great things.5 worksAmos 7:1–3This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts just after the king’s harvest, as the late spring crop was coming up.5 works
The other 6 cross-references, with their words ▾
Jeremiah 8:13I will take away their harvest, declares the LORD. There will be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the tree, and even the leaf will wither. Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.”3 worksAmos 4:9“I struck you with blight and mildew in your growing gardens and vineyards; the locust devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.3 worksHabakkuk 3:17Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls,2 worksJoel 1:7It has laid waste My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; the branches have turned white.2 worksHaggai 2:17I struck you—all the work of your hands—with blight, mildew, and hail, but you did not turn to Me, declares the LORD.2 worksJoel 1:12The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, palm, and apple—all the trees of the orchard—are withered. Surely the joy of mankind has dried up.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Joel 1:4

    What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.

    it leads to

    • Joel 2:25

      I will repay you for the years eaten by locusts—the swarming locust, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust—My great army that I sent against you.

    • Amos 4:9

      “I struck you with blight and mildew in your growing gardens and vineyards; the locust devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.

    • Exodus 10:4

      But if you refuse to let My people go, I will bring locusts into your territory tomorrow.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 11:14

    then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil.

    it leads to

    • James 5:7

      Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.

    • Leviticus 26:4

      I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.

    • Ezekiel 34:26

      I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season—showers of blessing.

    • Deuteronomy 28:12

      The LORD will open the heavens, His abundant storehouse, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but borrow…

  • Through

    Zechariah 8:12

    “For the seed will be prosperous, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will yield its produce, and the skies will give their dew. To the remnant of this people I will give…

    it leads to

    • Leviticus 26:4–5

      I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.

Where this verse is studied

About Malachi

Ezra Reads the Law to the People, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezra Reads the Law to the People, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Malachi: the study guide →Read Malachi 3 →
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 33:2; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Malachi; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Malachi 3 →