Malachi 3:17
in Malachi 3“They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall be mine, saith Jehovah of hosts, even mine own possession, in the day that I make; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
KJV
And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
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This verse in Malachi 3
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Ver. 17, 18.) And the Lord waited, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and meditate on His name. 'They shall be Mine,' says the Lord of hosts, 'on the day that I make them My special possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.'
This site's exposition
Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another
on Malachi 3:16-18
Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another answers the surrounding complaint with a quiet remnant, a minority who kept faith while the majority questioned whether faith was worth keeping, gathering in mutual encouragement rather than in the crowd's cynicism. The Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him gives that quiet faithfulness a permanence the complainers' loud doubt never earns, every word remembered rather than lost in the noise of the age. They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels closes the chapter on ownership and mercy, the Lord sparing them as a man spareth his own son, with the promise that a day is coming when the righteous and the wicked, indistinguishable to the complainers of verse 15, will finally be told apart.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
To his temple - That which was the second temple at Jerusalem, lately built by Zerubbabel and Joshua. The messenger - The angel of the covenant, the Messiah, in whose blood the covenant between God and man was confirmed. Whom ye delight in - You Jews, among whom, few there are, who do not please themselves to think of his coming, tho' from various motives.
And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts,....
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.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels - o the recurrence of the words, עשה אני אשר יום, Mal. 3:21. Hebrew (Mal 4:3 in English), and the סגלה לי והייתםExo. 19:5; so that we have both phrases elsewhere.
They shall be mine - I will acknowledge them as my subjects and followers; in the day, especially, when I come to punish the wicked and reward the righteous. When I make up my jewels - סגלה segullah, my peculium, my proper treasure; that which is a man’s own, and most prized by him. Not jewels; for in no part of the Bible does the word mean a gem or precious stone of any kind. The interpretations frequently given of the word in this verse, comparing saints to jewels, are forced and false. I will spare them - When I come to visit the wicked, I will take care of them. I will act towards them as a tender father would act towards his most loving and obedient son.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָ֣יוּ | vehayu | and they will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לִ֗י | li | to me | ||
| אָמַר֙ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֔וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| לַיּ֕וֹם | laiyom | to the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | when | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲנִ֖י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| עֹשֶׂ֣ה | ʾoseh | [will be] making | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| סְגֻלָּ֑ה | segulah | a possession | H5459 → | |
| וְחָמַלְתִּ֣י | vechamalti | and I will have compassion | H2550 → | |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כַּֽאֲשֶׁר֙ | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יַחְמֹ֣ל | yachmol | he has compassion | H2550 → | |
| אִ֔ישׁ | ʾish | everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בְּנ֖וֹ | beno | son his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הָעֹבֵ֥ד | haoved | who serves | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֹתֽוֹ׃ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
וְהָ֣יוּand they will belong
vehayuH1961 →3559 times
לִ֗יto me
li
אָמַר֙he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֔וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
לַיּ֕וֹםto the day
laiyomH3117 →2304 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhen
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֲנִ֖יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
עֹשֶׂ֣ה[will be] making
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
סְגֻלָּ֑הa possession
segulahH5459 →
וְחָמַלְתִּ֣יand I will have compassion
vechamaltiH2550 →
עֲלֵיהֶ֔םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
כַּֽאֲשֶׁר֙just as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
יַחְמֹ֣לhe has compassion
yachmolH2550 →
אִ֔ישׁeveryone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בְּנ֖וֹson his
benoH1121 →4930 times
הָעֹבֵ֥דwho serves
haovedH5647 →288 times
אֹתֽוֹ׃<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
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
Deuteronomy 7:6For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 14:2
for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 19:5–6
Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- Deuteronomy 14:2
Through
Romans 8:32He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?
it leads to
- John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- Romans 8:28
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Psalms 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- 1 John 4:10
And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
- John 3:16
Through
Exodus 19:5Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:6
For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of…
- Deuteronomy 26:18
And today the LORD has proclaimed that you are His people and treasured possession as He promised, that you are to keep all His commandments,
- Deuteronomy 7:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Malachi
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Malachi; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.