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耶和华降罚的日子

万军之耶和华说:“看哪!那日来到,像烧着的火炉一样;骄傲的和作恶的,都必成为碎秸;那要来的日子,必把他们烧尽,不给他们留下一根一枝。 可是,对你们敬畏我名的人,必有公义的太阳升起来;它的光线有医治的功能;你们必出来跳跃,像栏里的肥牛犊。” 万军之耶和华说:“你们必践踏恶人;在我施行作为的日子,他们必在你们脚掌之下成为尘土。

“你们要谨记我仆人摩西的律法,就是我在何烈山为以色列众人所吩咐他的律例和典章。

预言差派以利亚来临

“看哪!在耶和华大而可畏的日子来到以先,我必差派以利亚先知到你们那里去。 他要使父亲的心转向儿女,儿女的心转向父亲,免得我来击打这地,以至完全毁灭。”(本章第1~6节在《马索拉文本》为3:19~24)

‘The great day when I come to judge people will certainly happen. Punishment will come like the great fire of a hot oven. It will destroy all the proud people who do evil things. It will completely destroy them, like a fire that destroys dry grass. Nothing will remain.’

That is what the Lord Almighty says.

‘But it will be different for you who respect my name. My power to make you well again will come to you. It will be like the sun that rises to shine on you. When that happens, you will be very happy. You will jump up and down like young cows when someone lets them go free.[a] Then you will walk over the wicked people. They will be like ashes under your feet. That will happen on the day when I do these things.’

That is what the Lord Almighty says.

‘Remember the rules that I gave to my servant Moses at Sinai mountain. Those rules and laws were for all the Israelites to obey.[b]

Look! I will send my prophet Elijah to you.[c] He will come before that great day of the Lord arrives. That will be a day that makes people afraid. He will speak my message, so that fathers and their children return together to me.[d] Then I will not have to come and bring punishment on the land.’

Footnotes

  1. 4:2 The sun can burn with a strong heat and it can cause a fire. But the sun can also make people well. When Jesus appears on the great day of the Lord, people who worship the Lord will become completely well. They will be very happy.
  2. 4:4 See Exodus 20:1-17.
  3. 4:5 Elijah was a prophet who spoke God's message to the people. See 1 Kings 17:1. Here, God promises that another ‘Elijah’ will come before the day of the Lord. About 460 years after Malachi wrote his book, John the Baptist was born. People thought that he was like Elijah. He prepared the way for Jesus to come.
  4. 4:6 return together to me or return to each other as friends.

Judgment and Covenant Renewal

[a]“Surely the day is coming;(A) it will burn like a furnace.(B) All the arrogant(C) and every evildoer will be stubble,(D) and the day that is coming will set them on fire,(E)” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch(F) will be left to them. But for you who revere my name,(G) the sun of righteousness(H) will rise with healing(I) in its rays. And you will go out and frolic(J) like well-fed calves. Then you will trample(K) on the wicked; they will be ashes(L) under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.

“Remember the law(M) of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb(N) for all Israel.(O)

“See, I will send the prophet Elijah(P) to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.(Q) He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children,(R) and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike(S) the land with total destruction.”(T)

Footnotes

  1. Malachi 4:1 In Hebrew texts 4:1-6 is numbered 3:19-24.