Bible Strands
Malachi 1:4
Though 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD of Hosts speaks through the prophet Malachi to Judah, responding to their complaint about divine favor by pronouncing judgment on Edom.
The words — The Hebrew כִּֽי־תֹאמַר אֱדוֹם (ki-tomar Edom) translates literally as “for Edom will say,” capturing the nation’s defiant claim to rebuild after devastation. The verb נִבְנֶה (nivneh) means “they may build,” emphasizing human effort against divine decree.
The thread — This theme of divine sovereignty over human construction appears in Psalm 127:1, which states that builders labor in vain unless the LORD builds the house. The judgment on Edom also recurs in Ezekiel 25:14, where God pledges vengeance through Israel, and Ezekiel 35:9, where He declares perpetual desolation for the nation.
Why it lands — The text declares that human rebuilding efforts will fail when opposed by God, who will demolish Edom and mark it as a place of wickedness and divine indignation. Readers must recognize that political or military restoration cannot override divine judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 25:14 I will take My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to My anger and wrath. Then they will know My vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.’
- Ezekiel 35:9 I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
- Psalms 127:1 A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.
- Isaiah 9:9 All the people will know it—Ephraim and the dwellers of Samaria. With pride and arrogance of heart they will say:
- Isaiah 10:15 Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff lifting him who is not wood!
- Isaiah 11:14 They 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 will be subject to them.
- Isaiah 34:5 When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
- Isaiah 63:1 Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.”
- Jeremiah 31:17 So there is hope for your future, declares the LORD, and your children will return to their own land.
- Lamentations 3:37 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?