Malachi 1:6

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD of Hosts addresses the post-exilic priests of Judah, who have reduced the altar to a contemptible thing (v. 7) while still invoking His name in worship.

The words — כָּבֵד (kâ·bêd, H3513) means "to be heavy"; honoring God is framed not as sentiment but as a weight one bears, the same gravity a son owes a father.

The thread — The gap between a title and its corresponding conduct recurs in Isaiah 1:2 (children raised but rebels) and Luke 6:46 (calling "Lord" without obedience); John 13:13 confirms the title is rightly given, which makes the failure all the sharper.

Why it lands — The verse does not ask whether you believe God is Father; it asks what your hands and mouth are actually doing with that claim.

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

בֵּ֛ןbena son יְכַבֵּ֥דye.kha.Bedhe honors אָ֖ב'ava father וְעֶ֣בֶדve./'E.vedand/ a servant אֲדֹנָ֑יו'a.do.Na/vmaster<s>/ his וְאִם־ve./'im-and/ if אָ֣ב'av[am] a father אָ֣נִי'A.niI אַיֵּ֣ה'ai.Yehwhere?כְבוֹדִ֡יkhe.vo.D/i[is] honor/ my וְאִם־ve./'im-and/ if אֲדוֹנִ֣ים'a.do.Nim[am] a master<s>אָנִי֩'a.NiI אַיֵּ֨ה'ai.Yehwhere?מוֹרָאִ֜יmo.ra.'/I[is] fear/ my אָמַ֣ר׀'a.Marhe says יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahweh צְבָא֗וֹתtze.va.'otof hostsלָכֶם֙la./Khemto/ youהַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙ha./ko.ha.NimO/ priests בּוֹזֵ֣יbo.Zei[who] despise שְׁמִ֔יshe.M/i<of> name/ my וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֕םva./'a.mar.Temand/ you say בַּמֶּ֥הba./Meh<in>/ how?בָזִ֖ינוּva.Zi.nuhave we despised אֶת־'et-<obj.>שְׁמֶֽךָ׃she.Me./khaname/ your

King James Version

A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?

Cross-references

Luke 6:46 Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say?
Isaiah 1:2 Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
John 13:13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am.
Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
1 Peter 2:17 Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
1 Peter 1:17 Since you call on a Father who judges each one’s work impartially, conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.
Hosea 12:8 And Ephraim boasts: “How rich I have become! I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they can find in me no iniquity that is sinful.”
Malachi 3:13 “Your words against Me have been harsh,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against You?’
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
Proverbs 30:17 As for the eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, may the ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures devour it.