Bible Strands
Malachi 3:13
“Your words against Me have been harsh,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against You?’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses Israel through the prophet Malachi, responding directly to their complaints about the futility of serving Him.
The words — חָזְקוּ (cha.ze.Ku) translates as "they have been strong" or "harsh," describing the people's speech against God.
The thread — This accusation parallels Malachi 2:17, where God states Israel has wearied Him with their words, and echoes the defiant questioning found in Isaiah 37:23 and Romans 9:20.
Why it lands — The text demands readers examine their own speech when they question God's justice, rather than attributing their doubt to divine unfairness.
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
Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
Cross-references
- Malachi 2:17 You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He delights,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”
- Isaiah 37:23 Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
- Romans 9:20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”
- 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?’
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4 He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
- Exodus 5:2 But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
- 2 Chronicles 32:14 Who among all the gods of these nations that my fathers devoted to destruction has been able to deliver his people from my hand? How then can your God deliver you from my hand?
- Job 34:7 What man is like Job, who drinks up derision like water?
- Job 40:8 Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?
- Jeremiah 8:12 Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse, says the LORD.