Bible Strands
Malachi 3:17
“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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD of Hosts speaks to those who feared Him and honored His name (v.16), at the coming day when He will distinguish between the righteous and the wicked (v.18).
The words — עֹשֶׂה ('o.Seh, H6213) is a participle of עָשָׂה, literally "making," used here with future force: "the day when I am making My treasured possession." The verb הָיוּ (Ha.yu, H1961) is glossed "they will belong," though its literal sense is simply "they will be."
The thread — "Treasured possession" echoes Exodus 19:5 and Deuteronomy 7:6, where it describes Israel's covenant status. The father-son language ("spare them as a man spares his own son") resonates with 2 Corinthians 6:18.
Why it lands — The promise is not universal; it is addressed to a specific group defined by fear of the LORD and tied to a future day of distinction. The reader is asked to recognize that God's favor is particular, not generic, and that the coming separation is real.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Exodus 19:5 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 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 the earth.
- 2 Corinthians 6:18 And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
- Isaiah 62:3 You will be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, a royal diadem in the palm of your God.
- Jeremiah 32:38 They will be My people, and I will be their God.
- Romans 8:32 He 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?
- 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Deuteronomy 26:17 Today you have proclaimed that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes and commandments and ordinances, and listen to His voice.
- Jeremiah 31:33 “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.
- 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 earth.