Bible Strands
Malachi 3:6
“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses the descendants of Jacob, bracketed between a threat of judgment (v.5) and a call to return (v.7). The verse functions as the stated reason for Israel's continued survival.
The words — שָׁנִיתִי (shānītî) is first-person singular perfect of שָׁנָה (shânâ), "I change"; the negation לֹא (lōʾ) renders the claim absolute: "I do not change."
The thread — The same attribute appears in Numbers 23:19 (God does not change His mind), James 1:17 (no variation with the Father of lights), and Hebrews 13:8 (Christ the same forever).
Why it lands — The verse is a reason clause, not a comfort: if God is constant, the standard is constant, and the call to return in v.7 is not optional but logical.
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
For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Cross-references
- Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
- James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- Lamentations 3:22 Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.
- Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
- Isaiah 40:28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.
- Romans 8:28 And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
- Hebrews 6:18 Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
- 1 Samuel 15:29 Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”