Bible Strands
Malachi 3:8
Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The LORD of Hosts addresses the whole nation of Israel, responding to their question "How can we return?" with a direct accusation of ongoing theft.
The words — קָבַע (qāba', H6906) is the verb throughout: literally "to rob, plunder, defraud," the same term used for banditry, not a gentle word for withholding. The rhetorical frame הֲיִקְבַּע אָדָם אֱלֹהִים ("Will a man rob God?") makes the absurdity the point.
The thread — Proverbs 3:9 commands honoring the LORD with wealth and firstfruits; Matthew 22:21 and Mark 12:17 state the principle "Give to God what is God's," treating the return of what belongs to Him as an obligation, not a gift.
Why it lands — The verse reclassifies withheld tithes and offerings from a passive omission to an active act of plunder, forcing the reader to name what they have kept as theft rather than discretion.
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
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops;
- Matthew 22:21 “Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
- Mark 12:17 Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they marveled at Him.
- Psalms 29:2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness.
- Numbers 18:21 Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.
- Malachi 1:13 You also say: ‘Oh, what a nuisance!’ And you turn up your nose at it,” says the LORD of Hosts. “You bring offerings that are stolen, lame, or sick! Should I accept these from your hands?” asks the LORD.
- Luke 20:25 So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
- Leviticus 27:2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When someone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the value of persons,
- Joshua 7:11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these things with their own possessions.
- Romans 2:22 You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?