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Malachi 1:1–4

God’s Love for Jacob

1 The 1aoracle of the word of the Lord to bIsrael through 2Malachi.

2 “I have aloved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I bhave loved Jacob;

3 but I have hated Esau, and I have amade his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”

4 Though Edom says, “We have been abeaten down, but we will 1breturn and build up the ruins”; thus says the Lord of hosts, “They may cbuild, but I will tear down; and men will call them the 2wicked territory, and the people 3toward whom the Lord is indignant dforever.”

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Malachi 1:1–4 — The New International Version (NIV)

A prophecy: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.

“I have loved you,” says the Lord.

“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.”

But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord.

Malachi 1:1–4 — English Standard Version (ESV)

The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.

“I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’ ”

Malachi 1:1–4 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.

I have loved you, saith the Lord.

Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us?

Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord:

Yet I loved Jacob,

And I hated Esau,

And laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished,

But we will return and build the desolate places;

Thus saith the Lord of hosts,

They shall build, but I will throw down;

And they shall call them, The border of wickedness,

And, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever.

Malachi 1:1–4 — New Living Translation (NLT)

This is the message that the Lord gave to Israel through the prophet Malachi.

“I have always loved you,” says the Lord.

But you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?”

And the Lord replies, “This is how I showed my love for you: I loved your ancestor Jacob, but I rejected his brother, Esau, and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau’s inheritance into a desert for jackals.”

Esau’s descendants in Edom may say, “We have been shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins.”

But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies replies, “They may try to rebuild, but I will demolish them again. Their country will be known as ‘The Land of Wickedness,’ and their people will be called ‘The People with Whom the Lord Is Forever Angry.’

Malachi 1:1–4 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.

“I have loved you,” says the Lord.

“Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’

Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?”

Says the Lord.

“Yet Jacob I have loved;

But Esau I have hated,

And laid waste his mountains and his heritage

For the jackals of the wilderness.”

Even though Edom has said,

“We have been impoverished,

But we will return and build the desolate places,”

Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“They may build, but I will throw down;

They shall be called the Territory of Wickedness,

And the people against whom the Lord will have indignation forever.

Malachi 1:1–4 — New Century Version (NCV)

This message is the word of the Lord given to Israel through Malachi.

The Lord said, “I have loved you.”

But you ask, “How have you loved us?”

The Lord said, “Esau and Jacob were brothers. I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau. I destroyed his mountain country and left his land to the wild dogs of the desert.”

The people of Edom might say, “We were destroyed, but we will go back and rebuild the ruins.”

But the Lord All-Powerful says, “If they rebuild them, I will destroy them. People will say, ‘Edom is a wicked country. The Lord is always angry with the Edomites.’

Malachi 1:1–4 — American Standard Version (ASV)

The burden of the word of Jehovah to Israel by Malachi.

I have loved you, saith Jehovah. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother, saith Jehovah: yet I loved Jacob; but Esau I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his heritage to the jackals of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places; thus saith Jehovah of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and men shall call them The border of wickedness, and The people against whom Jehovah hath indignation for ever.

Malachi 1:1–4 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

The burden of the word of Jehovah to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, saith Jehovah; but ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith Jehovah, and I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau; and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his inheritance to the jackals of the wilderness. If Edom say, We are broken down, but we will build again the ruined places, —thus saith Jehovah of hosts: They shall build, but I will throw down; and men shall call them the territory of wickedness, and the people against whom Jehovah hath indignation for ever.

Malachi 1:1–4 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

This is a divine revelation. The Lord spoke his word to Israel through Malachi. 

“I loved you,” says the Lord

“But you ask, ‘How did you love us?’ 

“Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “I loved Jacob, but Esau I hated. I turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the jackals in the desert. 

“The descendants of Esau may say, ‘We have been beaten down, but we will rebuild the ruins.’ 

“Yet, this is what the Lord of Armies says: They may rebuild, but I will tear it down. They will be called ‘the Wicked Land’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is always angry.’

Malachi 1:1–4 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

An oracle: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.

“I have loved you,” says the Lord.

But you ask: “How have You loved us?”

“Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” This is the Lord’s declaration. “Even so, I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau. I turned his mountains into a wasteland, and gave his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

Though Edom says: “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of Hosts says this: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called a wicked country and the people the Lord has cursed forever.

Malachi 1:1–4 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

An oracle. The word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.

I have loved you, says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” Is not Esau Jacob’s brother? says the Lord. Yet I have loved Jacob but I have hated Esau; I have made his hill country a desolation and his heritage a desert for jackals. If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says: They may build, but I will tear down, until they are called the wicked country, the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.

Malachi 1:1–4 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

An oracle. The word of Yahweh to Israel through Malachi.

“I have loved you,” says Yahweh, but you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is Esau not Jacob’s brother?” declares Yahweh. “I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated. I have made his mountain ranges a desolation, and given his inheritance to the jackals of the desert.” If Edom says, “We are shattered, but we will return and rebuild the ruins,” Yahweh of hosts says this: “They may build, but I will tear down; and they will be called a territory of wickedness, and the people with whom Yahweh is angry forever.”

Malachi 1:1–4 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

This is the Lord’s message to Israel through Malachi.

“Israel, I have loved you,” says the Lord.

“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’

“Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” says the Lord. “But I chose Jacob instead of Esau. I turned Esau’s mountains into a dry and empty land. I left that land of Edom to the wild dogs in the desert.”

Edom might say, “We have been crushed. But we’ll rebuild our cities.”

The Lord who rules over all says, “They might rebuild their cities. But I will destroy them. They will be called The Evil Land. My anger will always remain on them.


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