And he hath turned back the heart of fathers to sons, And the heart of sons to their fathers, Before I come and have utterly smitten the land!Malachi 4:6 Additional Translations
Clarke's Commentary on the BibleAnd he shall turn (convert) the heart of the fathers (על al, with) the children - Or, together with the children; both old and young. Lest I come, and, finding them unconverted, smote the land with a curse, חרם cherem, utter extinction. So we find that, had the Jews turned to God, and received the Messiah at the preaching of John the Baptist and that of Christ and his apostles, the awful חרם cherem of final excision and execration would not have been executed upon them. However, they filled up the cup of their iniquity, and were reprobated, and the Gentiles elected in their stead. Thus, the last was first, and the first was last. Glory to God for his unspeakable gift!
There are three remarkable predictions in this chapter: -
1. The advent of John Baptist, in the spirit and authority of Elijah.
2. The manifestation of Christ in the flesh, under the emblem of the Sun of righteousness.
3. The final destruction of Jerusalem, represented under the emblem of a burning oven, consuming every thing cast into it.
These three prophecies, relating to the most important facts that have ever taken place in the history of the world, announced here nearly four hundred years before their occurrence, have been most circumstantially fulfilled.
In most of the Masoretic Bibles the fifth verse is repeated after the sixth - "Behold, I send unto you Elijah the prophet, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come;" for the Jews do not like to let their sacred book end with a curse; and hence, in reading, they immediately subjoin the above verse, or else the fourth - "Remembering ye the law of Moses my servant."
In one of my oldest MSS. the fifth verse is repeated, and written at full length: "Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." In another, only these words are added: "Behold, I will send you Elijah." It is on this ground that the Jews expect the reappearance of Elijah the prophet, and at their marriage-feast always set a chair and knife and fork for this prophet, whom they suppose to be invisibly present. But we have already seen that John the Baptist, the forerunner of our Lord, was the person designed; for he came in the spirit and power of Elijah, (see on Malachi 3:1 (note)), and has fulfilled this prophetic promise. John is come, and the Lord Jesus has come also; he has shed his blood for the salvation of a lost world; he has ascended on high; he has sent forth his Holy Spirit; he has commissioned his ministers to proclaim to all mankind redemption in his blood; and he is ever present with them, and is filling the earth with righteousness and true holiness. Hallelujah! The kingdoms of this world are about to become the kingdoms of God and our Lord Jesus! And now, having just arrived at the end of my race in this work, and seeing the wonderful extension of the work of God in the earth, my heart prays: - O Jesus, ride on, till all are subdued, Thy mercy make known, and sprinkle thy blood; Display thy salvation, and teach the new song, To every nation, and people, and tongue!
In most MSS. and printed Masoretic Bibles there are only three chapters in this prophet, the fourth being joined to the third, making it twenty-four verses.
In the Jewish reckonings the Twelve Minor Prophets make but one book; hence there is no Masoretic note found at the end of any of the preceding prophets, with accounts of its verses, sections etc.; but, at the end of Malachi we find the following table, which, though it gives the number of verses in each prophet, yet gives the total sum, middle verse, and sections, at the end of Malachi, thereby showing that they consider the whole twelve as constituting but one book.
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
turn.
Luke 1:16,17,76 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God...
lest.
Isaiah 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Daniel 9:26,27 And after three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself...
Zechariah 11:6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, said the LORD: but, see, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor's hand...
Zechariah 13:8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, said the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die...
Zechariah 14:2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished...
Matthew 22:7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
Matthew 23:35-38 That on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth...
Matthew 24:27-30 For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be...
Mark 13:14-26 But when you shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not...
Luke 19:41-44 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it...
Luke 21:22-27 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled...
and smite.
Deuteronomy 29:19-29 And it come to pass, when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace...
Isaiah 24:6 Therefore has the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned...
Isaiah 43:28 Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.
Isaiah 65:15 And you shall leave your name for a curse to my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay you, and call his servants by another name:
Daniel 9:11 Yes, all Israel have transgressed your law, even by departing, that they might not obey your voice; therefore the curse is poured on us...
Zechariah 5:3 Then said he to me, This is the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole earth...
Zechariah 14:12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem...
Mark 11:21 And Peter calling to remembrance said to him, Master, behold, the fig tree which you cursed is withered away.
Hebrews 6:8 But that which bears thorns and briers is rejected, and is near to cursing; whose end is to be burned.
Hebrews 10:26-31 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins...
Revelation 22:3,20,21 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him...
Malachi 4:6 Parallel Commentaries
Children Curse Destruction Earth Fathers Fear Heart Hearts Restore Smite Strike Turn Turned Utter UtterlyChildren Curse Destruction Earth Fathers Fear Heart Hearts Restore Smite Strike Turn Turned Utter UtterlyTHE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica®.Malachi 4:6 Mobile Bible
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