Malachi 3 · Verse 6

Malachi 3:6

For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Malachi 3:6, King James Version

Malachi 3:6 in other translations

BSB“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
WEB“For I, the LORD, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
ASVFor I, Jehovah, change not; therefore ye, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
YLTFor I am Jehovah, I have not changed, And ye, the sons of Jacob, Ye have not been consumed.
DARBYFor I Jehovah change not, and ye, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
BBEFor I am the Lord, I am unchanged; and so you, O sons of Jacob, have not been cut off.
WebsterFor I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

What does Malachi 3:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
6. the Lord--Jehovah: a name implying His immutable faithfulness in fulfilling His promises: the covenant name of God to the Jews (Ex 6:3), called here "the sons of Jacob," in reference to God's covenant with that patriarch. I change not--Ye are mistaken in inferring that, because I have not yet executed judgment on the wicked, I am changed from what I once was, namely, a God of judgment. therefore ye ... are not consumed--Ye yourselves being "not consumed," as ye have long ago deserved, are a signal proof of My unchangeableness. Ro 11:29: compare the whole chapter, in which God's mercy in store for Israel is made wholly to flow from God's unchanging faithfulness to His own covenant of love. So here, as is implied by the phrase "sons of Jacob" (Ge 28:13; 35:12). They are spared because I am Jehovah, and they sons of Jacob; while I spare them, I will also punish them; and while I punish them, I will not wholly consume them. The unchangeableness of God is the sheet-anchor of the Church. The perseverance of the saints is guaranteed, not by their unchangeable love to God, but by His unchangeable love to them, and His eternal purpose and promise in Christ Jesus [Moore]. He upbraids their ingratitude that they turn His very long-suffering (La 3:22) into a ground for skeptical denial of His coming as a Judge at all (Psa 50:1, 3, 4, 21; Ec 8:11, 12; Is 57:11; Ro 2:4-10).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 I am the Lord, I change not - The new dispensation of grace and goodness, which is now about to be introduced, is not the effect of any change in my counsels; it is, on the contrary, the fulfillment of my everlasting purposes; as is also the throwing aside of the Mosaic ritual, which was only intended to introduce the great and glorious Gospel of my Son. And because of this ancient covenant, ye Jews are not totally consumed; but ye are now, and shall be still, preserved as a distinct people - monuments both of my justice and mercy.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Malachi 3:1-6

Chapter Outline The coming of Christ. (1-6) The Jews reproved for their corruptions. (7-12) God's care of his people; The distinction between the righteous and the wicked. (13-18) Verses 1-6 The first words of this chapter seem an answer to the scoffers of those days. Here is a prophecy of the appearing of John the Baptist. He is Christ's harbinger. He shall prepare the way before him, by calling men to repentance…

Read the full comment on Malachi 3:1-6 →

Malachi 3:6 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כִּ֛יkithatH3588
אֲנִ֥י'a.NiIH589
יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahwehH3068
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
שָׁנִ֑יתִיsha.Ni.tiI changeH8138
וְאַתֶּ֥םve.'a.Temand youH859
בְּנֵֽי\־be.nei-[the] descendants ofH1121
יַעֲקֹ֖בya.'a.KoJacobH3290
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
כְלִיתֶֽם\׃khe.li.Temyou have come to an endH3615

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Malachi 3:6

  • Numbers 23:19

    God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

  • Hebrews 13:8

    Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

  • James 1:17

    Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

  • Lamentations 3:22-23

    It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

  • Jeremiah 32:27

    Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

  • Isaiah 40:28-31

    Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

  • Romans 8:28-32

    And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? …

  • Exodus 3:14-15

    And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

  • Hebrews 6:18

    That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

  • 1 Samuel 15:29

    And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.

  • Revelation 1:8

    I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

  • Revelation 22:13

    I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
I am.
Ge 15:7,18; 22:16; Ex 3:14,15; Ne 9:7,8; Isa 41:13; 42:5-8; 43:11,12
Isa 44:6; 45:5-8; Jer 32:27; Ho 11:9
I change not.
Nu 23:19; 1Sa 15:29; Ps 102:26; Heb 6:18; 13:8; Jas 1:17; Re 1:8
Re 22:13
therefore.
Ps 78:38,57; 103:17; 105:7-10; Isa 40:28-31; La 3:22,23; Ro 5:10
Ro 8:28-32; 11:28,29; Php 1:6; 2Th 2:13,14

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Malachi 3:5

    And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.

  • Malachi 3:6

    For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

  • Malachi 3:7

    Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

Read all of Malachi 3

Malachi 3:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Porque yo Jehová, no me mudo; y así vosotros, hijos de Jacob, no habéis sido consumidos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Car moi, l’ Éternel, je ne change pas; et vous, fils de Jacob, vous n’êtes pas consumés.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Denn ich, Jehova, ich verändere mich nicht; und ihr, Kinder Jakobs, ihr werdet nicht vernichtet werden
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Ego enim Dominus, et non mutor: et vos filii Jacob, non estis consumpti.