Meaning, commentary and cross references
Malachi 3:6
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”In other translations
KJV · King James Version
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
NIV · New International Version
“I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
WEB · World English Bible
“For I, the LORD, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
What does Malachi 3:6 mean?
John Gill · Exposition of the Entire Bible, on Malachi 3:6
For I am the Lord,.... Or Jehovah; a name peculiar to the most High, and so a proof of the deity of Christ, who here speaks; and is expressive of his being; of his self-existence; of his purity and simplicity; of his immensity and infinity; and of his eternity and sovereignty: I change not; being the same today, yesterday, and forever; he changed not in his divine nature and personality by becoming man; he took that into union with him he had not before, but remained the same he ever was; nor did he change in his threatenings of destruction to the Jews, which came upon them according to his word; nor in his promises of his Spirit, and presence, and protection to his people; nor will he ever…
John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63). Public domain. Digital text: Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org).
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible, on Malachi 3:1–6
The ratification of all this (Mal 3:6): For I am the Lord; I change not; therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. Here we have, 1. God's immutability asserted by Himself, and glorified in: "I am the Lord; I change not; and therefore no word that I have spoken shall fall to the ground." Is God a just revenger of those that rebel against him?
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706–21; Romans–Revelation completed by Nonconformist ministers). Public domain. Digital text: Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org).
John Calvin · Commentaries, on Malachi 3:6
6. For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. 6. Quia ego Iehova, non muto (alii vertunt, non mutor, et ad rem ipsam parum interest;) et vos filii Iacob non estis consumpti. Here the Prophet more clearly reproves and checks the impious waywardness of the people; for God, after having said that he would come and send a Redeemer, though not such as would satisfy the Jews, now claims to himself what justly belongs to him, and says that he changes not, because he is God.
John Calvin, Commentaries (Calvin Translation Society English text). Public domain. Digital text: Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org).
Context: Malachi 3:3–9 (WEB)
3and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer to the LORD offerings in righteousness. 4Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the LORD as in the days of old and as in ancient years. 5I will come near to you to judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says the LORD of Armies. 6“For I, the LORD, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed. 7From the days of your fathers you have turned away from my ordinances and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Armies. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. 9You are cursed with the curse; for you rob me, even this whole nation.
Cross references
- Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and he won’t do it? Or has he spoken, and he won’t make it good?
- Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
- James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation nor turning shadow.
- Lamentations 3:22–23
It is because of the LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail.
- Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?
- Isaiah 40:28–31
Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
- Romans 8:28–32
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.
- Exodus 3:14–15
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”