Malachi 3:7

Bishops' Bible (1568)

From the dayes of your fathers ye are gone away from myne ordinaunces, and haue not kept them: turne you to me, and I wyll turne to you, saith the Lorde of hoastes. And ye saide, Wherein shall we returne?

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

לְמִימֵ֨י אֲבֹתֵיכֶ֜ם סַרְתֶּ֤ם מֵֽחֻקַּי֙ וְלֹ֣א שְׁמַרְתֶּ֔ם שׁ֤וּבוּ אֵלַי֙ וְאָשׁ֣וּבָה אֲלֵיכֶ֔ם אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֖ם בַּמֶּ֥ה נָשֽׁוּב׃

Transliteration

Le-mime ʾavotekhem sartem me-ḥuqqay we-loʾ shemartem shuvu ʾelay we-ʾashuvah ʾalekhem ʾamar YHWH tsevaʾot wa-ʾamartem bammeh nashuv.

Grammar Details

• *Le-mime*: preposition + noun, masculine plural construct - from/since the days of
• *ʾavotekhem*: noun, masculine plural with 2nd masculine plural suffix - your fathers
• *sartem*: Qal perfect, 2nd masculine plural - you have turned aside
• *me-ḥuqqay*: preposition + noun, masculine plural construct with 1st person singular suffix - from my statutes
• *we-loʾ*: waw conjunction + negative particle - and not
• *shemartem*: Qal perfect, 2nd masculine plural - you have kept
• *shuvu*: Qal imperative, masculine plural - return
• *ʾelay*: preposition with 1st person singular suffix - to me
• *we-ʾashuvah*: waw consecutive + Qal imperfect, 1st person singular - and I will return
• *ʾalekhem*: preposition with 2nd masculine plural suffix - to you
• *ʾamar*: Qal perfect, 3rd masculine singular - says/said
• *YHWH*: divine name - Yahweh/LORD
• *tsevaʾot*: noun, feminine plural - hosts/armies
• *wa-ʾamartem*: waw consecutive + Qal perfect, 2nd masculine plural - and you say
• *bammeh*: preposition + interrogative pronoun - in what/how
• *nashuv*: Qal imperfect, 1st common plural - shall we return

Word Meanings

• *mime*: days/time
• *ʾavotekhem*: your fathers/your ancestors/your forefathers
• *sartem*: turned aside/departed/deviated
• *ḥuqqay*: my statutes/my decrees/my ordinances
• *shemartem*: kept/observed/guarded
• *shuvu*: return/turn back/repent
• *ʾashuvah*: I will return/I will turn back/I will restore
• *bammeh*: in what way/how/by what means
• *nashuv*: shall we return/should we turn back/how can we repent

Referenced Verses

• Zech 1:3 : 3 And say thou vnto them, thus sayth the Lorde of hoastes: Turne you vnto me saith the Lord of hoastes, & I wil turne vnto you, sayth the Lord of hoastes.
• Deut 31:20 : 20 For I wyll bryng them into the lande which I sware vnto their fathers, that floweth with mylke and honye: and they shall eate, and fyll them selues, and waxe fat, and turne vnto strauge gods, and serue them, and blaspheme me, and breake my couenaunt.
• Neh 9:28-30 : 28 But when they came to rest, they turned backe againe to do euill before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hande of their enemies, so that they had the dominion ouer them: And when they conuerted, & cryed vnto thee, thou heardest them from heauen, and many times hast thou deliuered them according to thy great mercie, 29 And testifiedst vnto them, that thou mightest bring them againe vnto thy lawe: Notwithstanding, they were proude, and hearkened not vnto thy commaundementes, but sinned in thy lawes, which if a man do, he shall lyue in them: and turned the shoulder away, and were stiffenecked, and would not heare. 30 Yet many yeres diddest thou forbeare them, and testifiedst vnto them through thy spirite, euen by the hand of thy prophetes, and yet would they not heare: therefore gauest thou them into the hand of the nations of the landes.
• Mal 1:6 : 6 A sonne honoureth his father, and a seruaunt his maister: If then I be a father, where is myne honour? if I be a maister, where is my feare? Saith the Lorde God of hoastes to you O ye pristes that despise my name, and ye say, Wherein haue we despised thy name?
• Luke 15:16 : 16 And he woulde fayne haue fylled his belly with the coddes that the swyne dyd eate: and no man gaue vnto hym.
• Ezek 20:21 : 21 Notwithstandyng, their sonnes rebelled agaynst me also, they walked not in my statutes, they kept not my iudgementes to fulfyll them, which he that doth shall liue in them, they prophaned my Sabbath dayes: and I sayde, I woulde powre out mine indignation ouer them, and accomplishe my wrath vpon them in the wildernesse.
• Rom 10:21 : 21 But agaynst Israel he sayeth: All day long haue I stretched foorth my handes vnto a people that beleueth not, but speaketh agaynst me.
• Deut 4:29-31 : 29 If from thence thou shalt seke the Lorde thy God, thou shalt finde hym, if thou seke hym with all thy heart, and with all thy soule. 30 When thou art in tribulation, & when all these thynges that be here spoken of, are come vpon thee, euen in the latter dayes yf thou turne to the Lorde thy God, & shalt be obedient vnto his voyce: 31 (For the Lorde thy God is a mercifull God) he wyll not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the appoyntment of thy fathers, which he sware vnto them.
• Deut 30:1-4 : 1 When all these wordes are come vpon thee, the blessyng and the curse whiche I haue set before thee, thou shalt turne vnto thine heart, among all the nations whyther the Lorde thy God hath dryuen thee, 2 And come agayne vnto the Lorde thy God, and hearken vnto his voyce in all these thynges that I commaunde thee this day, thou, and thy children, with all thine heart, and all thy soule: 3 And the Lorde thy God wyll turne thy captiuitie and haue compassion vpon thee, and wyll turne and fetche thee agayne from all the nations among which the Lord thy God had scattered thee. 4 Though thou wast cast vnto the extreme partes of heauen: euen from thence wyll the Lorde thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
• 1 Kgs 8:47-49 : 47 Yet if they turne againe vnto their heartes in the lande of them that caryed them away captiues, & returne and pray vnto thee in the lande of their enemies, saying, we haue sinned, we haue done wickely, and haue committed vngodlynesse: 48 And so turne agayne vnto thee with all their heart and all their soule in the lande of their enemies which led them away captiue, and pray vnto thee, toward the way of their land which thou gauest vnto their fathers, and toward the citie which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I haue built for thy name: 49 Then heare thou their prayer and supplication in heauen thy dwellyng place, and iudge their cause:
• Neh 1:8-9 : 8 I beseche thee call to remembraunce the worde that thou commaundedst thy seruaunt Moyses, and saydest, Ye will transgresse, and I will scatter you abrode among the nations: 9 But if ye turne vnto me, and kepe my commaundementes, & do them: though ye were cast out vnto the vttermost part of heauen, yet wil I gather you from thence, and will bring you vnto the place that I haue chosen, to set my name there.
• Isa 55:6-7 : 6 Seke the Lorde whyle he may be founde, and call vpon hym whyle he is nye. 7 Let the vngodly man forsake his owne wayes, and the vnrighteous his owne imaginations, and turne agayne vnto the Lorde, so shall he be mercifull vnto hym: and to our God, for he is very redy to forgeue.
• Isa 65:2 : 2 For thus long haue I euer holden out mine handes to an vnfaythfull people that go not the right way, but after their owne imagination:
• Jer 3:12-14 : 12 And therfore go preach these wordes towarde the north, and say, Thou disobedient Israel, turne agayne saith the Lorde, and I wyll not bring my wrath vpon you: for I am mercifull saith the Lorde, and I wyll not alway beare displeasure agaynst thee: 13 But on this condition, that thou know thy great blasphemie, namely that thou hast vnfaithfully forsaken the Lord thy God, and hast made thy selfe partaker of straunge gods vnder all greene trees, and hast had no wyll to heare my voyce, saith the Lorde. 14 O ye disobedient childre, turne againe saith the Lorde, and I wyll be maryed with you: for I wyll take one out of the citie, and two out of one generation from among you, and bryng you into Sion,
• Hos 14:1 : 1 O Israel, returne vnto the Lorde thy God, for thou hast fallen through thine owne wickednesse.
• Jer 3:22 : 22 O ye disobedient children, turne againe, & so shall I heale your backturnynges. Lo we come vnto thee, for thou art the Lorde our God.
• Jer 7:26 : 26 Yet woulde they not hearken nor offer me their eares, but were obstinate, and worse then their fathers.
• Ezek 18:30-32 : 30 Therefore I wyll iudge you, euery man according to his wayes, O ye house of Israel saith the Lorde: returne and bryng your selues agayne from all your wickednesse, so iniquitie shall not be your destruction. 31 Cast away from you all your transgressions wherby ye haue transgressed, and make you a newe heart and a newe spirite: for why wyll ye dye O ye house of Israel? 32 Seing I haue no pleasure in the death of hym that dyeth, saith the Lord God: bryng agayne your selues then, and ye shall lyue.
• Ezek 20:8 : 8 But they rebelled against me, and woulde not hearken vnto me, they dyd not cast away euery man the abhominations of his eyes, neither dyd they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said I woulde powre out mine indignation ouer them, and accomplishe my wrath vpon them, yea euen in the middest of the lande of Egypt.
• Ezek 20:13 : 13 And yet the house of Israel rebelled agaynst me in the wildernesse, they woulde not walke in my statutes, they haue cast away my iudgementes, which whoso doth shall lyue in them, and my Sabbath dayes haue they greatly polluted: then I sayde, I woulde powre out mine indignation vpon them, and consume them in the wildernesse.
• Neh 9:16-17 : 16 But they and our fathers were proud and hardnecked, so that they folowed not thy commaundementes: 17 And woulde not obey, neither were mindeful of the wonders that thou diddest for the: but hardened their neckes, and had in their heades to returne to their bondage by their rebellion: But thou O God of mercies, gracious, and full of compassion, of long suffering, and of great mercie, yet forsookest them not.
• Neh 9:26 : 26 Neuerthelesse, they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behinde their backes, & slue their prophetes, which exhorted them earnestly that they might bring them againe vnto thee, and did great blasphemies.
• Lev 26:40-42 : 40 And they shal confesse their misdeedes and the misdeedes of their fathers, for their trespasse which they haue trespassed agaynst me, and for that also that they haue walked contrary vnto me. 41 Therfore, I also wyll walke contrarie vnto them, and wyl bring them into the lande of their enemies: And then at the least way their vncircumcised heartes shalbe tamed, and they shall willingly accept their sinne. 42 Then I wyll remember my couenaunt with Iacob, and my couenaunt with Isahac, and my couenaunt with Abraham wyll I remember, and wyll thynke on the lande.
• Deut 9:7-9 : 7 Remember & forget not, howe thou prouokedst the Lorde thy God in the wildernesse, since the day that thou diddest depart out of the lande of Egypt, vntyll ye came vnto this place, ye haue rebelled agaynst the Lorde. 8 Also in Horeb ye prouoked the Lord to anger, so that the Lorde was wroth with you, euen to haue destroyed you. 9 When I was gone vp into the mount, to receaue the tables of stone, the tables of the couenaunt which the Lord made with you, and I abode in the mount fourtie dayes & fourtie nightes, whe I neither did eate bread nor drinke water. 10 And the Lorde deliuered me two tables of stone, written with the finger of God, and in them was contayned all the wordes whiche the Lorde saide vnto you in the mount out of ye middes of fire, in the day when ye came together. 11 And when the fourtie dayes and fourtie nightes were ended, the Lorde gaue me the two tables of stone, the tables of the couenaunt. 12 And the Lord sayde vnto me: Arise, and get thee downe quickly from hence, for thy people which thou hast brought out of Egypt, haue marred all: They are turned at once out of the waye which I commaunded them, and haue made them a moulten image. 13 Furthermore, the Lorde spake vnto me, saying: I haue seene this people, and beholde it is a stifnecked people. 14 Let me alone, that I may destroy them, & put out the name of them from vnder heauen, and I wyll make of thee a mightie nation, & greater then they be. 15 And I turned me, and came downe from the hyll, euen from the hyll that burnt with fire, and the two tables of the couenaunt were in my handes. 16 And I loked, and beholde ye had sinned against the Lorde your God, and had made you a moulten calfe, and had turned at once out of the way whiche the Lorde had commaunded you. 17 And I toke the two tables, and cast them out of my two handes, and brake them before your eyes. 18 And I fell downe flat before the Lord euen as at the first time, & fourtie dayes and fourtie nightes I did neither eate bread nor drinke water, because of all your sinnes which ye sinned, in doyng wyckedly in the sight of the Lorde in that ye prouoked hym vnto wrath. 19 (For I was afrayde, that for the wrath and fiercenes wherwith the Lord was moued agaynst you, he would haue destroyed you) But the Lorde heard me at that tyme also. 20 The Lorde was very angry with Aaron also, euen to haue destroyed hym: and I made intercession for Aaron also the same tyme. 21 And I toke your sinne, the calfe which ye had made, and burnt hym with fire, and stamped hym, and grounde hym very small, euen to dust: and I cast the dust therof into the brooke that descended out of the mount.
• Jas 4:8 : 8 Drawe nye to God, and he wyll drawe nye to you. Clense your handes ye sinners, and purifie your heartes ye double mynded.
• Ezek 20:28 : 28 For after I had brought them into the lande, for the which I lifted vp my hande to geue it vnto them, when they sawe euery hie hil, & all thicke trees, they offered there their sacrifices, & there they presented their offering of anger, there also they made their sweete sauours, and powred out their wine offerynges.
• Acts 7:51-52 : 51 Ye styfnecked and of vncircumcised heartes and eares, ye haue alwayes resisted the holy ghost: as your fathers dyd, so do ye. 52 Which of the prophetes haue not your fathers persecuted? And they haue slayne them which shewed before of the commyng of that iuste, of whom ye are nowe the betrayers and murtherers:
• Rom 7:9 : 9 I once lyued without lawe: But when the commaundement came, sinne reuyued,
• Rom 10:3 : 3 For they beyng ignoraunt of Gods ryghteousnesse, and goyng about to stablyshe their owne righteousnesse, haue not ben obedient vnto the ryghteousness of God.
• Mal 3:13 : 13 Your wordes haue ben stout against me saith the lorde: and you saide, Wherein haue we spoken against thee?
• Matt 23:27 : 27 Wo vnto you Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites: for ye are lyke vnto paynted sepulchres, which in dede appeare beautifull outwarde, but are within full of dead mens bones, and of all fylthynes.
• Luke 11:48-51 : 48 Truely, ye beare witnesse that ye alowe the deedes of your fathers: for they kylled them, and ye buylde their sepulchres. 49 Therfore saide the wisedome of God, I wyl sende them prophetes and apostles, and some of them they shall slaye and persecute: 50 That the blood of all the prophetes, which is shedde, from the foundation of the worlde, may be required of this generation, 51 From the blood of Abel, vnto ye blood of Zacharie, whiche perished betwene the aulter & the temple: Ueryly I saye vnto you, it shalbe required of this nation.
• Ps 78:8-9 : 8 And that they be not as their forefathers were a rebellious and a mutable generation: a generation that directed not their heart aright, and whose spirite cleaued not stedfastly vnto God. 9 Like as the children of Ephraim, which beyng harnessed & carying bowes: turned their backes in the day of battayle. 10 They kept not the couenaunt of God: and they woulde not walke in his law.
• Deut 31:27-29 : 27 For I knowe thy rebellion and thy stiffe necke: whyle I am yet alyue with you this day, ye haue ben disobedient vnto the Lorde, and howe much more after my death? 28 Gather vnto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speake these wordes in their eares, and call heauen and earth to recorde against them. 29 For I am sure, that after my death ye will vtterly be corrupt, and turne from the way which I haue commaunded you: and tribulation wyll come vpon you in the latter dayes, because ye shall haue wrought wickednesse in the syght of the Lorde, to prouoke hym through the workes of your handes.