Malachi 4
What Happens in This Chapter
Malachi 4 is the last chapter of the book. It tells of a coming day that will burn up the proud and the people who do evil, leaving nothing of them. On that same day, people who honor God's name will be healed and set free, and they will walk over the ashes of the wicked. The chapter ends by telling Israel to remember the law God gave Moses, and by promising that God will send the prophet Elijah before that day comes.
Plain reading written for kids. Short sentences, everyday words, one idea at a time.
For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
1Look! A day is coming that will burn like a hot oven. All proud people will be like dry straw. So will everyone who does evil. That day will burn them up, says the LORD who rules over all. Nothing will be left of them, not a root and not a branch.
"The LORD of hosts" in the old wording means the LORD who leads great armies. It is a name for God that shows how powerful he is.
2But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
2But some of you honor my name and treat me with respect. For you, the sun that makes things right will rise. Its light will bring healing. You will go outside and jump like young cows let out of the barn.
The old wording says the sun rises "with healing in his wings." The wings are the sun's spreading rays of light, like wings opening out.
3And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
3Then you will walk on top of the people who do evil. They will be ashes under your feet. This will happen on the day I am getting ready, says the LORD who rules over all.
4Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
4Remember the law that I gave to my servant Moses. I gave it to him at Mount Horeb for all the people of Israel. It holds my rules and my fair decisions.
5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
5Look! I will send you the prophet Elijah. A prophet is someone who tells people what God says. He will come before the great and frightening day of the LORD.
"Dreadful" in the old wording does not mean awful or bad. It means a day so great that it makes people afraid.
6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
6He will turn the hearts of fathers back to their children. He will turn the hearts of children back to their fathers. If not, I will come and strike the land with a curse.
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