1.
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.
behold. Figure of speech Asterisrmos. App-6 .
all that do. Hebrew = every one who doeth. But some eighty codices, with four early printed editions, Targum, Aramaean, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "all who work. "
wickedly = lawlessness. Hebrew rasha'. App-44 .
saith = hath said.
the LORD of hosts. See note on Malachi 1:4 .
leave . A Homonym. See notes on Genesis 39:6 . Exodus 23:5 .
2.
But 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.
fear = revere. See the Structure "Y" and "Y", p. 1300.
Sun . Here the word "Sun" is feminine, as in Genesis 15:17 . Jeremiah 15:9 . Nahum 3:17 , &c.; and is connected with "rightousness" (which is also feminine), which Messiah, the righteous One, alone can bring.
of. In this case "of "would be the Genitive of Apposition. See App-17 .
wings = beams, or rays.
ye. The 1611 edition of the Authorized Version omits this "ye".
grow up = leap for joy, or frisk.
as = like.
3.
And 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.
the wicked = lawless ones. Hebrew rasha '. App-44 .
in the day . See App-18 .
I shall do this = that I am preparing; as in Malachi 3:17 .
4.
Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
the law of Moses. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 20:3 , &c.) App-92 .
Moses My servant. Reference to Pentateuch (Numbers 12:7 ; see note there). App-92 .
which I commanded, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 1:6 ; Deuteronomy 4:10 ). App-92 .
statutes and judgments. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 4:1 . See note there). App-92 .
5.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Elijah the prophet. Called thus, only here, and in 2 Chronicles 21:12 . Elsewhere, always "Elijah the Tishbite", to indicate his own person; but here "Elijah the prophet "because had Israel received Messiah, John the Baptist would have been reckoned as Elijah (see notes on Matthew 17:9-13 , Mark 9:11-13 ): and, at His last supper, the wine, representing His blood, would have been (as it will yet be) reckoned as "the blood of the (New) Covenant", as foretold in Jeremiah 31:31-34 .Hebrews 8:8-13 ; Hebrews 10:15-17 ; Hebrews 12:24 ).
day of the LORD . See note on Isaiah 2:12 , Isaiah 2:17 ; Isaiah 13:6 , &c.
the LORD . Hebrew. Jehovah . App-4 .
6.
And 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.
children = sons.