Malachi 3 — Hebrew and Greek compared
Disparate in this chapter: 3:6, 3:9, 3:10, 3:11, 3:15, 3:19, 3:24
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
Chapter 3
Purification, return and the coming day
Verse 3:1 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:1 “Look, I am sending My messenger, and he will clear a way before Me. Suddenly the Lord whom you seek will come to His temple, and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight. Look, he is coming,” says YHWH of hosts.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:1 “Look, I am sending out My messenger, and he will look to a way before My face. Suddenly the Lord whom you seek will come to His own sanctuary, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Look, he is coming,” says the Lord Almighty.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew's messenger clears a way; Greek epiblepsetai says he will look to or attend to a way. Both distinguish the initial messenger, the Lord sought and the covenant messenger grammatically, without settling whether the latter two descriptions identify one figure. Pronouns referring ambiguously to the messenger remain lower case.
Biblical connection — Gospel quotation within a composite citation: Mark 1:2-4. Mark's opening combines messenger and wilderness language to introduce John the Baptist. Read the citation together with Isaiah 40:3 and Exodus 23:20.
Verse 3:2 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like launderers' alkali.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:2 And who will endure the day of his entrance? Or who will stand at his appearance? For he enters like a smelting fire and like launderers' herb.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Greek adds an explicit entrance in the final comparison and names a laundry herb where Hebrew has the cleansing substance bōrît, rendered alkali. Both depict purification as difficult to endure. The chemistry or plant species is not specified beyond the wording.
Verse 3:3 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will be those who present an offering to YHWH in righteousness.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:3 He will sit, smelting and purifying as with silver and gold. He will cleanse the sons of Levi and melt them like gold and silver, and they will be those who bring a sacrifice to the Lord in righteousness.
Classification & Notes
Divergent. Text: Greek adds gold to the first refining comparison and describes melting where Hebrew has refining in the second. Both explicitly purify the sons of Levi for righteous offerings. The additional first gold comparison is retained rather than treated as a duplicate to remove.
Verse 3:4 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to YHWH, as in the days of old and as in former years.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:4 And the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord, as in the days of old and as in the former years.
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: The restored acceptance of Judah and Jerusalem's offerings and comparison with former days agree.
Verse 3:5 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:5 “I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, adulterers and those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and those who turn aside the resident foreigner and do not fear Me,” says YHWH of hosts.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:5 “I will draw near to you in judgment, and I will be a swift witness against sorceresses, adulteresses and those who swear falsely by My name, against those who withhold a hired worker's wages, those who oppress a widow, those who strike orphans with their fists, those who turn aside the judgment of a sojourner, and those who do not fear Me,” says the Lord Almighty.
Classification & Notes
Divergent. Text: Greek uses feminine terms for sorceresses and adulteresses, adds swearing by God's name, specifies blows against orphans and explicitly names the sojourner's judgment. Hebrew's compressed list does not separately state all these acts. The Greek prosēlytos is rendered “sojourner” in this social-justice context without imposing the later technical sense of convert.
Verse 3:6 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:6 “For I, YHWH, have not changed, and you, sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:6 “For I am the Lord your God, and I have not changed. But you, sons of Jacob, do not refrain
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Text: Hebrew links divine constancy with Jacob's not being consumed; Greek adds “your God” and begins an accusation that Jacob does not refrain, completed by the next verse's ancestral injustices. The outcome for Jacob changes from preservation to continuing misconduct. Greek 3:6–7 must be read together.
Verse 3:7 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says YHWH of hosts. But you say, “How shall we return?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:7 from the injustices of your fathers. You have turned aside from My ordinances and have not guarded them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. And you said, “How shall we return?”
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Greek's opening completes the preceding verse with “from the injustices of your fathers”; Hebrew instead dates the deviation “from the days of your fathers.” The mutual-return promise and the people's question correspond. The changed clause attachment is recorded in the numbering note.
Verse 3:8 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:8 “Will a human rob God? Yet you are robbing Me.” But you say, “How have we robbed You?” “In the tithe and the contribution.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:8 “Will a human defraud God? Yet you are defrauding Me.” And you will say, “How have we defrauded You?” “Because the tithes and the firstfruits are with you.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Greek pternizō depicts defrauding or tripping up, and explicitly says the tithes and firstfruits remain with the people. Hebrew names tithe and terûmāh, a contribution set apart, without that explicit possession clause. The accusation of withholding from God is common.
Verse 3:9 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:9 You are cursed with a curse, yet you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:9 And you keep looking away, yet you are defrauding Me. The nation has been brought to an end.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Text: Hebrew pronounces a curse and identifies the whole nation as the robbers; Greek has the repeated looking-away verb and declares the nation's ending. The judgment's verbal form and the nation's stated condition differ. Greek's repetition is retained without importing the Hebrew curse.
Verse 3:10 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me, please, in this,” says YHWH of hosts, “whether I will not open heaven's windows for you and pour out blessing for you until there is more than enough.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:10 And you brought all the produce dues into the storehouses, and his plunder will be in his house. Examine, then, by this,” says the Lord Almighty, “whether I will not open heaven's floodgates for you and pour out My blessing for you until there is enough.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Text: Hebrew commands bringing the tithe for food in God's house; the displayed Greek has the past “you brought,” produce dues, plural storehouses and the difficult third-person “his plunder … his house.” These pronouns are not silently changed to “My,” nor is plunder replaced by food. The final Hebrew abundance is stronger than Greek sufficiency. The Greek middle clause needs specialist review.
Verse 3:11 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruit of your soil, and your vine in the field will not miscarry its fruit,” says YHWH of hosts.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:11 And I will give you instructions for food, and I will certainly not destroy the fruit of your land, and your vine in the field will certainly not grow weak,” says the Lord Almighty.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Text: Hebrew rebukes a devouring agent that must not destroy the crop; Greek makes God the subject who will not destroy it and has the difficult diastelō hymin eis brōsin, rendered provisionally “give you instructions for food.” The threatened agent and preventive action therefore differ. Both promise a sound vine, with miscarriage versus weakness as the image.
Verse 3:12 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:12 “All the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says YHWH of hosts.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:12 “All the nations will call you blessed, because you will be a desirable land,” says the Lord Almighty.
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: The nations' recognition and the land's desirability correspond.
Verse 3:13 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:13 “Your words have been harsh against Me,” says YHWH. But you say, “What have we spoken against You?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:13 “You have made your words heavy against Me,” says the Lord. And you said, “How have we spoken against You?”
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: The Hebrew strength or harshness of the words corresponds to Greek's weight metaphor. Both introduce the same denial of speaking against God.
Verse 3:14 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:14 You say, “Serving God is futile. What gain is there in keeping His charge and walking mournfully before YHWH of hosts?
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:14 You said, “The one who serves God is futile. What advantage is there because we guarded His observances and because we walked as supplicants before the Lord Almighty?
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew calls service futile; Greek predicates futility of the servant. Hebrew's mournful conduct becomes Greek's supplication. The complaint that faithful observance brings no advantage remains.
Verse 3:15 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Those who do wickedness are indeed built up; they even test God and escape.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:15 And now we call outsiders blessed. All who practice lawlessness are being built up; they opposed God and were saved.”
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Text: Hebrew identifies the apparently fortunate as arrogant people who test God; Greek identifies outsiders who oppose God. The persons blessed and the action against God differ, while both report their apparent survival and prosperity.
Verse 3:16 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:16 Then those who feared YHWH spoke with one another. YHWH paid attention and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared YHWH and esteemed His name.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:16 Those who feared the Lord spoke these things, each to his neighbor. The Lord paid attention and listened, and He wrote a book of remembrance before Him for those who feared the Lord and revered His name.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Greek explicitly makes “these things” the content spoken by those who fear the Lord and makes the Lord the writer; Hebrew says they spoke and uses a passive for the book's writing. Both retain remembrance for those who fear Him; the Greek wording's relation to the preceding complaint is not suppressed.
Verse 3:17 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:17 “They will be Mine,” says YHWH of hosts, “a treasured possession on the day that I am making. I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:17 “They will be Mine,” says the Lord Almighty, “for a day that I am making for an acquisition, and I will choose them as a man chooses his son who serves him.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew calls the people a treasured possession and promises sparing; Greek describes a day for acquisition and promises choosing. The son comparison remains, but the divine treatment is differently expressed. Greek peripoiēsis may also carry preservation; “acquisition” is provisional here.
Verse 3:18 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:18 Then you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:18 And you will return and see the distinction between the righteous and the lawless, and between one who serves God and one who does not serve.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Hebrew “return and see” is rendered idiomatically as seeing again; Greek retains return as a separate action. Both restore discernment between those serving God and those not serving.
Verse 3:19 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:19 For look, the day is coming, burning like an oven. All the arrogant and all who do wickedness will be stubble, and the coming day will set them ablaze,” says YHWH of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:19 For look, the day of the Lord is coming, burning like an oven, and it will burn them. All the foreigners and all who practice lawlessness will be straw, and the coming day will ignite them,” says the Lord Almighty, “and neither root nor branch will remain from them.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Text: Greek explicitly names the day of the Lord and includes an additional burning clause. More consequentially, Hebrew's arrogant become Greek's foreigners, as in the related change at 3:15. The scope of those subjected to the same total-burning judgment changes; this is a comparison of wording, not an endorsement of hostility toward modern groups.
Verse 3:20 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:20 But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise, with healing in its wings. You will go out and leap like calves from the stall.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:20 But for you who fear My name, a sun of righteousness will rise, and healing in its wings; you will go out and leap like little calves released from bonds.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Greek specifies calves released from bonds; Hebrew has calves of the stall. Both retain the sun, righteousness, healing and joyful release. The sun's grammatical gender differs between the languages, without requiring a personal identification in the translation.
Verse 3:21 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:21 You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes beneath the soles of your feet on the day that I am making,” says YHWH of hosts.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:21 You will trample the lawless, because they will be ashes beneath your feet on the day that I am making,” says the Lord Almighty.
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: The trampling, ash beneath the feet and appointed day correspond.
Verse 3:22 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:22 “Remember the instruction of Moses My servant, which I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel, statutes and judgments.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:24 “Remember the law of Moses My servant, just as I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel, ordinances and judgments.”
Classification & Notes
Divergent. Text: Aligned Hebrew 3:22 / Greek 3:24. The substance of the Moses command corresponds, but Greek places it after the Elijah and heart-restoration promise, making it the book's closing statement; Hebrew places it before that promise. The changed conclusion is preserved through explicit references and a Greek-order guide.
Verse 3:23 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:23 Look, I am sending you Elijah the prophet before the coming of YHWH's great and fearsome day.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:22 “And look, I am sending you Elijah the Tishbite before the coming of the Lord's great and manifest day,
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Aligned Hebrew 3:23 / Greek 3:22. Hebrew identifies Elijah as the prophet and calls the day fearsome; Greek identifies him as the Tishbite and calls the day manifest or conspicuous. Greek's relative clause continues in its next verse, shown in row 3:24.
Verse 3:24 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
3:24 He will turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the hearts of children toward their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a ban of destruction.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
3:23 who will restore a father's heart toward a son and a person's heart toward his neighbor, lest I come and strike the land utterly.”
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Text: Aligned Hebrew 3:24 / Greek 3:23. Hebrew's reciprocal parent–child turning becomes a parent–son relation and a person–neighbor relation in Greek. Hebrew ḥērem names a ban of destruction; Greek ardēn makes the blow total. Saints: Luke 1:16–17 applies Elijah's spirit and power and fathers' turning toward children to John's mission, adding the disobedient becoming wise with the righteous [LUK1]. This apostolic reuse is kept distinct from either Malachi column.