“You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord. “But you say, ‘What do you mean? What have we said against you?’
Parallel translations
- WEB “Your words have been stout against me,” says Yahweh. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against you?’
- KJV Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
- BSB “Your words against Me have been harsh,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against You?’
- NKJV “Yourwords have been harsh against Me,” Says the Lord, “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’
- NASB “Your words have been arrogant against Me,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God confronts the people for speaking harsh, arrogant words against Him, which they deny having spoken.
Overview
This begins the book's final dispute, exposing the people's defiant speech against God even as they feign innocence. Their words, detailed in the next verses, reveal hearts hardened by cynicism. The verse reminds us that God hears all our words and that grumbling against Him is a serious matter, calling us instead to humble trust.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Mal 2:17You have wearied Yahweh with your words. Yet you say, ‘How have we wearied him?’ In that you say, ‘Everyone who does evil is good in Yahweh’s sight, and he delights in them;’ or ‘Where is the God of justice?’
- Rom 9:20But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”
- Isa 37:23Whom have you defied and blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.
- 2 Th 2:4he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.
- Mal 1:6–8“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, then where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is the respect due me? Says Yahweh of Armies to you, priests, who despise my name. You say, ‘How have we despised your name?’
- Mal 2:14Yet you say, ‘Why?’ Because Yahweh has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion, and the wife of your covenant.
- Job 40:8Will you even annul my judgment? Will you condemn me, that you may be justified?
- Jer 8:12Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among those who fall; in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, says Yahweh.
- 2 Chr 32:14–19Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of my hand?
- Job 34:7–8What man is like Job, who drinks scorn like water,
- Exod 5:2Pharaoh said, “Who is Yahweh, that I should listen to his voice to let Israel go? I don’t know Yahweh, and moreover I will not let Israel go.”
- Mal 3:8Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings.
- Isa 28:14–15Therefore hear Yahweh’s word, you scoffers, that rule this people in Jerusalem:
- Ps 10:11He says in his heart, “God has forgotten. He hides his face. He will never see it.”
- Isa 5:19Who say, “Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The messenger who prepares the way, the sun of righteousness rising with healing, and the Lord suddenly coming to his temple set the stage for the gospel that opens with John and Jesus.
How Malachi 3:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.