“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
Parallel translations
- WEB “For I, Yahweh, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
- KJV For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
- NKJV “For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
- NASB “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, the sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.
- NLT “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.
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
Because the LORD does not change, the children of Jacob are not destroyed despite their sin.
Overview
God's unchanging nature is the ground of His people's preservation; His faithfulness to His covenant promises, not their faithfulness, keeps them from being consumed. This great statement of God's immutability anchors hope amid judgment. The same constancy is displayed in Jesus Christ, who is 'the same yesterday, today, and forever' (Hebrews 13:8), securing salvation for all who trust Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 31
- Num 23:19God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- Heb 13:8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
- Jas 1:17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- Lam 3:22–23Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.
- Jer 32:27“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
- Isa 40:28–31Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.
- Rom 8:28–32And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Exod 3:14–15God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
- Heb 6:18Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
- 1 Sam 15:29Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”
- Rev 1:8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.
- Rev 22:13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
- Isa 45:5–8I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,
- Ps 102:26They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing You will change them, and they will be passed on.
- Isa 44:6Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.
- 2 Th 2:13–14But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth.
- Phil 1:6being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
- Ps 103:17But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children—
- Isa 41:13For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and tells you: Do not fear, I will help you.
- Isa 42:5–8This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it:
- Ps 78:57They turned back and were faithless like their fathers, twisted like a faulty bow.
- Rom 11:28–29Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs.
- Ps 78:38And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.
- Gen 15:7The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
- Isa 43:11–12I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no Savior but Me.
- Hos 11:9I will not execute the full fury of My anger; I will not turn back to destroy Ephraim. For I am God and not man—the Holy One among you—and I will not come in wrath.
- Gen 22:16saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son,
- Ps 105:7–10He is the LORD our God; His judgments carry throughout the earth.
- Rom 5:10For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!
- Gen 15:18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Neh 9:7–8You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram, who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.
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 3:6 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.