Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings.
Parallel translations
- WEB Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings.
- KJV Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
- NKJV “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.
- NASB “Would anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.
- NLT “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.
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 charges the people with robbing Him by withholding their tithes and offerings.
Overview
Failing to bring the tithes and offerings God commanded is portrayed as robbing God Himself, a striking measure of their unfaithfulness. Their self-justifying question again reveals blindness to their sin. While the specific tithe laws belong to the Mosaic covenant, the principle endures that all we have is God's and is to be returned to Him with grateful, generous hearts (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Prov 3:9–10Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest;
- Matt 22:21“Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
- Mark 12:17Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they marveled at Him.
- Ps 29:2Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness.
- Num 18:21–32Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.
- Mal 1:13You also say: ‘Oh, what a nuisance!’ And you turn up your nose at it,” says the LORD of Hosts. “You bring offerings that are stolen, lame, or sick! Should I accept these from your hands?” asks the LORD.
- Luke 20:25So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
- Rom 13:7Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
- Rom 2:22You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
- Lev 27:2–34“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When someone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the value of persons,
- Josh 7:11Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these things with their own possessions.
- Neh 13:4–14Now before this, Eliashib the priest, a relative of Tobiah, had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God
- Mal 1:8When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present the lame and sick ones, is it not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts.
- Lev 5:15–16“If someone acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s holy things, he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD: an unblemished ram from the flock, of proper value in silver shekels according to the sanctuary shekel; it is a guilt offering.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 3:8 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.