Malachias 3:13

13 Ye have spoken grievous words against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye said, Wherein have we spoken against thee?

Malachias 3:13 Meaning and Commentary

Malachi 3:13

Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord,
&c.] Hard and strong; they bore very hardly upon him, were exceeding impudent and insolent; murmuring at his providence; arraigning his justice and goodness; and despising his word, worship, and ordinances. Aben Ezra says, this is a prophecy concerning the time to come, that is, the times of the Messiah; and so it describes the Jews in his times.

Yet ye say, what have we spoken [so much] against thee?
or "what have we spoken against thee?" as if they were not guilty in any respect, and as if nothing could be proved against them; and as though the Lord did not know what they had said in their hearts, seeing they had not spoken it with their mouths: though the supplement of our translators, "so much", is confirmed by the Targum, which is,

``and if ye say, how (or in what) have we multiplied speech before thee?''

and so Kimchi observes, that the form in which the Hebrew word is denotes much and frequent speaking: and Abarbinel agrees with him, though he rather thinks it has this sense, "what are we spoken of to thee?" what calumny is this? what accusation do they bring against us to thee? what is it that is reported we say against thee? thus wiping their mouths, as if they were innocent and harmless.

Malachias 3:13 In-Context

11 And I will appoint food for you, and I will not destroy the fruit of your land; and your vine in the field shall not fail, saith the Lord Almighty.
12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a desirable land, saith the Lord Almighty.
13 Ye have spoken grievous words against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye said, Wherein have we spoken against thee?
14 Ye said, He that serves God labours in vain: and what have we gained in that we have kept his ordinances, and in that we have walked as suppliants before the face of the Lord Almighty?
15 And now we pronounce strangers blessed; and all they who act unlawfully are built up; and they have resisted God, and have been delivered.

The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.