Malachi 4:4

4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

Malachi 4:4 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
English Standard Version (ESV)
4 "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
New Living Translation (NLT)
4 “Remember to obey the Law of Moses, my servant—all the decrees and regulations that I gave him on Mount Sinai for all Israel.
The Message Bible (MSG)
4 "Remember and keep the revelation I gave through my servant Moses, the revelation I commanded at Horeb for all Israel, all the rules and procedures for right living.
American Standard Version (ASV)
4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
4 "Remember the teachings of my servant Moses, the rules and regulations that I gave to him at Horeb for all Israel.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
4 "Remember the instruction of Moses My servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
4 "Remember the law my servant Moses gave you. Remember the rules and laws I gave him at Mount Horeb. They were for the whole nation of Israel.

Malachi 4:4 Meaning and Commentary

Malachi 4:4

Remember ye the law of Moses my servant
Who was faithful as such in the house of God, in delivering the law to the children of Israel, which was given him; and who are called upon to remember it, its precepts and its penalties, which they were apt to forget: and particularly this exhortation is given now, because no other prophet after Malachi would be sent unto them, this is what they should have and use as their rule and directory; and because that Christ, now prophesied of, would be the end of this law; and this, and the prophets, were to be until the days of John the Baptist, spoken of in the next verse ( Malachi 4:5 ) ; and the rather, because in this period of time, between Malachi and the coming of Christ, the traditions of the elders were invented and obtained, which greatly set aside the law, and made it of no effect: which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel;
for though the law came by Moses, and is therefore called his, yet God was the author and efficient cause of it; Moses was only a servant and minister; and this was given in Horeb, the same with Sinai: these are names of one and the same mountain, at least of the parts of it; one part of it was called Horeb, from its being a dry desert and desolate place; and the other Sinai, from its bushes and brambles. So Jerom F15 says,

``Horeb, the mountain of God, is in the land of Midian, by Mount Sinai, above Arabia in the wilderness, to which are joined the mountain and wilderness of the Saracens, called Pharan; but to me it seems the same mountain is called by two names, sometimes Sinai, and sometimes Horeb;''
see ( Exodus 31:18 ) ( Exodus 32:1 Exodus 32:2 ) ( 33:6 ) . Agreeably to which Josephus F16 calls Horeb, where Moses fed his flock, and saw the vision of the burning bush, Mount Sinai; and says, it was the highest of the mountains in those parts, very convenient for pasture, and abounded with excellent herbage. Some say F17 the eastern part of it was called Sinai, and the western part Horeb; it is very likely they joined together at the bottom of the mountain, and were the two tops of it. This being mentioned shows, that the law, strictly taken, and not the prophets, is here designed, for no other was commanded, ordered, or delivered in Horeb; and that was for all the children of Israel in successive ages, until the coming of the Messiah, and for them only, as to the ministration of it by Moses. [With] the statutes and judgments;
the laws ceremonial and judicial, which were given to Moses, at the same time the law of the decalogue was, to be observed by the children of Israel, and which were shadows of things to come; namely, those of them that were of a ceremonial nature, and therefore to be remembered and attended to as leading to Christ, and the things of the Gospel.
FOOTNOTES:

F15 De locis Hebr. fol. 92. E.
F16 Antiqu. l. 2. c. 12.
F17 Vid. Adrichomii Theatrum Terrae Sanctae, p. 122. Well's Geography of the Old Testament, vol. 2. p. 118.

Malachi 4:4 In-Context

2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.
3 Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the LORD Almighty.
4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.
5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.
6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

Cross References 3

  • 1. S Deuteronomy 28:61; S Psalms 147:19; Matthew 5:17; Matthew 7:12; Romans 2:13; Romans 4:15; Galatians 3:24
  • 2. S Exodus 3:1
  • 3. S Exodus 20:1
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