Malachi 4:6 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Malachi 4:4-6

This is doubtless intended for a solemn conclusion, not only of this prophecy, but of the canon of the Old Testament, and is a plain information that they were not to expect any more sayings nor writing by divine inspiration, any more of the dictates of the Spirit of prophecy, till the beginning of the gospel of the Messiah, which sets aside the Apocrypha as no part of holy writ, and which therefore the Jews never received. Now that prophecy ceases, and is about to be sealed up, there are two... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Malachi 4:6

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children ,.... Or "with" the children, as Kimchi; and Ben Melech observes, that על is put for עם , and so in the next clause: and the heart of the children to their fathers ; or "with" their fathers; that is, both fathers and children: the meaning is, that John the Baptist should be an instrument of converting many of the Jews, both fathers and children, and bringing them to the knowledge and faith of the true Messiah; and reconcile... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Malachi 4:6

And he shall turn (convert) the heart of the fathers ( על al , with) the children - Or, together with the children; both old and young. Lest I come, and, finding them unconverted, smote the land with a curse, חרם cherem , utter extinction. So we find that, had the Jews turned to God, and received the Messiah at the preaching of John the Baptist and that of Christ and his apostles, the awful חרם cherem of final excision and execration would not have been executed upon them.... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Malachi 4:6

Verse 6 This verse may be viewed as containing a simple promise; but I prefer to regard it as including what is between an exhortation and a promise. The first thing is, that God reminds the Jews for what purpose he would send John, even to turn the hearts of men and to restore them to a holy unity of faith. It must therefore be noticed, that not only the Redeemer would come, but that after some intermission, as it has been said, had taken place, the doctrine of salvation would again have its... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 4:4-6

§ 5. Concluding admonition to remember the Law, lest they should be liable to the curse. In order to avert this, the Lord, before his coming, would send Elijah to promote a change of heart in the nation. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 4:4-6

The sufficiency of God's successive revelations. The introduction of the appeal in Malachi 4:4 between the predictions and promises of Malachi 4:2 , Malachi 4:3 and Malachi 4:5 , Malachi 4:6 has at first sight an appearance of abruptness. The promise of Malachi 4:5 lay in the indefinite, and as we know the distant, future. Malachi proved to be the last of the prophets of the old covenant. In the long interval between Malachi and John the Baptist there were times when Israel... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 4:5-6

The day of Divine manifestation. The margin of the Revised Version gives the rendering with, as preferable to to, in the clause, "And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children," etc. Then the reference is to the work and influence of the second Elijah on all classes of society, on the hearts of both fathers and children. Keil, however, suggests a more difficult, yet more likely, explanation of the verse, "The fathers are rather the ancestors of the Israelitish nation, the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 4:6

He shall turn, etc.; i.e; taking the preposition, rendered "to," in the sense of "with," he shall convert one and all, fathers and children, young and old, unto the Lord. Or, in agreement with the versions, he shall bring back the Jews then living to the faith of their ancestors, who rejoiced to see the day of Christ ( John 8:56 ); and then the patriarchs, who for their unbelief had disowned them, shall recognize them as true Israelites, true children of Abraham. Others explain—He shall... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Malachi 4:6

And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children - Now they were unlike, and severed by that unlikeness from each other. Yet not on earth, for on earth parents and children were alike alienated from God, and united between themselves in wickedness or worldliness. The common love of the world or of worldly pursuits, or gain or self-exaltation, or making a fortune or securing it, is, so far, a common bond of interest to those of one family, through a common selfishness, though that... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Malachi 4:6

Malachi 4:6. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, &c. After the times of the Maccabees, to the times of Christ, the Jewish people were miserably divided among themselves, by discords, which broke out into civil wars, of which Josephus gives an account. And moreover, the different religious sects among them, especially those of the Sadducees and Pharisees, greatly distracted the people, and alienated and separated the nearest relations from each other. Now John the... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Malachi 4:4-6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Malachi 4:6

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Malachi 4:6

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Malachi 4:6

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 4:4-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 4:4-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 4:5-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 4:6

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Malachi 4:6

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Malachi 4:6

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