1. This is the message that the Lord gave Malachi to tell the people of Israel.
2. The Lord says to his people, “I have always loved you.”But they reply, “How have you shown your love for us?”The Lord answers, “Esau and Jacob were brothers, but I have loved Jacob and his descendants,
3. and have hated Esau and his descendants. I have devastated Esau's hill country and abandoned the land to jackals.”
4. If Esau's descendants, the Edomites, say, “Our towns have been destroyed, but we will rebuild them,” then the Lord will reply, “Let them rebuild — I will tear them down again. People will call them ‘The evil country’ and ‘The nation with whom the Lord is angry for ever.’ ”
5. The people of Israel are going to see this with their own eyes, and they will say, “The Lord is mighty even outside the land of Israel!”
6. The Lord Almighty says to the priests, “A son honours his father, and a servant honours his master. I am your father — why don't you honour me? I am your master — why don't you respect me? You despise me, and yet you ask, ‘How have we despised you?’