1
This is the message 1 that the Lord gave to Israel through the prophet Malachi. 2
2
“I have always loved you,” says the Lord .
But you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?”
And the Lord replies, “This is how I showed my love for you: I loved your ancestor Jacob,
3
but I rejected his brother, Esau, and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau’s inheritance into a desert for jackals.”
4
Esau’s descendants in Edom may say, “We have been shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins.”
But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies replies, “They may try to rebuild, but I will demolish them again. Their country will be known as ‘The Land of Wickedness,’ and their people will be called ‘The People with Whom the Lord Is Forever Angry.’
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When you see the destruction for yourselves, you will say, ‘Truly, the Lord ’s greatness reaches far beyond Israel’s borders!’”