1:3b

made…a wasteland: The Hebrew expression which the Berean Standard Bible translates as made…a wasteland literally means “made a waste.” This means that the LORD made the land barren and deserted. Some ways to say this are:

I turned Esau’s hill country into a barren desert. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
I turned Esau’s mountains into a deserted wasteland. (NET Bible)

his mountains: Esau had already been dead many years before Malachi received this prophecy. The expression which the Berean Standard Bible translates as his mountains refers to the hilly region where Esau’s descendants lived.

1:3c

inheritance: This refers to the land of Edom, that is, the land where Esau and his descendants had formerly lived. The LORD had given them that land, but later he had taken it from them because of what they had done to the people of Israel.

desert jackals: The desert jackals mentioned here are wild animals of the dog family (similar to wolves). They usually hunt in packs and often make a sad-sounding cry at night. In the Bible they are almost always associated with scenes of desolation. If jackals are unknown in your area, possible substitutes might be: wolves, hyenas, or just “wild animals.”

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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