Malachi 1:3
“And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →In contrast to His love for Jacob, God set Esau aside, and the land of Edom was left desolate.
What Does Malachi 1:3 Mean?
Esau is Edom, the neighboring nation descended from Jacob's brother. In the language of covenant choice, to 'love' Jacob and 'hate' Esau is to set one within the line of promise and leave the other outside it. Edom's once-secure mountain strongholds had been laid waste, their inheritance abandoned to the creatures of the wilderness, a visible sign that their security never rested in themselves.
The blunt word 'hated' jars the modern ear, yet it stands here as the dark backdrop that makes the love of the previous verse shine. Israel had no greater merit than Edom; both sprang from the same father. The difference was sheer grace. The lesson is sobering and tender at once: every blessing the people enjoyed was a gift, not a wage. Those who know they have been chosen by mercy alone learn to hold that mercy with gratitude rather than pride, and to marvel that they were ever drawn in at all.
In the Original Language
sane (שָׂנֵא), 'hated' -- in covenant idiom it marks the one not chosen, set in contrast to the one loved, as much about election as emotion.