MAL 4:4 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 4:1–6: One day the LORD will come and judge all people

In the Hebrew text these verses are still part of chapter 3 and are numbered 3:19–24. Some English translations follow that Hebrew verse numbering, but in this book, the notes follow the more common English convention. It is recommended that you follow the numbering system of the versions used most in your area.

4:4a

“Remember the law of My servant Moses,

¶ “Remember^(plur) the laws that I commanded Moses my servant to give to you^(plur).
¶ “Do not forget^(plur) the laws that I gave you^(plur) through Moses my servant long ago.

The LORD continued to speak here. Since this verse begins a new paragraph, it may be helpful in some languages to repeat the speech clause from 4:3d. Check what you did in the similar situation at 3:6 and do the same here, if it is appropriate.

the law of My servant Moses: This means the law which the LORD gave to Moses to give to the people. This is made explicit in 4:4b. In some languages it may be more natural to make it explicit here.

My servant Moses: Moses is called the LORD’s servant because he consistently obeyed and submitted himself to the LORD. In some languages a word like “servant” may imply wrong meanings. If that is true in your language, try to express the idea of loyalty and obedience in a natural way. For example:

Moses, who faithfully obeyed me

Moses, my faithful worker.

4:4b

the statutes and ordinances I commanded him for all Israel at Horeb.

These laws included my rules and regulations. At Horeb I gave them to him and commanded that all the people of Israel obey them.
At Mount Horeb I commanded him to tell all Israel to obey these laws and decrees.
When I gave them to him at Mount Sinai, I told him to command all the people of Israel to obey them.

statutes: The Hebrew word hoq which the BSB translates statutes refers to the laws which the LORD gave to the people of Israel.

ordinances: The Hebrew word mišpaṭ which the BSB translates as ordinances refers to the decisions the LORD made when he judged people. He decided what was right to do in particular cases, and those decisions continued to apply for all future cases of that type. This has been translated in various ways by English versions. For example:

precepts (REB)

regulations (NLT)

commands (GNT)

all Israel: This refers to all the people of Israel.

Horeb: This is an alternative name for Mount Sinai, where the LORD gave his law to Moses.

General Comment on 4:4b

Although the terms “statutes” and “ordinances” are not always exact synonyms, here they do function as synonyms. They both refer to the laws the LORD gave to Moses.Redditt, page 185. In some languages it may be necessary to translate these two terms with only one expression. For example:

When I gave these commands to him at Mount Sinai, I ordered all the people of Israel to obey them.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

זִכְר֕וּ

(zikrū)

Yahweh is using the word Remember to mean obey by association with the way people need to remember something in order to obey it. Alternate translation: [Obey]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / merism

חֻקִּ֖ים וּ⁠מִשְׁפָּטִֽים

(ḩuqqim ū⁠mishpāţim)

Yahweh is speaking of two types of laws in order to include them and all other types of laws. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [including all of its laws]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.

OET interlinear MAL 4:4

Hebrew word order

Section 4:1–6: One day the LORD will come and judge all people

4:4a

4:4b

General Comment on 4:4b

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)