MAL 4:6 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.

4:6a

And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,

He will cause fathers to reconcile with their children,

And: The word And in the BSB translates the Hebrew conjunction w-. Here it introduces what the person who will be like Elijah will do when he comes. Many English versions omit the word. Use what is natural in your language here.

he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children: This means that the one who will be like Elijah will help fathers reconcile with their children. Fathers will have feelings of love for their children again.

4:6b

and the hearts of the children to their fathers.

and he will cause children to reconcile with their fathers.

and the hearts of the children to their fathers: This clause repeats the main idea of 4:6a from the children’s point of view. Some of the information is implied. The full idea is: “and he will turn the hearts of children to their fathers also” In some languages it may be necessary to repeat the implied information here. For example:

He will help fathers reconcile with their children, and he will also help children reconcile with their fathers.

4:6c

Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

Otherwise I will come and curse/destroy your^(plur) land.”
If they do that, I will not come and destroy your^(plur) land with a curse.”

Otherwise: The Hebrew conjunction which the BSB translates as Otherwise introduces a warning. Here are some other ways to express this in English:

lest I come and smite the land with a curse. (RSV)

so that I will not come and strike the earth with judgment. (NET)

If not, I will come and reclaim my land by destroying you. (GW)

Use a natural way to express the warning in your language.

strike the land with a curse: The Hebrew word which the BSB translates as curse refers to the most severe type of curse among the Hebrews. This is a different Hebrew word than the one that was used in 2:2 and 3:9. This word means that the person or thing which is cursed must be totally destroyed. In this verse, the LORD indicated that if people did not change as described in 4:6a–b, he would totally destroy the land of Israel.

In some languages this meaning must be made explicit. For example:

otherwise I would have to come and destroy your country. (GNT)

strike: The Hebrew word which the BSB translates as strike can be translated as “smite,” “destroy,” or “punish.”

the land: This refers to the land of Israel.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

וְ⁠הֵשִׁ֤יב לֵב־אָבוֹת֙ עַל־בָּנִ֔ים וְ⁠לֵ֥ב בָּנִ֖ים עַל־אֲבוֹתָ֑⁠ם

(və⁠hēshiyⱱ lēⱱ-ʼāⱱōt ˊal-bānim və⁠lēⱱ bānim ˊal-ʼₐⱱōtā⁠m)

Here the masculine terms fathers and sons have a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use language in your translation that is clearly inclusive of both men and women. Alternate translation: [And he will turn the heart of parents to their children and the heart of children to their parents]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

וְ⁠הֵשִׁ֤יב לֵב־אָבוֹת֙ עַל־בָּנִ֔ים וְ⁠לֵ֥ב בָּנִ֖ים עַל־אֲבוֹתָ֑⁠ם

(və⁠hēshiyⱱ lēⱱ-ʼāⱱōt ˊal-bānim və⁠lēⱱ bānim ˊal-ʼₐⱱōtā⁠m)

This is an expression that people of this culture would commonly use to mean “to reconcile people to one another.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [And he will reconcile fathers to their sons]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וְ⁠לֵ֥ב בָּנִ֖ים עַל־אֲבוֹתָ֑⁠ם

(və⁠lēⱱ bānim ˊal-ʼₐⱱōtā⁠m)

Yahweh is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You can supply these words from the context if that would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: [and he will turn the heart of the sons to their fathers]

Note 4 topic: grammar-collectivenouns

לֵב & וְ⁠לֵ֥ב

(lēⱱ & və⁠lēⱱ)

Since Yahweh is referring to a group of people, it might be more natural in your language to use the plural form of heart. Alternate translation: [the hearts of … and the hearts of]

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 4:6

Hebrew word order

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

4:6a

4:6b

4:6c

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