Malachi 1:3

1:3 and rejected Esau. 1  I turned Esau’s 2  mountains into a deserted wasteland 3  and gave his territory 4  to the wild jackals.”

1 tn Heb “and I loved Jacob, but Esau I hated.” The context indicates this is technical covenant vocabulary in which “love” and “hate” are synonymous with “choose” and “reject” respectively (see Deut 7:8; Jer 31:3; Hos 3:1; 9:15; 11:1).

2 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

3 tn Heb “I set his mountains as a desolation.”

4 tn Or “inheritance” (so NIV, NLT).