Malachi 1:3 (GNV)

Passage

And I hated Esau, and made his mountaines wast, and his heritage a wildernes for dragons.

Nearby Context

Malachi 1:1 The burden of the woorde of the Lord to Israel by the ministerie of Malachi.

Malachi 1:2 I haue loued you, sayth the Lord: yet yee say, Wherein hast thou loued vs? Was not Esau Iaakobs brother, saith the Lord? yet I loued Iaakob,

Malachi 1:3 And I hated Esau, and made his mountaines wast, and his heritage a wildernes for dragons.

Malachi 1:4 Though Edom say, wee are impouerished, but we will returne and build the desolate places, yet sayeth the Lord of hostes, they shall builde, but I will destroy it, and they shall call them, The border of wickednes, and the people, with whome the Lord is angrie for euer.

Malachi 1:5 And your eyes shall see it, and yee shall say, The Lord will be magnified vpon the border of Israel.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hated", "esau", "mountaines", "wast", "heritage", "wildernes", and "dragons". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hated" and "esau", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "I haue loued you sayth the Lord..." into verse 4's "Though Edom say wee are impouerished but...", so "hated" and "esau" belong inside that flow. In Malachi context, the local focus is covenant faithfulness, priestly corruption, divine justice, and the coming day of the LORD.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "hated" and "esau" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.