The Meaning of Malachi 4:3 Explained

Malachi 4:3

KJV: And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

YLT: And ye have trodden down the wicked, For they are ashes under the soles of your feet, In the day that I am appointing, Said Jehovah of Hosts.

Darby: And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I prepare, saith Jehovah of hosts.

ASV: And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make, saith Jehovah of hosts.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And ye shall tread down  the wicked;  for they shall be ashes  under the soles  of your feet  in the day  that I shall do  [this], saith  the LORD  of hosts. 

What does Malachi 4:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The righteous would also enjoy superiority over the wicked in that day, the opposite of the situation in Malachi"s day. The wicked would be as ashes (from the burning, Malachi 4:1) under their (the calves") feet in that the wicked would suffer judgment and offer no resistance (cf. Isaiah 66:24; Matthew 3:12; Mark 9:48). Almighty Yahweh was preparing that day, so it would inevitably come.

Context Summary

Malachi 4:1-6 - Wickedness And Pride Shall Find Judgment
The day cometh! either in the fall of Jerusalem or in some terrible catastrophe yet future. Whenever it comes may we be reckoned as God's peculiar treasure, preserved as a woman preserves her jewels in the day of calamity, Malachi 3:17. Sorrow and disaster are perpetually befalling the proud, or those that do wickedly; while on those who fear God's name the dawn of the sun of righteousness is forever breaking and growing to the perfect day. In the beams of the sun there are not only light and color, but rays which bear health and vitality to the world and to men; so in Jesus there is power to salvation. Notice how the Old Testament ends with the word curse, while the Christ's proclamation opens with Blessed.
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Chapter Summary: Malachi 4

1  God's judgment on the wicked;
2  and his blessing on the good
4  He exhorts to the study of the law;
5  and tells of Elijah's coming and office

What do the individual words in Malachi 4:3 mean?

And You shall trample the wicked for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do [this] says Yahweh of hosts -
וְעַסּוֹתֶ֣ם רְשָׁעִ֔ים כִּֽי־ יִהְי֣וּ אֵ֔פֶר תַּ֖חַת כַּפּ֣וֹת רַגְלֵיכֶ֑ם בַּיּוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֲנִ֣י עֹשֶׂ֔ה אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֽוֹת פ

וְעַסּוֹתֶ֣ם  And  You  shall  trample 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: עָסַס  
Sense: to press, crush, press by treading, tread down or out, press (grapes).
רְשָׁעִ֔ים  the  wicked 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
יִהְי֣וּ  they  shall  be 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
אֵ֔פֶר  ashes 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵפֶר  
Sense: ashes.
תַּ֖חַת  under 
Parse: Preposition
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.
כַּפּ֣וֹת  the  soles 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: כַּף  
Sense: palm, hand, sole, palm of the hand, hollow or flat of the hand.
רַגְלֵיכֶ֑ם  of  your  feet 
Parse: Noun, fdc, second person masculine plural
Root: רֶגֶל  
Sense: foot.
בַּיּוֹם֙  On  the  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
אֲשֶׁ֣ר  that 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
עֹשֶׂ֔ה  do  [this] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
אָמַ֖ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֥ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
צְבָאֽוֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation