Chapter
1 2 3 4
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6

Malachi 4:3
ESV And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.
NIV Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,' says the LORD Almighty.
NASB And you will crush the wicked underfoot, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I am preparing,' says the Lord of armies.
CSB You will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing," says the Lord of Armies.
NLT On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet,' says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
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.

What does Malachi 4:3 mean?

Taken out of context, this verse might seem to imply that God's followers are empowered to conquer their enemies. In context, though, this passage says exactly the opposite. Verse 1 imagined the judgment of God as a furnace for the wicked. Verse 2 pictured judgment as sunshine for the righteous. Here, in verse 3, the wicked have already been defeated. The wicked are destroyed before the righteous are involved at all, and they are merely walking through the aftermath of the victory. God's people are explicitly told not to take revenge, since God is the one who will make all things right (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19).

This verse also provides a powerful response to two of Israel's arrogant, short-sighted questions. In Malachi 2:17, the people more or less blame God for not being more forceful against evil, asking, "Where is the God of justice?" In Malachi 3:14, the people ask what point there is in obeying God. Both are answered, in graphic terms, by Malachi 4:3. The righteous will be spared, and the wicked will be obliterated into ashes. Given that most of Israel, at this point in history, has been unfaithful, this should be taken as a dire warning. Better to walk on ashes than to be ashes walked on.
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