Ayub 12:14

12:14 If ¹  he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt;

if he imprisons a person, there is no escape. ² 

Maleakhi 1:4

1:4 Edom ³  says, “Though we are devastated, we will once again build the ruined places.” So the Lord who rules over all ⁴  responds, “They indeed may build, but I will overthrow. They will be known as ⁵  the land of evil, the people with whom the Lord is permanently displeased.

[12:14]  ¹ tn The use of הֵן (hen, equivalent to הִנֵּה, hinneh, “behold”) introduces a hypothetical condition.

[12:14]  ² tn The verse employs antithetical ideas: “tear down” and “build up,” “imprison” and “escape.” The Niphal verbs in the sentences are potential imperfects. All of this is to say that humans cannot reverse the will of God.

[1:4]  ³ sn Edom, a “brother” nation to Israel, became almost paradigmatic of hostility toward Israel and God (see Num 20:14-21; Deut 2:8; Jer 49:7-22; Ezek 25:12-14; Amos 1:11-12; Obad 10-12).

[1:4]  ⁴ sn The epithet Lord who rules over all occurs frequently as a divine title throughout Malachi (24 times total). This name (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, yÿhvah tsÿva’ot), traditionally translated “Lord of hosts” (so KJV, NAB, NASB; cf. NIV NLT “Lord Almighty”; NCV, CEV “Lord All-Powerful”), emphasizes the majestic sovereignty of the Lord, an especially important concept in the postexilic world of great human empires and rulers. For a thorough study of the divine title, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 123-57.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and they will call them.” The third person plural subject is indefinite; one could translate, “and people will call them.”