This is the burden of the word of the LORD: The Hebrew word which the Berean Standard Bible translates as burden is the word maśśaʾ. In Scripture, it usually refers to prophetic messages or warnings of judgement. It signifies that what follows is important because it is a direct word from God, which the prophet had a strong obligation to announce.

LORD: The word LORD represents the Hebrew Yahweh, the personal name of God. In the Hebrew text, this is a proper name, not a title or general noun. See the discussion of Yahweh, the LORD in the “Key biblical terms in the book of Malachi” section of the Introduction.

to Israel through Malachi: The word Malachi means “my messenger,” but it is almost certainly used here as the personal name of the prophet. See the discussion of The author in the Introduction.

The writer introduced himself in the third person, as if he were speaking about someone else. The writers of the New Testament letters did this also. Most English versions keep the third person forms. However, if this would be confusing for your readers, you could reword it as the Contemporary English Version has done:

I am Malachi. And this is the message that the Lord gave me for Israel. (Contemporary English Version)

Israel: This refers to the people who were the descendants of Israel (also known as Jacob). Jacob/Israel was the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham.

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