Amplified Bible
Malachi 3:1
1“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will prepare and clear the way before Me. And the Lord [the Messiah], whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 3:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
- New International Version (NIV)“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts.
Context of Malachi 3:1
“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will prepare and clear the way before Me. And the Lord [the Messiah], whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts. 2“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s soap [which removes impurities and uncleanness]. 3He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi [the priests], and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord [grain] offerings in righteousness.
Read all of Malachi 3Malachi 3:1 word by word
הִנְנִ֤י שֹׁלֵחַ֙ מַלְאָכִ֔י וּפִנָּה־דֶ֖רֶךְ לְפָנָ֑י וּפִתְאֹם֩ יָב֨וֹא אֶל־הֵיכָל֜וֹ הָאָד֣וֹן׀ אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּ֣ם מְבַקְשִׁ֗ים וּמַלְאַ֨ךְ הַבְּרִ֜ית אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּ֤ם חֲפֵצִים֙ הִנֵּה־בָ֔א אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Behold, I will sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- my messengerמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messengerH4397
- and he shall prepareפָּנָהpânâh · to turnH6437
- the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: roadH1870
- beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- me: and the Lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- whom ye seekבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
- shall suddenlyפִּתְאֹםpith'ôm pith'ôm · suddenlyH6597
- comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- to his templeהֵיכָלhêykâl · templeH1964
- of the covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
- whom ye delightחָפֵץchâphêts · delightingH2655
- saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
Cross-references for Malachi 3:1
- Malachi 2:7For the lips of the priest should guard and preserve knowledge [of My law], and the people should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
- Malachi 4:5“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.
- Matthew 11:10This is the one of whom it is written [by the prophet Malachi], ‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way before You.’
- Mark 1:2As it is written and forever remains in the [writings of the] prophet Isaiah: “Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way—
- Luke 1:76And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord (the Messiah) to prepare His ways;
- Luke 7:26But what did you [really] go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one far more [eminent and remarkable] than a prophet [who foretells the future].
- John 1:6There came a man commissioned and sent from God, whose name was John.
- Isaiah 40:3A voice of one is calling out, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness [remove the obstacles]; Make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
- Matthew 3:1In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea [along the western side of the Dead Sea] and saying,
- Matthew 17:10The disciples asked Him, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
- Luke 1:16He will turn many of the sons of Israel back [from sin] to [love and serve] the Lord their God.
- Luke 3:3And he went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin;
- John 1:15John testified [repeatedly] about Him and has cried out [testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance], “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I and has priority over me, for He existed before me.’ ”
- John 3:28You yourselves are my witnesses that I stated, ‘I am not the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),’ but, ‘I have [only] been sent ahead of Him [as His appointed forerunner and messenger to announce and proclaim His coming].’
- Acts 13:24Before His coming John [the Baptist] had preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
- Acts 19:4Paul said, “John performed a baptism of repentance, continually telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, [to confidently accept and joyfully believe] in Jesus [the Messiah and Savior].”
Commentaries on Malachi 3:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Behold, I will send my messenger - מלאכי Malachi, the very name of the prophet. But this speaks of John the Baptist. I, the Messiah, the Seed of God, mentioned above, will send my messenger, John the Baptist. He shall prepare the way - Be as a pioneer before me; a corrector of civil abuses, and a preacher of righteousness. And the Lord, whom ye seek - The Messiah, whom ye expect, from the account given by the prophet Daniel, in his seventy weeks, Daniel…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1God answers their complaints of the absence of His judgments, that they would come, but would include those also who clamored for them. For no one who knew his own sinfulness would call for the judgment of God, as being himself, chief of sinners. Augustine pictures one saying to God, “Take away the ungodly man,” and that God answers, “Which?” Behold, I send My messenger before My face, and he shall prepare My way before Me - they, then, were not prepared…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Chapter Outline The coming of Christ. (1-6) The Jews reproved for their corruptions. (7-12) God's care of his people; The distinction between the righteous and the wicked. (13-18) Verses 1-6 The first words of this chapter seem an answer to the scoffers of those days. Here is a prophecy of the appearing of John the Baptist. He is Christ's harbinger. He shall prepare the way before him, by calling men to repentance. The Messiah had been long called, "He…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1My messenger (Hebrew mal’aki): This is a play on Malachi’s name. The messenger could be an angel or a human acting as a divine courier. Jesus identified John the Baptist by referring to this passage (see Matthew 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27). Malachi’s audience likely saw the messenger of the covenant as a divine being (compare Exodus 23:20–23). The Christian church views Jesus Christ as the messenger of the new covenant.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-181. Behold--Calling especial attention to the momentous truths which follow. Ye unbelievingly ask, Where is the God of judgment (Mal 2:7)? "Behold," therefore, "I send," &c. Your unbelief will not prevent My keeping My covenant, and bringing to pass in due time that which ye say will never be fulfilled. I will send ... he shall come--The Father sends the Son: the Son comes. Proving the distinctness of personality between the Father and the Son. my…Read the comment
Topics related to Malachi 3:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Malachi 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Amplified Bible — © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631
Commentaries