Malachi 3:2

Malachi 3:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
• New International Version (NIV)But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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 fullers' soap.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“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 launderers’ soap.

Context of Malachi 3:2

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. “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. 4Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in ancient years.

Malachi 3:2 word by word

וּמִ֤י מְכַלְכֵּל֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם בּוֹא֔וֹ וּמִ֥י הָעֹמֵ֖ד בְּהֵרָֽאוֹת֑וֹ כִּֽי־הוּא֙ כְּאֵ֣שׁ מְצָרֵ֔ף וּכְבֹרִ֖ית מְכַבְּסִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But who may abideכּוּלkûl · to sustainH3557
• the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• of his comingבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• and who shall standעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
• when he appearethרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• like a refiner’sצָרַףtsâraph · to refineH6884
• fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• and like fullers’כָּבַסkâbas · to washH3526
• soapבֹּרִיתbôrîyth · lyeH1287

Cross-references for Malachi 3:2

• Malachi 4:1“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant (proud, self-righteous, haughty), and every evildoer shall be stubble; and the day that is coming shall set them on fire,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.
• Amos 5:18Woe (judgment is coming) to you who desire the day of the Lord [expecting rescue from the Gentiles]! Why would you want the day of the Lord? It is darkness (judgment) and not light [and rescue and prosperity];
• Matthew 3:7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the [divine] wrath and judgment to come?
• Matthew 21:31Which of the two did the will of the father?” The chief priests and elders replied, “The first one.” Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.
• Matthew 23:13“But woe (judgment is coming) to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are [in the process of] entering to do so.
• Matthew 25:10But while they were going away to buy oil, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut and locked.
• Luke 2:34Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Listen carefully: this Child is appointed and destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that is to be opposed—
• Luke 3:9Even now the axe [of God’s judgment] is swinging toward the root of the trees; so every tree that does not produce good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.”
• Luke 7:23Blessed [joyful, spiritually favored] is he who does not take offense at Me.”
• Luke 11:37Now after Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him. He went in [the Pharisee’s home] and reclined at the table [without ceremonially washing His hands].
• Luke 21:36But keep alert at all times [be attentive and ready], praying that you may have the strength and ability [to be found worthy and] to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man [at His coming].”
• John 6:42They kept saying, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now [have the arrogance to] say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”
• John 8:41You are doing the works of your [own] father.” They said to Him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one [spiritual] Father: God.”
• John 9:39Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment [to separate those who believe in Me from those who reject Me—to declare judgment on those who choose to be separated from God], so that the sightless would see, and those who see would become blind.”
• John 15:22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have [the guilt of their] sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.
• Acts 7:52Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become;

Commentaries on Malachi 3:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2But who may abide the day of his coming? - Only they who shall believe on his name; for they that will not, shall be blinded, and the unbelieving nations shall be destroyed by the Romans. Like fuller's soap - כברית keborith, from ברר barar, to cleanse, any thing that deterges. Kali, or fern ashes, or such things. I doubt whether the composition which we call soap, was known in ancient times.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2And who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? - The implied answer is, “No one;” as in the Psalm Psalm 130:3, “If Thou, Lord, wilt mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?” Joel had asked the same, “The day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” “How can the weakness of man endure such might; his blindness, such light; his frailty, such power; his uncleanness, such holiness; the chaff, such a…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2refiner's fire: The people's wickedness must be removed through divine testing and punishment (Isaiah 1:25; Jeremiah 6:29; Ezekiel 22:22). launderer's soap: An alkaline detergent was made from plants (see Jeremiah 2:22). The blazing fire and strong soap represent the testing and cleansing needed to restore Israel's faithfulness to its covenant with the Lord.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. (Mal 4:1; Re 6:16, 17). The Messiah would come, not, as they expected, to flatter the theocratic nation's prejudices, but to subject their principles to the fiery test of His heart-searching truth (Mt 3:10-12), and to destroy Jerusalem and the theocracy after they had rejected Him. His mission is here regarded as a whole from the first to the second advent: the process of refining and separating the godly from the ungodly beginning during Christ's stay…Read the comment

Topics related to Malachi 3:2

• Art
• Blessing
• Fire
• Fuller
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Malachi
• Purity
• Refining
• Soap
• Symbols and Similitudes

In the dictionaries

• Change
• Fuller
• Mournfully
• Prove
• Refiner
• Rob
• Soap
• Abide
• Affliction
• Bible, the

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