American Standard Version
Malachi 3:1
1Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah 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 send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah of hosts. 2But who can 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: 3and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer unto Jehovah 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
- sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- messengerמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messengerH4397
- wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: roadH1870
- seekבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
- suddenlyפִּתְאֹםpith'ôm pith'ôm · suddenlyH6597
- comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- templeהֵיכָלhêykâl · templeH1964
- covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
- hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
Cross-references for Malachi 3:1
- Malachi 2:7For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Jehovah of hosts.
- Malachi 4:5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come.
- Matthew 11:10This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way before thee.
- Mark 1:2Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way;
- Luke 1:76Yea and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High: For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways;
- Luke 7:26But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
- John 1:6There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.
- Isaiah 40:3The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God.
- Matthew 3:1And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, saying,
- Matthew 17:10And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come?
- Luke 1:16And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God.
- Luke 3:3And he came into all the region round about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins;
- John 1:15John beareth witness of him, and crieth, saying, This was he of whom I said, He that cometh after me is become before me: for he was before me.
- John 3:28Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am sent before him.
- Acts 13:24when John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
- Acts 19:4And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him that should come after him, that is, on Jesus.
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries