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“See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in — see, he is coming,” says the Lord of Armies. But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s bleach. 3He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. 4And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as in days of old and years gone by.

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 look, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and everyone who commits wickedness will become stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says the Lord of Armies, “not leaving them root or branches.
• Amos 5:18Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! What will the day of the Lord be for you? It will be darkness and not light.
• Matthew 3:7When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
• Matthew 21:31Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.
• Matthew 23:13“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in.
• Matthew 25:10“When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.
• Luke 2:34Then Simeon blessed them and told his mother Mary, “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed —
• Luke 3:9The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
• Luke 7:23and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by me.”
• Luke 11:37As he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him. So he went in and reclined at the table.
• Luke 21:36But be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”
• John 6:42They were saying, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
• John 8:41You’re doing what your father does.” “We weren’t born of sexual immorality,” they said. “We have one Father — God.”
• John 9:39Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.”
• John 15:22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have no excuse for their sin.
• Acts 7:52Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They even killed those who foretold 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