God’s Word Translation
Malachi 3:18
18Then you will again see the difference between righteous people and wicked people, between the one who serves God and the one who doesn’t serve him.
Malachi 3:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
- New International Version (NIV)And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then you shall again discern Between the righteous and the wicked, Between one who serves God And one who does not serve Him.
Context of Malachi 3:18
16Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord paid attention and listened. A book was written in his presence to be a reminder to those who feared the Lord and respected his name. 17“They will be mine,” says the Lord of Armies. “On that day I will make them my special possession. I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Then you will again see the difference between righteous people and wicked people, between the one who serves God and the one who doesn’t serve him.
Read all of Malachi 3Malachi 3:18 word by word
וְשַׁבְתֶּם֙ וּרְאִיתֶ֔ם בֵּ֥ין צַדִּ֖יק לְרָשָׁ֑ע בֵּ֚ין עֹבֵ֣ד אֱלֹהִ֔ים לַאֲשֶׁ֖ר לֹ֥א עֲבָדֽוֹ׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Malachi 3:18
- Malachi 3:14“You have said, ‘It’s pointless to serve God. What do we gain if we meet his standards or if we walk around feeling sorry for what we’ve done?
- Malachi 1:4“The descendants of Esau may say, ‘We have been beaten down, but we will rebuild the ruins.’ “Yet, this is what the Lord of Armies says: They may rebuild, but I will tear it down. They will be called ‘the Wicked Land’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is always angry.’
- Job 6:29Please change your mind. Don’t permit any injustice. Change your mind because I am still right about this!
- Job 17:10“But now, all of you, come and try again! I won’t find one wise man among you.
- Jeremiah 12:15After I’ve uprooted them, I will have compassion on them again. I will return them to their inheritance and to their lands.
- Joel 2:14Who knows? He may reconsider and change his plan and leave a blessing for you. Then you could give grain offerings and wine offerings to the Lord your God.
- Zechariah 1:6Didn’t my warnings and my laws, which I’ve commanded my servants the prophets ⌞to preach⌟, finally catch up with your ancestors? Then your ancestors turned away from their sins and said, ‘The Lord of Armies has done to us what he had planned to do. He has dealt with us as our ways and deeds deserve.’ ”
- Genesis 18:25It would be unthinkable for you to do such a thing, to treat the innocent and the guilty alike and to kill the innocent with the guilty. That would be unthinkable! Won’t the judge of the whole earth do what is fair?”
- Psalms 58:10Righteous people will rejoice when they see ⌞God⌟ take revenge. They will wash their feet in the blood of wicked people.
- Isaiah 3:10Tell the righteous that blessings will come to them. They will taste the fruit of their labor.
- Daniel 12:1⌞The person who looked like a human continued,⌟ “At that time Michael, the great commander, will stand up on behalf of the descendants of your people. It will be a time of trouble unlike any that has existed from the time there have been nations until that time. But at that time your people, everyone written in the book, will be rescued.
- Matthew 25:46“These people will go away into eternal punishment, but those with God’s approval will go into eternal life.”
- Romans 2:5Since you are stubborn and don’t want to change the way you think and act, you are adding to the anger that God will have against you on that day when God vents his anger. At that time God will reveal that his decisions are fair.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:5Your suffering proves that God’s judgment is right and that you are considered worthy of his kingdom.
- Joshua 24:15But if you don’t want to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Even if you choose the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live, my family and I will still serve the Lord.”
- Daniel 3:17If our God, whom we honor, can save us from a blazing furnace and from your power, he will, Your Majesty.
Commentaries on Malachi 3:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Then shall ye return - To your senses, when perhaps too late; and discern - see the difference which God makes, between the righteous and the wicked, which will be most marked and awful. Between him that serveth God - Your obedience to whom, ye said, would be unprofitable to you. And hits that serveth him not - Of whom ye said, his disobedience would be no prejudice to him. You will find the former received into the kingdom of glory; and the latter, with…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Then shall ye return, or turn - , not, “return” in the sense of returning to God, for in that day will be the time of judgment, not of repentance; nor yet, “then shall ye again see;” for this is what they denied; and, if they had ceased to deny it, they would have been converted, not in that day, but before, when God gave them grace to see it. They shall turn, so as to have other convictions than before; but, as Judas. The Day of Judgment will make a…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-18Verses 13-18 Among the Jews at this time, some plainly discovered themselves to be children of the wicked one. The yoke of Christ is easy. But those who work wickedness, tempt God by presumptuous sins. Judge of things as they will appear when the doom of these proud sinners comes to be executed. Those that feared the Lord, spake kindly, for preserving and promoting mutual love, when sin thus abounded. They spake one to another, in the language of those…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-18Here, the prophet acts as a recorder. He reports how the people reacted to his final message and how God responded to the conversation among those who feared the Lord. God listened to what they said (see Malachi 3:16). However, there is no sign that Malachi’s message led to real change in most of the people.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1813-18. He notices the complaint of the Jews that it is of no profit to serve Jehovah, for that the ungodly proud are happy; and declares He will soon bring the day when it shall be known that He puts an everlasting distinction between the godly and the ungodly. words ... stout--Hebrew, "hard"; so "the hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him" (Jude 15) [Henderson]. have we spoken--The Hebrew expresses at once their assiduity and habit…Read the comment
Topics related to Malachi 3:18
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
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