Malachi 3:18

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 gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name. 17“They will be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.” So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

Malachi 3:18 word by word

וְשַׁבְתֶּם֙ וּרְאִיתֶ֔ם בֵּ֥ין צַדִּ֖יק לְרָשָׁ֑ע בֵּ֚ין עֹבֵ֣ד אֱלֹהִ֔ים לַאֲשֶׁ֖ר לֹ֥א עֲבָדֽוֹ׃ סRead the interlinear

• So you will againשׁוּבshûb · to return: againH7725
• distinguishרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• betweenבַּ֫יִןbêyn · betweenH996
• the righteousצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
• and the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
• one who servesעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• and one whoאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834

Cross-references for Malachi 3:18

• Malachi 3:14You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of hosts?
• Malachi 1:4Though Edom says, “We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins”; thus says the Lord of hosts, “They may build, but I will tear down; and men will call them the wicked territory, and the people toward whom the Lord is indignant forever.”
• Job 6:29Desist now, let there be no injustice; Even desist, my righteousness is yet in it.
• Job 17:10But come again all of you now, For I do not find a wise man among you.
• Jeremiah 12:15And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.
• Joel 2:14Who knows whether He will not turn and relent And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God?
• Zechariah 1:6But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”
• Genesis 18:25Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”
• Psalms 58:10The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
• Isaiah 3:10Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions.
• Daniel 12:1“Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.
• Matthew 25:46These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
• Romans 2:5But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
• 2 Thessalonians 1:5This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.
• Joshua 24:15If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
• Daniel 3:17If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

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

• God Continued...
• Righteous
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Change
• Mournfully
• Prove
• Rob
• Accursed
• Discern
• Malachi
• Vulgate

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