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 clear 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. “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. 3He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord 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 former years.

Malachi 3:2 word by word

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

• But whoמִיmîy · who?H4310
• endureכּוּלkûl · to sustainH3557
• the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• of His comingבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• can standעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
• when He appearsרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• refiner’sצָרַףtsâraph · to refineH6884
• fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• 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 and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”
• Amos 5:18Alas, you who are longing for the day of the Lord, For what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you? It will be darkness and not light;
• 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 wrath to come?
• Matthew 21:31Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.
• Matthew 23:13“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
• Matthew 25:10And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.
• Luke 2:34And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed--
• Luke 3:9Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
• Luke 7:23Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
• Luke 11:37Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in, and reclined at the table.
• Luke 21:36But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
• John 6:42They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”
• John 8:41You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.”
• John 9:39And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
• John 15:22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have 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 had previously announced 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