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“I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord who rules over all. Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. 3He will act like a refiner and purifier of silver and will cleanse the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will offer the Lord a proper offering. 4The offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in former times and years past.

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(3:19) “For indeed the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant evildoers will be chaff. The coming day will burn them up,” says the Lord who rules over all. “It will not leave even a root or branch.
• Amos 5:18Woe to those who wish for the day of the Lord! Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come? It will bring darkness, not light.
• Matthew 3:7But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring 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, “I tell you the truth, tax collectors and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!
• Matthew 23:13“But woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.
• Matthew 25:10But while they had gone to buy it, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding banquet. Then the door was shut.
• Luke 2:34Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “Listen carefully: This child is destined to be the cause of the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be rejected.
• Luke 3:9Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
• Luke 7:23Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
• Luke 11:37As he spoke, a Pharisee invited Jesus to have a meal with him, so he went in and took his place at the table.
• Luke 21:36But stay alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that must happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
• John 6:42and they said, “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 people are doing the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Jesus, “We were not born as a result of immorality! We have only one Father, God himself.”
• John 9:39Jesus said,] “For judgment I have come into this world, so that those who do not see may gain their sight, and the ones who see may become blind.”
• John 15:22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. But they no longer have any excuse for their sin.
• Acts 7:52Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold long ago 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