VERSE STUDY • KJV

Malachi 3:1

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

Read it in 5 translations

KJV King James Version

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

BSB Berean Standard Bible

“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.

WEB World English Bible

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says Yahweh of Armies.

ASV American Standard Version

Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah of hosts.

YLT Young’s Literal Translation

Lo, I am sending My messenger, And he hath prepared a way before Me, And suddenly come in unto his temple Doth the Lord whom ye are seeking, Even the messenger of the covenant, Whom ye are desiring, Lo, he is coming, said Jehovah of Hosts.

Surrounding context — Malachi 3

1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

2 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:

3 And he shall sit [as] a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

Read the whole chapter → · About Malachi →

Topics connected to this verse

Original-language word links

These Hebrew/Greek tokens are linked by Strong's number. Click one for its lexicon definition and other occurrences.

הִנְנִ֤יH2005 · henlook!שֹׁלֵחַ֙H7971 · sha.lachto send: depart מַלְאָכִ֔יH4397 · ma.le.akhmessenger וּפִנָּה־H6437 · pa.nahto turn דֶ֖רֶךְH1870 · de.rekhway: conduct לְפָנָ֑יH6440 · pa.nehface: before וּפִתְאֹם֩H6597 · pit.omsuddenly יָב֨וֹאH935 · boto come (in): come אֶל־H413 · elto(wards)הֵיכָל֜וֹH1964 · he.khaltemple הָאָד֣וֹן׀H113 · a.donlord אֲשֶׁר־H834 · a.sherwhich אַתֶּ֣םH859 · at.tahyou(m.s.)מְבַקְשִׁ֗יםH1245 · ba.qashto seek וּמַלְאַ֨ךְH4397 · ma.le.akhmessenger הַבְּרִ֜יתH1285 · be.ritcovenant אֲשֶׁר־H834 · a.sherwhich אַתֶּ֤םH859 · at.tahyou(m.s.)חֲפֵצִים֙H2655 · cha.phetsdelighting הִנֵּה־H2009 · hin.nehbehold בָ֔אH935 · boto come (in): come אָמַ֖רH559 · a.marto say יְהוָ֥הH3068 · ye.ho.vahLORD צְבָאֽוֹת׃H6635 · tsa.vaarmy

Cross-references

Malachi 4:5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:Luke 1:76And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;Mark 1:2-3As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.Isaiah 63:9In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.Matthew 11:10-11For this is [he], of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.Luke 7:26-28But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.Acts 19:4Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.Malachi 2:7For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he [is] the messenger of the LORD of hosts.Isaiah 40:3-5The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.John 1:6-7There was a man sent from God, whose name [was] John.Matthew 17:10-13And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?Luke 1:16-17And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.Exodus 23:20Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.Matthew 3:1-3In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,Psalm 110:1A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.Haggai 2:7-9And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.Luke 3:3-6And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;Isaiah 9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION

Compare classic commentaries on Malachi 3:1

Put Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke, Calvin, Wesley, Barnes, Jamieson–Fausset–Brown, Aquinas’ Catena and other public-domain sources beside the passage.

Compare commentaries →