Malachi 3:1

Jesus Christ Prophecy Covenant and promises

“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.

² But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.

³ And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: “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.
KJV: 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.
WEB: “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me! The Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple. Behold, the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, is coming!” says the LORD of Armies.
ASV: 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.
DARBY: 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 Angel of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah of hosts.
BLB: “Behold, I am sending My messenger, and he will prepare the way before My face. And suddenly he will come to His temple—the Lord whom you⁺ are seeking, the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you⁺ delight. Behold, He is coming,” says YHWH of Hosts.

ÅB: Se, jeg sender mitt bud, og han skal rydde vei for mitt åsyn; og brått skal han komme til sitt tempel, Herren som dere søker, paktens engel som dere stunder etter; se, han kommer, sier Herren, hærskarenes Gud.
OTB: "Se, jeg sender min budbærer foran deg, som skal rydde veien for meg. Plutselig skal Herren, som dere søker, komme til sitt tempel; paktens budbærer, som dere gleder dere over, se, han kommer," sier Herren, hærskarenes Gud.
B1930: Se, jeg sender mitt bud, og han skal rydde vei for mitt åsyn; og brått skal han komme til sitt tempel, Herren som I søker, paktens engel som I stunder efter; se, han kommer, sier Herren, hærskarenes Gud.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
Read in context
Luke 1:76
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,
Read in context
Mark 1:2–3
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.”
Read in context
Isaiah 63:9
In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
Read in context
Luke 7:26–28
What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
Read in context
Matthew 11:10–11
This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’
Read in context
Acts 19:4
Paul explained: “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
Read in context
Malachi 2:7
For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.
Read in context