Malachi 3:1

Jesus Christ Prophecy Covenant and promises

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.

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 dreadful day of the LORD:
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Luke 1:76
And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
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Mark 1:2–3
As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
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Isaiah 63:9
In 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.
Read in context
Luke 7:26–28
But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
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Matthew 11:10–11
For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
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Acts 19:4
Then 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.
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Malachi 2:7
For 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.
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