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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
send	שֹׁלֵחַ֙ sho.le.aCh	H7971	to send away · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
messenger	מַלְאָכִ֔י mal.'a.Khi	H4397	a messenger · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
prepare	וּפִנָּה u.fi.nah-	H6437	to turn · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
way	דֶ֖רֶךְ De.rekh	H1870	a road (as trodden) · noun, common both genders singular absolute
before	לְפָנָ֑י le.fa.Nai	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
Lord	הָאָד֣וֹן ha.'a.Don	H113	sovereign · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
seek	מְבַקְשִׁ֗ים me.vak.Shim	H1245	to search out (by any method · verb, piel active participle, masculine plural absolute
suddenly	וּפִתְאֹם֩ u.fit.'Om	H6597	instantly · conjunction + adverb
come	יָב֨וֹא ya.Vo'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
temple	הֵיכָל֜וֹ hei.kha.Lo	H1964	a large public building · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
messenger	וּמַלְאַ֨ךְ u.mal.'Akh	H4397	a messenger · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
covenant	הַבְּרִ֜ית ha.be.Rit	H1285	a compact (because made by passing between pieces of fl… · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
delight	חֲפֵצִים֙ cha.fe.Tzim	H2655	pleased with · adjective, masculine plural absolute
come	בָ֔א Va'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
saith	אָמַ֖ר 'a.Mar	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD	יְהוָ֥ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
hosts	צְבָאֽוֹת tze.va.'ot	H6635	a mass of persons (or figuratively · noun, common feminine plural absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

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:
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;
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.
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 bar…
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.
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.
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.
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 co…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Malachi 3:1-6

The first words of this chapter seem a direct answer to the profane atheistical demand of the scoffers of those days which closed the foregoing chapter: Where is the God of judgment? To which it is readily answered, "Here he is; he is just at the door; the long-expected Messiah is ready to appear; and he says, For judgment have I come into this world, for that judgment which you have so impudently bid defiance to." One of the rabbin says that the meaning of this is, That God will raise up a righteous King, to set things in order, even the king Messiah. And the beginning of the gospel of Christ is expressly said to be the accomplishment of this promise, with which the Old Testament concludes,…

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John Gill on Malachi 3:1

Behold, I will send my messenger,.... These are the words of Christ, in answer to the question put in the last verse of the preceding chapter Malachi 2:17, "Where is the God of judgment?" intimating that he would quickly appear, and previous to his coming send his messenger or angel; not the angel of death to destroy the wicked, as Jarchi thinks; nor an angel from heaven, as Kimchi; nor Messiah the son of Joseph; as Aben Ezra; nor the Prophet Malachi himself, as Abarbinel; but the same that is called Elijah the prophet, Malachi 4:5 and is no other than John the Baptist, as is clear from Matthew 11:10 called a "messenger" or "angel", not by nature, but by office; and Christ's messenger, becau…

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John Calvin on Malachi 3:1

Malachi 3:1 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, who ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. 1. Ecce ego mitto Angelum meum, et purgabit viam coram facie mea; et mox veniet ad templum suum Dominus, quem vos quaeritis, et Angelo foederis quem vos expetitis; ecce venit, dicit Iehova exercituum. Here the Prophet does not bring comfort to the wicked slanderers previously mentioned, but asserts the constancy of his faith in opposition to their blasphemous words; as though he had said, "Though they impiously declare that they have bee…

The Church Fathers

Behold I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before thy presence. This passage the Lord applied to himself and to John the Baptist.
— Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 5

John, however, as soon as he was born, passed over to the deserts, and he who "was greater among those born of women" showed himself worthy of a greater nurture. Of him the prophet speaks: "behold, I send my angel before your face". Rightly is he called an angel, who had been sent before the Lord and, as soon as he was born, was able to hear and understand his prophesying father.
— Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 10

Since then it is evident that many are to judge with the Lord but that others are to be judged, not however on equality but according to their deserts, he will come with all his angels. [At the judgment] before him shall be gathered all nations, and among all the angels are to be reckoned those that have been so perfect, that sitting upon twelve thrones they judge the twelve tribes of Israel. For men are called angels; the apostle says of himself, "As an angel of God you received me." Of John the Baptist it is said, "Behold, I send my angel before your face, who shall prepare your way before you."
— Augustine of Hippo, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 50:11

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Angels — By the word “angels” (i.e. “messengers” of God) we ordinarily understand a race of spiritual beings of a nature exalted far above that of man, although infinitely removed from that of God—whose…
Christ — Anointed, the Greek translation of the Hebrew word rendered “Messiah” (q.v.), the official title of our Lord, occurring five hundred and fourteen times in the New Testament. It denotes that he was…
John the Baptist — The “forerunner of our Lord.” We have but fragmentary and imperfect accounts of him in the Gospels. He was of priestly descent. His father, Zacharias, was a priest of the course of Abia (1 Chr.…
Malachi — Messenger or angel, the last of the minor prophets, and the writer of the last book of the Old Testament canon (Mal. 4:4, 5, 6). Nothing is known of him beyond what is contained in his book of…
Messiah — (Heb. mashiah), in all the thirty-nine instances of its occurring in the Old Testament, is rendered by the LXX. “Christos.” It means anointed. Thus priests (Ex. 28:41; 40:15; Num. 3:3), prophets (1…
Christ Is God · As Jehovah, the Messenger of the covenant — As Jehovah, the Messenger of the covenant
Covenant, The · Christ, the Messenger of — Christ, the Messenger of
Malachi · Fortells the coming of the Messiah — Fortells the coming of the Messiah
Messenger · FIGURATIVE — FIGURATIVE
Prophecies Respecting Christ · His being preceded by John the Baptist — His being preceded by John the Baptist
Quotations And Allusions · with — with

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Malachi 3:1-6

John Gill on Malachi 3:1

John Calvin on Malachi 3:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Malachi 3:1-6

John Gill on Malachi 3:1

John Calvin on Malachi 3:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Malachi 3:1