the Week of Proper 23 / Ordinary 28
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Malachi 3:1
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The Lord All-Powerful says, "I am sending my messenger to prepare the way for me. Then suddenly, the Lord you are looking for will come to his temple. Yes, the messenger you are waiting for, the one who will tell about my agreement, is really coming!
"Behold, I am sending My messenger, and he will clear a way before Me. And the Lord, whom you are seeking, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of armies.
The Lord All-Powerful says, "I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way for me. Suddenly, the Lord you are looking for will come to his Temple; the messenger of the agreement, whom you want, will come."
Look, I send my messenger, and he shall 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, look, he comes, says Yahweh of hosts.
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he will come, saith the LORD of hosts.
"Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will prepare and clear the way before Me. And the Lord [the Messiah], whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts.
"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 in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
"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 hosts.
Lo! Y sende myn aungel, and he schal make redi weie bifor my face; and anoon the lordshipere, whom ye seken, schal come to his hooli temple, and the aungel of testament, whom ye wolen. Lo! he cometh, seith the Lord of oostis;
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he cometh, saith the LORD of hosts.
"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.
I, the Lord All-Powerful, will send my messenger to prepare the way for me. Then suddenly the Lord you are looking for will appear in his temple. The messenger you desire is coming with my promise, and he is on his way.
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.
See, I am sending my servant, and he will make ready the way before me; and the Lord, whom you are looking for, will suddenly come to his Temple; and the angel of the agreement, in whom you have delight, see, he is coming, says the Lord of armies.
"Look! I am sending my messenger to clear the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple. Yes, the messenger of the covenant, in whom you take such delight — look! Here he comes," says Adonai -Tzva'ot.
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.
Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall clear the way before Me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to His temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he cometh, saith the LORD of hosts.
Beholde, I will send my messenger, and he shal prepare the way before mee: and the Lord whom ye seeke, shall suddenly come to his Temple: euen ye messenger of the Couenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
"Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming," says the Lord of Heaven's Armies.
"See, I am going to send one with news, and he will make the way ready before Me. Then all at once the Lord you are looking for will come to His house. The one with the news of the agreement, whom you desire, is coming," says the Lord of All.
See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lorde whom ye seeke, shall speedely come to his Temple: euen the messenger of the couenant whom ye desire: beholde, he shall come, sayth the Lord of hostes.
BEHOLD, I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me; and he for whom you are waiting shall suddenly come to the temple of the LORD, even the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight; behold, he shall come, says the LORD of hosts.
Behold me! sending my messenger, who will prepare a way before me, - and, suddenly, shall come to his temple The Lord whom ye are seeking, even the messenger of the covenant in whom ye are delighting, Lo! he cometh! saith Yahweh of hosts.
Behold I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face. And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the angel of the testament, whom you desire, shall come to his temple. Behold, he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts.
"Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
Beholde, I wyll sende my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the lord whom ye seeke, shal speedyly come to his temple, and the messenger of the couenaunt whom ye desire, beholde he commeth, saith the Lorde of hoastes.
Behold, I send forth my messenger, and he shall survey the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come into his temple, even the angel of the covenant, whom ye take pleasure in: behold, he is coming, saith the Lord Almighty.
The Lord Almighty answers, "I will send my messenger to prepare the way for me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger you long to see will come and proclaim my covenant."
“See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in—see, he is coming,” says the Lord of Armies.
"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 the LORD of hosts.
"Look! I am going to send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you are seeking will come suddenly to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you are taking pleasure—look!—he is about to come," says Yahweh of hosts.
Behold, I am sending My messenger, and He will clear the way before Me. And the Lord whom you are seeking shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the Covenant, in whomyou delight. Behold, He comes, says Jehovahof Hosts.
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.
Beholde, I wil sende my messaunger, which shal prepare the waye before me: and the LORDE whom ye wolde haue, shal soone come to his temple, yee euen the messaunger of the couenaunt whom ye longe for. Beholde, he commeth, sayeth the LORDE of hoostes.
"Look! I'm sending my messenger on ahead to clear the way for me. Suddenly, out of the blue, the Leader you've been looking for will enter his Temple—yes, the Messenger of the Covenant, the one you've been waiting for. Look! He's on his way!" A Message from the mouth of God -of-the-Angel-Armies.
"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.
"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, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the LORD of hosts.
"Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts.
"Behold, I am going to 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, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says Yahweh of hosts.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
I will: Malachi 2:7, Malachi 4:5, Matthew 11:10, Matthew 11:11, Mark 1:2, Mark 1:3, Luke 1:76, Luke 7:26-28, John 1:6, John 1:7
and he: Isaiah 40:3-5, Matthew 3:1-3, Matthew 17:10-13, Luke 1:16, Luke 1:17, Luke 3:3-6, John 1:15-23, John 1:33, John 1:34, John 3:28-30, Acts 13:24, Acts 13:25, Acts 19:4
and: Psalms 110:1, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6, Haggai 2:7-9, Luke 2:11, Luke 2:21-32, Luke 2:38, Luke 2:46, Luke 7:19, Luke 7:20, Luke 19:47, John 2:14-16
even: Genesis 48:15, Genesis 48:16, Exodus 23:20, Isaiah 63:9, Hosea 12:3-5, Acts 7:38
he shall come: Haggai 2:7
Reciprocal: Genesis 16:10 - the angel Genesis 32:3 - sent Exodus 3:2 - angel Exodus 29:43 - sanctified Numbers 25:12 - General Deuteronomy 18:18 - like unto Deuteronomy 33:7 - and bring Judges 2:1 - And an angel 2 Chronicles 7:1 - the fire Job 33:23 - a messenger Psalms 24:3 - stand Psalms 24:7 - King Psalms 96:13 - he cometh Ecclesiastes 5:6 - before Song of Solomon 8:1 - that thou Isaiah 35:4 - behold Isaiah 40:10 - the Lord God Jeremiah 33:14 - General Ezekiel 21:27 - until Ezekiel 44:4 - the glory Hosea 12:4 - angel Amos 5:18 - desire Haggai 1:13 - the Lord's Zechariah 2:8 - sent Zechariah 2:10 - lo Zechariah 3:1 - the angel Zechariah 12:8 - as the Zechariah 13:8 - two Matthew 3:3 - Prepare Matthew 3:10 - now Matthew 11:3 - Art Matthew 12:6 - General Matthew 21:12 - went Matthew 25:6 - go Mark 9:11 - General Mark 11:11 - Jesus Mark 11:27 - as he Mark 13:1 - out Luke 2:49 - my Luke 7:27 - Behold Luke 9:52 - sent Luke 12:56 - that Luke 17:24 - in Luke 24:27 - and all Luke 24:44 - in the prophets John 1:26 - whom John 1:31 - but John 7:14 - the temple John 11:27 - which John 13:19 - that I John 20:28 - My Lord Acts 2:2 - suddenly Acts 7:30 - an Acts 10:36 - he is Acts 13:32 - how Acts 26:6 - the promise Galatians 4:4 - the fulness Ephesians 1:10 - in the Hebrews 1:8 - O God Hebrews 9:11 - Christ Revelation 7:2 - And I
Cross-References
And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
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, because sent by him and on his errand; and which shows the power and authority of Christ in sending forth ministers; his superior excellency to John, and his existence before him, or he could not be sent by him, and so before his incarnation; for John was sent by him before he was in the flesh, and consequently this is a proof of the proper deity of Christ: and the word "behold" is prefixed to this, in order to raise the attention of those that put the above question, and all others; as well as to show that the message John was sent upon was of the greatest moment and importance; as that the Messiah was just ready to appear, his kingdom was at hand, and the Jews ought to believe in him; though it also respects the coming of the Messiah, spoken of in the latter part of the text:
and he shall prepare the way before me; by declaring to the Jews that he was born, and was in the midst of them; by pointing him out unto them; by preaching the doctrine of repentance, and exhorting them to believe in him; and by administering the ordinance of baptism in general to all proper subjects, and in particular to Christ, by which he was made manifest to Israel; Matthew 11:10- : the allusion is to kings and great men sending persons before them when on a journey, to give notice of their coming, and provide for them:
and the Lord, whom ye seek; this is the person himself speaking, the Son of God, and promised Messiah, the Lord of all men, and particularly of his church and people, in right of marriage, by virtue of redemption, and by being their Head and King; so Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it of him, and even Abarbinel q himself; the Messiah that had been so long spoken of and so much expected, and whom the Jews sought after, either in a scoffing manner, expressed in the above question, or rather seriously; some as a temporal deliverer, to free them from the Roman yoke, and bring them into a state of liberty, prosperity, and grandeur; and others as a spiritual Saviour, to deliver from sin, law, hell, and death, and save them with an everlasting salvation:
shall suddenly come to his temple; meaning not his human nature, nor his church, sometimes so called; but the material temple at Jerusalem, the second temple, called "his", because devoted to his service and worship, which proves him to be God, and because of his frequency in it; here he was brought and presented by his parents at the proper time, for the purification of his mother; here he was at twelve years of age disputing with the doctors; and here Simeon, Anna, and others, were waiting for him, Luke 2:22 and we often read of his being here, and of his using his authority in it as the Lord and proprietor of it; and of the Hosannas given him here,
Matthew 21:12 the manner in which he should come, "suddenly", may refer to the manifestation of it, quickly after John the Baptist had prepared his way by his doctrine and baptism:
even the messenger of the covenant; not of the covenant of works with Adam, of which there was no mediator and messenger; nor of the covenant of circumcision, at which, according to the Jews, Elias presides; nor of the covenant at Sinai, of which Moses was the mediator; but of the covenant of grace, of which Christ is not only the Surety and Mediator; but, as here, "the Messenger"; because it is revealed, made known, and exhibited in a more glorious manner by him under the Gospel dispensation, through the ministration of the word and ordinances. De Dieu observes, that the word in the Ethiopic language signifies a prince as well as a messenger, and so may be rendered, "the Prince of the covenant", which is a way of speaking used in Daniel 11:22:
whom ye delight in; either carnally, as they pleased themselves with the thoughts of a temporal prince, and of great honour and grandeur under him; and as they would have done, had he submitted to have been made a king by them in this sense; or rather spiritually, and so is to be understood of such who had a spiritual knowledge of him, and joy in him; who rejoiced and delighted in the contemplation of his person, offices, righteousness, and salvation:
he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts; this expresses the certainty of his coming, being said by himself, who is the Lord of hosts, the Lord of armies in heaven and in earth, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. This passage is, in some Jewish writers r, interpreted of the world to come, or times of the Messiah.
q Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 76. 4. r Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 16. fol. 219. 4.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
God answers their complaints of the absence of His judgments, that they would come, but would include those also who clamored for them. For no one who knew his own sinfulness would call for the judgment of God, as being himself, chief of sinners. Augustine pictures one saying to God, âTake away the ungodly man,â and that God answers, âWhich?â
Behold, I send My messenger before My face, and he shall prepare My way before Me - they, then, were not prepared for His Coming, for whom they clamored. The messenger is the same whom Isaiah had foretold, whose words Malachi uses Isaiah 40:3 : âThe voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straiqht in the desert a highway for our God. Luke 1:76. Thou, child,â was the prophecy on John the Immerserâs birth, âshalt be called the prophet of the Highest, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His way, to give knowledge of salvation unto His people, for the remission of their sins.â Repentance was to be the preparation for the kingdom of Christ, the Messiah, for whom they looked so impatiently.
He who speaks, is He who should come, God the Son. For it was before Him Who came and dwelt among us, that the way was to be prepared. He speaks here in His divine nature, as the Lord Who should send, and Who should Himself come in our flesh. In the Gospel, when He was come in the flesh, He speaks not of His own Person but of the Father, since âindivisible are the operations of the Trinity, and what the One doth, the other Two do, since the Three are of one nature, power and operation.â Whence Christ, in order to give no excuse to the Jews to speak against Him before the time, refers it, as He does His life John 6:57. His doctrine John 7:16 words John 3:11; John 5:43; John 8:38, John 8:40, John 8:47, John 8:55; John 12:49; John 14:10, John 14:24 and works John 4:34; John 5:19-20, John 5:26, John 5:30, John 5:36; John 6:38; John 8:28; John 9:4; John 10:25, John 10:32, John 10:37-38; John 14:10-11 to the Father.
âThose works, which do not relate to that which b uniquely belongs to each Person, being common, are ascribed now to One Person, now to Another, in order to set forth the One Substance in the Trinity of Persons.â Thus, John says John 12:41. Isaiah spoke of the unbelief of the Jews, when he âsawâ the âgloryâ of God the Son âand spake of Him,â and Paul says Acts 28:25. that the âHoly Spirit spakeâ then âbyâ him.
And he shall prepare the way before Meo - âThe same is Godâs way here, and Christâs there, an evident proof that Christ is one God with the Father, and that, in Christ, God came and was manifest in the flesh.â The prophets and all who turned men to righteousness, or who retained the knowledge of the truth or of righteousness or of God in the world, did, in their degree, prepare the way for Christ. But John was His immediate forerunner âbefore His Face,â the herald of His immediate approach; from where he is called âthe end of the law, and the beginning of the Gospel,â âthe lamp before the Light, the voice before the Word, the mediator between the Old and the New Testament;â âthe link of the law and of grace; a new morning star; a ray, before the true Sun should burst forth,â the end of night, the beginning of day.
And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple - He, Whose Coming they sought for, was Almighty God, âthe God of Judgment.â He who should come, was âthe Lord,â again Almighty God, since, in usage too, none else is called âthe Lord,â as none else can be. The temple also, to which He was to come, the temple of God, is His own. âThe messenger, or the Angel of the covenant,â plainly, even from the parallelism, is the same as âthe Lord.â It was âone,â for whom they looked; one, of whose absence they complained; Malachi 2:17, âwhere is the God of judgment?â one, who should come to His temple , one whose coming they sought and prepared âto have pleasure in;â one, of whom it is repeated, âlo, He cometh,â one, in the day of whose coming, at whose appearing, it was asked, âwho shall stand?â âAll Christian interpreters are agreed that this Lord is Christ Acts 2:36, whom God hath made both Lord and Christ, and Acts 10:36. Who is Lord over all; by whom all things were made, are sustained and governed; Who is (as the root of the word implies) the basis and foundation, not of any private family, tribe or kingdom, but of all; 1 Corinthians 8:6. by whom are all things and we by Him: and whose we are also by right of redemption; and so He is Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16. Lord of lords and King of kings, deservedly called the Lord.â As then the special presence of God was often indicated in connection with âthe Angel of the Lord,â so, here, He who was to come was entitled the Angel or messenger of the covenant, as God also calls Him the covenant itself.
Isaiah 42:6, âI will give Thee for a covenant of the people, a light of the Gentiles.â He it was Isaiah 63:9, âthe Angel of His presence,â who saved His former people, in whom His âName was,â and who, by the prerogative of God, would Exodus 23:21, ânot pardon their transgressions.â He should be Hebrews 12:24; Hebrews 8:6, âthe Mediator of the new and better covenantâ which is promised Jeremiah 31:32-33; Hebrews 8:9, ânot according to the covenant, that I made with their fathers, in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt,â which âMy covenant they broke, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord; but this shall be the covenant, that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God and they shall be My people.â
Whom ye seek, are seeking, whom ye delight in - , i. e., profess so to do; âHe will come,â but will be very different from Him whom ye look for, an Avenger on your enemies. Judgment will come, but it will begin with yourselves.
Shall suddenly come - o âunawares, when men should not think of them; whence perhaps it is that the Jews reckon the Messiah among what shall come unawares.â As, it is here said of His first Coming, so it is said of His second Coming (which may be comprehended under this here spoken of) that except they diligently watch for it Luke 21:35, âit shall come upon them unawares Mark 13:36. suddenly Matthew 24:44. in such an hour as they think not.â âThe Lord of glory always comes, like a thief in the night, to those who sleep in their sins.â
Lo, He will come - : he insists again and calls their minds to that Coming, certain, swift, new, wonderful, on which all eyes should be set, but His coming would be a sifting-time.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
CHAPTER III
In allusion to the custom of sending pioneers to prepare the
way for the march of an eastern monarch, the coming of
Christ's forerunner is described, and then the coming of
Christ himself, 1;
with the terrible judgments which were to accompany that event,
in order to refine and purify his people and his priests, 2-6.
The following verses reprehend them for withholding the legal
tithes and offerings, with large promises in case of their
repentance and amendments, 7-12.
The prophet expostulates with the people for their hard and
profane speeches against the conduct of Providence, and
declares God will one day make a fearful and final distinction
between the righteous and the wicked, whose different
characters are in the mean time carefully recorded, 13-18.
NOTES ON CHAP. III
Verse Malachi 3:1. Behold, I will send my messenger — ××××× Malachi, the very name of the prophet. But this speaks of John the Baptist. I, the Messiah, the Seed of God, mentioned above, will send my messenger, John the Baptist.
He shall prepare the way — Be as a pioneer before me; a corrector of civil abuses, and a preacher of righteousness.
And the Lord, whom ye seek — The Messiah, whom ye expect, from the account given by the prophet Daniel, in his seventy weeks, Daniel 9:24.
Shall suddenly come to his temple — Shall soon be presented before the Lord in his temple; cleanse it from its defilement, and fill it with his teaching and his glory.
The Messenger of the covenant — He that comes to fulfil the great design, in reference to the covenant made with Abram, that in his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed. See the parallel texts in the margin, and the notes on them.
