1 Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way for me. The Lord you are seeking will suddenly arrive at his Temple. The messenger of the agreement you say is so happy with you is coming, says the Lord Almighty. 2 Who can survive the day when he comes? Who can stand before him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing furnace that refines metal, or like the strong alkali that cleanses stains. 3 He will sit down like a refiner who purifies silver; he will purify Levi's descendants and refine them like gold and silver so they can present pure offerings to the Lord. 4 Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as they did in the old days, in the former years. 5 I will come and put you on trial. I am ready to be a witness against those who: practice witchcraft commit adultery tell lies give false evidence cheat employees oppress widows and orphans abuse foreigners and do not respect me, says the Lord Almighty. 6 For I am the Lord, I don't change, and you haven't stopped being descendants of Jacob. 7 From the time of your forefathers onward, you have turned away from my laws and not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty. But you ask, “How should we return?” 8 Should people defraud God? Yet you are defrauding me! But you ask, “How have we defrauded you?” In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse, for you and the whole nation are defrauding me. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse so that there will be food in my Temple. Put me to the test in this, says the Lord Almighty, and I will open the windows of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you won't have enough room for it. 11 I will prevent locusts from destroying your crops, and your vineyards will not fail to bear fruit, says the Lord Almighty. 12 All nations will call you blessed because you live in such a wonderful land, says the Lord Almighty. 13 You have said hard things about me, says the Lord. But you say, “What have we said against you?” 14 You have said, “What's the point of serving God? What benefit is there in keeping his commandments or going before the Lord Almighty with long faces? 15 From now on we'll say that the proud are blessed. Evil people do well, and nothing happens when they dare God to punish them.” 16 Then those who truly respected the Lord spoke to each other, and the Lord heard what they said. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence of those who respected the Lord and paid attention to him. 17 They shall be mine, says the Lord Almighty, my prized possession on the day when I take action. I will treat them kindly, as a father treats an obedient son. 18 Then you will once again be able to distinguish those who do right from those who do wrong, between those who serve him and those who don't.
Malachi 3 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Cross references (18)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Malachi 4:5; Luke 1:76; Mark 1:2–3; Isaiah 63:9; Luke 7:26–28
- 2 Zechariah 13:9; Isaiah 4:4; 1 Corinthians 3:13–15; 1 Peter 2:7–8; Revelation 6:17
- 3 Isaiah 1:25; Proverbs 17:3; Zechariah 13:9; Hebrews 12:10; Daniel 12:10
- 4 2 Chronicles 7:1–3; Isaiah 56:7; Zechariah 8:3; Ezekiel 43:26–27; Jeremiah 30:18–20
- 5 James 5:8–9; Hebrews 13:4; Deuteronomy 5:11; James 5:4; Deuteronomy 27:19
- 6 Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17; Lamentations 3:22–23; Jeremiah 32:27
- 7 Zechariah 1:3; Romans 10:21; James 4:8; Romans 10:3; Deuteronomy 31:20
- 8 Proverbs 3:9–10; Matthew 22:21; Mark 12:17; Psalm 29:2; Malachi 1:13
- 9 Deuteronomy 28:15–19; Malachi 2:2; Haggai 2:14–17; Haggai 1:6–11; Joshua 22:20
- 10 2 Corinthians 9:6–8; Matthew 6:33; Proverbs 3:9–10; Psalm 37:3; Deuteronomy 28:12
- 11 Deuteronomy 11:14; Joel 2:22; Zechariah 8:12; Joel 1:4; Amos 7:1–3
- 12 Isaiah 61:9; Isaiah 62:4; Zechariah 8:23; Luke 1:48; Jeremiah 33:9
- 13 Malachi 2:17; Isaiah 37:23; Romans 9:20; Malachi 1:6–8; 2 Thessalonians 2:4
- 14 Isaiah 58:3; Psalm 73:8–13; Zephaniah 1:12; Job 35:3; Zechariah 7:3–6
- 15 Jeremiah 12:1–2; Job 21:7–15; Malachi 4:1; Malachi 2:17; Job 22:23
- 16 Psalm 56:8; Revelation 20:12; Malachi 4:2; Revelation 15:4; Isaiah 26:3
- 17 Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:6; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Isaiah 62:3–4; 1 Peter 2:9
- 18 Matthew 25:46; Genesis 18:25; Psalm 58:10–11; Joshua 24:15; Malachi 3:14–15
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Of a truth, soon and suddenly shall His will be accomplished, as the Scripture also bears witness, saying, "Speedily will He come, and will not tarry;" and, "The Lord shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Holy One, for whom ye look." Chapter XXIV — God continually shows us in nature that there will be a resurrection Let us …
Truly it was by Him, of whom Gabriel is the angel, who also announced the glad tidings of his birth: [that God] who also had promised by the prophets that He would send His messenger before the face of His Son, who should prepare His way, that is, that he should bear witness of that Light in the spirit and …
Behold, He cometh, saith the Lord Almighty, and who shall abide the day of His entry, or who shall stand at His appearing?" In this place he has foretold both the first and second advent of Christ: the first, to wit, of which he says, "And He shall come suddenly into His temple;" that is, into His flesh, of which …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
The Father disregarded not the perishing of our race; He sent forth His Son, the Lord from heaven, as healer: and one of the Prophets saith, The Lord whom ye seek, cometh, and shall suddenly come.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
Yea I say unto you, and more than a prophet;" He goes on, "For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee." Having before set down the testimony of the Jews, He then applies that of the prophets; or rather, He puts in the first …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)