Malachi 3:1
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The Coming Messenger
3 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.(A)
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Malachi 4:5
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5 See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.(A)
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Luke 1:76
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76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,(A)
Isaiah 63:9
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9 in all their distress.
It was no messenger or angel
but his presence that saved them;
in his love and pity it was he who redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.(A)
Acts 19:4
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4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.”(A)
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John 1:6-7
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6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
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Luke 7:26-28
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26 What, then, did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’
28 “I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John, yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
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Mark 1:2-3
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2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,[a]
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,[b]
who will prepare your way,(A)
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight,’ ”(B)
Malachi 2:7
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7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.(A)
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Acts 7:38
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38 He is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai and with our ancestors, and he received living oracles to give to us.(A)
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Luke 19:47
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47 Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him,(A)
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Haggai 2:7-9
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7 and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the Lord of hosts.(A) 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. 9 The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts, and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts.”(B)
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Isaiah 40:3-5
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3 A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.(A)
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.(B)
5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Exodus 23:20
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The Conquest of Canaan Promised
20 “I am going to send an angel in front of you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.(A)
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Luke 3:3-6
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3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.(A)
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”(B)
Luke 2:21-32
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Jesus Is Named
21 When the eighth day came, it was time to circumcise the child,[a] and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.(A)
Jesus Is Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord(B) 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”),(C) 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.(D) 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.[b](E) 27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon[c] came into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the law,(F) 28 Simeon[d] took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word,(G)
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,(H)
31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”(I)
Luke 1:16-17
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16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.(A) 17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”(B)
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Matthew 17:10-13
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10 And the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”(A) 11 He replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things,(B) 12 but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.”(C) 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
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Matthew 11:10-11
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10 This is the one about whom it is written,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’(A)
11 “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
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Matthew 3:1-3
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The Proclamation of John the Baptist
3 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”[a](A) 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’ ”(B)
Footnotes
- 3.2 Or is at hand
Isaiah 9:6
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6 For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders,
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.(A)
Isaiah 7:14
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14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.[a](A)
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- 7.14 That is, God is with us
Acts 13:24-25
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24 before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.(A) 25 And as John was finishing his work, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the strap of the sandals[a] on his feet.’(B)
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- 13.25 Gk untie the sandals
John 3:28-30
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28 You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah,[a] but I have been sent ahead of him.’(A) 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled.(B) 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”[b]
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John 2:14-16
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14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, with the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!”(A)
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