⁵ “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives.

¹⁷ He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,^[a] and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

¹⁰ Then his disciples asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?^[a]”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. ¹² But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer.” ¹³ Then the disciples realized he was talking about John the Baptist.

¹¹ Then they asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?^[a]”

¹² Jesus responded, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. Yet why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be treated with utter contempt? ¹³ But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they chose to abuse him, just as the Scriptures predicted.”

¹³ For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come.^[a]

The Coming Day of Judgment

3 “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.

²¹ “Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”

“No,” he replied.

“Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”^[a]

“No.”

¹⁷ For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?”