3 “I will send my messenger,^(A) who will prepare the way before me.^(B) Then suddenly the Lord^(C) you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant,^(D) whom you desire,^(E) will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

⁵ “See, I will send the prophet Elijah^(A) to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.^(B)

² as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

⁴ Paul said, “John’s baptism^(A) was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”^(B)

²⁶ But what did you go out to see? A prophet?^(A) Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written:

²⁸ I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God^(C) is greater than he.”

⁷ “For the lips of a priest^(A) ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger^(B) of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.^(C)

⁶ There was a man sent from God whose name was John.^{(A) 7} He came as a witness to testify^(B) concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.^(C)