Malachi 3:1-4

New King James Version

The Coming Messenger

3 “Behold, ^(A)I send My messenger,
And he will ^(B)prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
^(C)Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, ^(D)He is coming,”
Says the Lord of hosts.

²“But who can endure ^(E)the day of His coming?
And ^(F)who can stand when He appears?
For ^(G)He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
³^(H)He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And ^[a]purge them as gold and silver,
That they may ^(I)offer to the Lord
An offering in righteousness.

⁴“Then ^(J)the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
Will be ^[b]pleasant to the Lord,
As in the days of old,
As in former years.

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Footnotes

Malachi 3:3 Or refine
Malachi 3:4 pleasing

Luke 1:5-7

New King James Version

John’s Birth Announced to Zacharias

⁵There was ^(A)in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, ^(B)of the division of ^(C)Abijah. His ^(D)wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

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Luke 1:11-17

New King James Version

¹¹Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of ^(A)the altar of incense. ¹²And when Zacharias saw him, ^(B)he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(C)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴And you will have joy and gladness, and ^(D)many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵For he will be ^(E)great in the sight of the Lord, and ^(F)shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(G)even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷^(H)He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”