Malachi 3
1599 Geneva Bible
3 1 Of the messenger of the Lord, John Baptist, and of Christ’s office.
1 Behold, I will send my [a]messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the [b]Lord whom ye seek, shall speedily come to his Temple: even the [c]messenger of the Covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
2 But who [d]may abide the day of his coming? and who shall endure, when he appeareth? for he is like a purging fire, and like fuller’s soap.
3 And he shall sit down to try and fine the silver: he shall even fine the sons of [e]Levi and purify them as gold and silver, that they may bring offerings unto the Lord in righteousness.
4 Then shall the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem be acceptable unto the Lord, as in old time and in the years afore.
5 And I will come near to you to judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the soothsayers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that wrongfully keep back the hireling’s wages, and vex the widow, and the fatherless, and oppress the stranger, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.
6 For I am the Lord: I change not, and ye sons of Jacob [f]are not consumed.
7 From the days of your fathers, ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them: [g]return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts: but ye said, Wherein shall we return?
8 Will a [h]man spoil his gods? yet have ye spoiled me: but ye say, Wherein have we spoiled thee? In [i]tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have spoiled me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven unto you, and pour you out a blessing [j]without measure.
11 And I will rebuke the [k]devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruit of your ground, neither shall your vine be barren in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.
12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a pleasant land, saith the Lord of hosts.
13 Your words have been stout [l]against me, saith the Lord: yet ye say, What have we spoken against thee?
14 Ye have said, It is in vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his commandment, and that we walked humbly before the Lord of hosts?
15 Therefore we count the proud blessed: even they that work wickedness, are set up, and they that tempt God, yea, they are [m]delivered.
16 [n]Then spake they that feared the Lord, everyone to his neighbor, and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a [o]book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his Name.
17 And they shall be to me, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day [p]that I shall do this, for a flock, and I will [q]spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
18 Then shall you return, and discern between the righteous and wicked, between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not.
Footnotes
- Malachi 3:1 This is meant of John Baptist, as Christ expoundeth it, Luke 7:27.
- Malachi 3:1 Meaning, Messiah, Ps. 40:1, 7; Dan. 9:17, 25.
- Malachi 3:1 That is, Christ, by whom the covenant was made and ratified, who is called the Angel or messenger of the covenant, because he reconcileth us to his father and is Lord or king, because he hath the government of his Church.
- Malachi 3:2 He showeth that the hypocrites which wish so much for the Lord’s coming will not abide when he draweth near: for he will consume them, and purge his and make them clean.
- Malachi 3:3 He beginneth at the Priests that they might be lights, and shine unto others.
- Malachi 3:6 They murmured against God, because they saw not his help ever present to defend them: and therefore he accuseth them of ingratitude, and showeth that in that they are not daily consumed, it is a token, that he doth still defend them, and so his mercy toward them never changeth.
- Malachi 3:7 Read Zech. 1:3.
- Malachi 3:8 There are none of the heathen so barbarous, that will defraud their gods of their honor, or deal deceitfully with them.
- Malachi 3:8 Whereby the service of God should have been maintained, and the Priests and the poor relieved.
- Malachi 3:10 Not having respect how much ye need, but I will give you in all abundance: so that ye shall lack place to put my blessings in.
- Malachi 3:11 Meaning, the caterpillar, and whatsoever destroyeth corn and fruits.
- Malachi 3:13 The Prophet condemneth them of double blasphemy against God: first, in that they said that God had no respect to them that served him, and next, that the wicked were more in his favor than the godly.
- Malachi 3:15 They are not only preferred to honor, but also delivered from dangers.
- Malachi 3:16 After these admonitions of the Prophet, some were lively touched, and encouraged others to fear God.
- Malachi 3:16 Both because the thing was strange that some turned to God in that great and universal corruption, and also that this might be an example of God’s mercies to all penitent sinners.
- Malachi 3:17 When I shall restore my Church according to my promise, they shall be as mine own proper goods.
- Malachi 3:17 That is, forgive their sins, and govern them with my Spirit.
Malachi 3
English Standard Version
3 (A)“Behold, I send (B)my messenger, and (C)he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord (D)whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and (E)the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But (F)who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For (G)he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 He will sit (H)as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring (I)offerings in righteousness to the Lord.[a] 4 (J)Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be (K)a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those (L)who oppress the hired worker in his wages, (M)the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
Robbing God
6 “For (N)I the Lord do not change; (O)therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 (P)From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. (Q)Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. (R)But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. (S)But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ (T)In your tithes and contributions. 9 (U)You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 (V)Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby (W)put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open (X)the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke (Y)the devourer[b] for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then (Z)all nations will call you blessed, for you will be (AA)a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
13 (AB)“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. (AC)But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, (AD)‘It is vain to serve God. (AE)What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we call (AF)the arrogant blessed. (AG)Evildoers not only prosper but (AH)they put God to the test and they escape.’”
The Book of Remembrance
16 Then those who feared the Lord (AI)spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and (AJ)a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, (AK)in the day when I make up (AL)my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall (AM)see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
Footnotes
- Malachi 3:3 Or and they will belong to the Lord, bringers of an offering in righteousness
- Malachi 3:11 Probably a name for some crop-destroying pest or pests
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
