--- title: "Malachi 3 - Study King James Bible with ellicotts commentary for english readers" description: "Read Malachi 3 with ellicotts commentary for english readers commentary. 1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messen" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/ellicotts-commentary-for-english-readers/malachi/3" --- [ Read](/kjv/malachi/3)[ Commentary](/study/malachi/3)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/malachi/3) Audio 1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. 2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he *is* like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: 3 And he shall sit *as* a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. 4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.* 5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in *his* wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger *from his right*, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.* 6 For I *am* the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. 7 ¶ Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept *them*. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? 8 ¶ Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye *are* cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, *even* this whole nation. 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that *there shall* not *be room* enough *to receive it*.* 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.* 12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts. 13 ¶ Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken *so much* against thee? 14 Ye have said, It *is* vain to serve God: and what profit *is it* that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?** 15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, *they that* tempt God are even delivered.* 16 ¶ Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard *it*, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. 17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.* 18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. [Malachi 2](/study/malachi/2) [Malachi 4](/study/malachi/4) ## Commentary To verse 1 **III.** (1) **I will send**.—Or, *I send.* It is the participle used as the prophetic present. (Comp. Note on [Malachi 1:11](/kjv/malachi/1/11).) **My messenger.**—Heb., *Malachi, my angel,* or *my messenger,* with a play on the name of the prophet. In [Malachi 2:7](/kjv/malachi/2/7), he calls the priest the *angel* or *messenger* of the LORD. There can be little doubt that he is influenced in his choice of the term by his own personal name (see *Introd.*)*.* This “messenger,” by the distinct reference to [Isaiah 40:3](/kjv/isaiah/40/3), contained in the words, “and he shall prepare,” &c., is evidently the same as he whom [the deutero-] Isaiah prophetically heard crying, “In the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Moreover, from the nature of his mission, he is proved to be identical with the “Elijah” of [Malachi 4:3](/kjv/malachi/4/3). These words had their first, if not their perfect fulfilment in John the Baptist ([Matthew 17:12](/kjv/matthew/17/12)). **The Lord.**—This word “Lord” occurs eight times with the definite article, but always, except here, with the name of God following it: viz., [Exodus 23:17](/kjv/exodus/23/17), followed by “Jehovah;” [Exodus 34:23](/kjv/exodus/34/23), by “Jehovah, the God of Israel;” in [Isaiah 1:24](/kjv/isaiah/1/24); [Isaiah 3:1](/kjv/isaiah/3/1); [Isaiah 10:33](/kjv/isaiah/10/33); [Isaiah 19:4](/kjv/isaiah/19/4), by “Jehovah Zebaoth;” and in [Isaiah 10:16](/kjv/isaiah/10/16), by “the Lord of Zebaoth.” And here, as elsewhere, it must mean God Himself, because He is said to come “to *his* temple,” and because He is said to be He “whom ye seek:” *i.e.*, “the God of judgment” ([Malachi 2:17](/kjv/malachi/2/17)). **Even**—*i.e.*, “namely,” for so the Hebrew conjunction “and” is frequently used: *e.g.,* [Exodus 25:12](/kjv/exodus/25/12); [1 Samuel 28:3](/kjv/1-samuel/28/3). **The messenger** (or angel)**of the covenant.**—This expression occurs only in this passage. Identified as He is here with “the Lord,” He can be no other than the Son of God, who was manifested in the flesh as the Messiah. In the word “covenant” there is, perhaps, some reference to the “new covenant” ([Jeremiah 31:31](/kjv/jeremiah/31/31)), but the meaning of the word must not be limited to this. **Delight in.**—Rather, *desire. * ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/ellicotts-commentary-for-english-readers/malachi/3#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/ellicotts-commentary-for-english-readers/malachi/3#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/ellicotts-commentary-for-english-readers/malachi/3","name":"Malachi 3 - Study King James Bible with ellicotts commentary for english readers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/ellicotts-commentary-for-english-readers/malachi/3#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Malachi 3 with ellicotts commentary for english readers commentary. 1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messen","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/ellicotts-commentary-for-english-readers/malachi/3#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/ellicotts-commentary-for-english-readers/malachi/3"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/ellicotts-commentary-for-english-readers/malachi/3#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/ellicotts-commentary-for-english-readers","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/ellicotts-commentary-for-english-readers","name":"ellicotts commentary for english readers"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/ellicotts-commentary-for-english-readers/malachi","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/ellicotts-commentary-for-english-readers/malachi","name":"Malachi"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/ellicotts-commentary-for-english-readers/malachi/3","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/ellicotts-commentary-for-english-readers/malachi/3","name":"3"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```