Malachi 3:4
in Malachi 3Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old and years gone by.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto Jehovah, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years.
KJV
Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
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This verse in Malachi 3
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhen the Messiah comes, First, He will, by his grace in them, make them acceptable; when he has purified and refined them, then they shall offer such sacrifices as God requires and will accept.
This site's exposition
And he shall sit as a refiner
on Malachi 3:3-4
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver extends the fire image into a specific craft, the refiner watching the metal until his own reflection appears in its surface, patient rather than merely destructive. The sons of Levi are purified as gold and silver, the same priesthood dispute chapter 2 opened now resolved by purging rather than by threat, so that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. The offering of Judah and Jerusalem being pleasant unto the Lord as in the days of old looks back past the present corruption to an earlier, uncorrupted worship the refining aims to restore.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 4) And the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years. LXX: And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord,....
A reproof of the Jews for their corrupting God's ordinances and sacrilegiously robbing him of his dues, with a charge to them to amend this matter, and a promise that, if they did, God would return in mercy to them,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
as in the days of old-- (Mal 1:11; The "offering" (Mincha, Hebrew) is not expiatory, but prayer, thanksgiving, and self-dedication (Ro 12:1;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then (And) shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem - The “law,” the new revelation of God, was to Isa 2:3. “go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Judah and Jerusalem then are here the Christian Church. “They shall be, pleasant (literally sweet) unto the Lord.” It is a reversal (using the self-same word) of what God had said of them in the time of their religious decay Hos 9:4. “they shall not offer wine-offerings to the Lord, neither shall they be sweet unto Him; Jer 6:20. your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto Me.” As in the days of old - , before the days of degeneracy; as it stands in the ancient Liturgies “Vouchsafe to look upon them (the consecrated oblations) with a propitious and serene Countenance, and to accept them, as Thou vouchsafedst to accept the gifts of Thy righteous Abel and the sacrifice of our patriarch Abraham, and the holy sacrifice, the immaculate offering, which Thy high priest Melchizedec offered unto Thee.” “The oblation of the sacrament of the eucharist, made by the Jews who should believe in Christ, which is known to have been first instituted by Christ in the city of Jerusalem, and afterward to have been continued by His disciples (Matt. 26 (29); Act 2:42, Act 2:46.) shall be pleasing unto the Lord, as the sacrifices of the patriarchs, Melchizedec, Abraham, and the holy priests in the law, as Aaron; yea, the truth takes precedence of the figure and shadow; the sacrifice of the new law is more excellent and acceptable to God, than all the sacrifice, of the law or before the law. […]
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעָֽרְבָה֙ | vearevah | and it will be pleasing | H6149 → | |
| לַֽיהוָ֔ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מִנְחַ֥ת | minchat | [the] offering of | H4503 → | 211 times |
| יְהוּדָ֖ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וִירֽוּשָׁלִָ֑ם | virushalim | and Jerusalem | H3389 → | |
| כִּימֵ֣י | kimei | like [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| עוֹלָ֔ם | olam | antiquity | H5769 → | |
| וּכְשָׁנִ֖ים | ukheshanim | and like years | H8141 → | |
| קַדְמֹנִיּֽוֹת׃ | kadmoniyot | former | H6931 → |
וְעָֽרְבָה֙and it will be pleasing
vearevahH6149 →
לַֽיהוָ֔הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִנְחַ֥ת[the] offering of
minchatH4503 →211 times
יְהוּדָ֖הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וִירֽוּשָׁלִָ֑םand Jerusalem
virushalimH3389 →
כִּימֵ֣יlike [the] days of
kimeiH3117 →2304 times
עוֹלָ֔םantiquity
olamH5769 →
וּכְשָׁנִ֖יםand like years
ukheshanimH8141 →
קַדְמֹנִיּֽוֹת׃former
kadmoniyotH6931 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 56:7I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called…
it leads to
- Mark 11:17
Then Jesus began to teach them, and He declared, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of…
- Isaiah 2:2–3
In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to…
- Malachi 1:11
For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name…
- Luke 19:46
He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
- Matthew 21:13
And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
- Mark 11:17
Through
Zechariah 8:3This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be…
it leads to
- John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- Zechariah 1:16
Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there My house will be rebuilt, declares the LORD of Hosts, and a measuring line will be stretched out…
- 2 Corinthians 6:16
What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and…
- John 1:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Malachi
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Malachi; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.