Malachi 4:5
in Malachi 4Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come.
KJV
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
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This verse in Malachi 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Behold I will send (I send, as a future, proximate in the prophet’s mind) you Elijah the prophet - The Archangel Gabriel interprets this for us, to include the sending of John the Immerser.
This site's exposition
I will send you Elijah the prophet
The last prophet of the Old Testament names the next one by name, Elijah, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. The Lord Jesus identifies John the Baptist as the fulfillment at Matthew 11:14 and Matthew 17:11-13, and Luke 1:17 has the angel tell Zacharias that his son will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elias, a reading the exposition states as the New Testament's own. Alongside it stands the older Jewish expectation, kept alive in the synagogue's practice of setting a cup and an empty chair for Elijah at Passover, and a further Christian reading that looks for a future forerunner ministry yet to come, both held by the bench without a verdict pressed on the reader.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Elijah - Namely John the Baptist, who came in the spirit and power of Elijah, Luke i, 17, and therefore bears his name. Before - That is, immediately before; so he was born six months before Christ, and began his preaching a few years before Christ began to exercise his publick office.
on Malachi 4:5-6
When he shall be sent--before the appearing of the Messiah, which, because it was the judgment of this world, and introduced the ruin of the Jewish church and nation, is here called the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
As Moses in Mal 4:4 represents the law, so Elijah represents the prophets. The Jews always understood it of the literal Elijah. Their saying is, "Messiah must be anointed by Elijah." As there is another consummating advent of Messiah Himself, so also of His forerunner Elijah; perhaps in person, as at the transfiguration (Mt 17:3; compare Mt 17:11).
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּ֤ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אָֽנֹכִי֙ | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | |
| שֹׁלֵ֣חַ | sholeach | [am] about to send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| לָכֶ֔ם | lakhem | to you | ||
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֵלִיָּ֣ה | ʾeliyah | Elijah | H452 → | |
| הַנָּבִ֑יא | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | |
| לִפְנֵ֗י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| בּ֚וֹא | bo' | comes | H935 → | 2568 times |
| י֣וֹם | yom | [the] day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הַגָּד֖וֹל | hagadol | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וְהַנּוֹרָֽא׃ | vehanora' | and <the> awesome | H3372 → | 315 times |
הִנֵּ֤הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אָֽנֹכִי֙I
ʾanokhiH595 →
שֹׁלֵ֣חַ[am] about to send
sholeachH7971 →845 times
לָכֶ֔םto you
lakhem
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֵלִיָּ֣הElijah
ʾeliyahH452 →
הַנָּבִ֑יאthe prophet
hanavi'H5030 →
לִפְנֵ֗י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
בּ֚וֹאcomes
bo'H935 →2568 times
י֣וֹם[the] day of
yomH3117 →2304 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הַגָּד֖וֹל<the> great
hagadolH1419 →526 times
וְהַנּוֹרָֽא׃and <the> awesome
vehanora'H3372 →315 times
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
Luke 1:17And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to…
it leads to
- Malachi 4:5–6
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
- Matthew 11:14
And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.
- Matthew 17:11–12
Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things.
- John 1:21–30
“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
- Malachi 4:5–6
Through
Malachi 3:1“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He…
it leads to
- Luke 1:76
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Mark 1:2–3
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.”
- Matthew 11:10–11
This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’
- Luke 7:26–28
What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
- Luke 1:76
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Malachi
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.