📖 Malachi — Chapter 3 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Malachi 3:1 Behold, RI 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.
Malachi 3:2 But Rwho 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:
Malachi 3:3 And he shall Rsit 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.
Malachi 3:4 Then shall Rthe offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in Tformer years.
Malachi 3:5 And RI 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 Toppress 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.
Malachi 3:6 For RI am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Malachi 3:7 Even Rfrom 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?
Malachi 3:8 Will Ra man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Malachi 3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Malachi 3:10 Bring ye Rall 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 Tpour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Malachi 3:11 And I will Rrebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not Tdestroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
Malachi 3:12 And Rall nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.
Malachi 3:13 RYour words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
Malachi 3:14 Ye have said, RIt is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his Tordinance, and that we have walked Tmournfully before the LORD of hosts?
Malachi 3:15 And now Rwe call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness Tare set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.
Malachi 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD Rspake 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.
Malachi 3:17 And Rthey shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my Tjewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Malachi 3:18 Then Rshall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Malachi 3:1–6 — The coming messenger and Lord bring purification and judgment
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
A messenger prepares the way and the Lord comes to his temple. Refining purifies Levi’s sons for righteous offerings, while judgment names sorcery, adultery, false oaths, withheld wages, and oppression of vulnerable people; the Lord’s constancy preserves Jacob.
Key Truth: Let hope of God’s coming include a call to righteous conduct.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “____ , I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare …” (Malachi 3:1)
Find it in Malachi 3:1 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “____ shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto …” (Malachi 3:4)
Find it in Malachi 3:4 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “For I am the ____ , I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are …” (Malachi 3:6)
Find it in Malachi 3:6 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Malachi 3:7–12 — Return includes faithfulness in tithes and offerings
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The call to return meets another question about how. The Lord identifies withheld tithes and offerings, directs the whole tithe to the storehouse, and promises provision and protection of the land’s produce.
Key Truth: Read the promise within its stated covenant responsibilities.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “Even from the ____ of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, …” (Malachi 3:7)
Find it in Malachi 3:7 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “____ ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may …” (Malachi 3:10)
Find it in Malachi 3:10 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “And all ____ shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome …” (Malachi 3:12)
Find it in Malachi 3:12 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Malachi 3:13–18 — Cynical words are contrasted with remembered reverence
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Some call service to God vain and describe the proud and wicked as fortunate. Those fearing the Lord speak together, are heard and remembered, and are promised belonging and a renewed distinction between righteous and wicked.
Key Truth: Serve faithfully rather than measuring truth by apparent short-term profit.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “Your ____ have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye …” (Malachi 3:13)
Find it in Malachi 3:13 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “____ shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the …” (Malachi 3:18)
Find it in Malachi 3:18 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “Then shall ye return, and discern between the ____ and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him …” (Malachi 3:18)
Find it in Malachi 3:18 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Mark 1:2 — Mark introduces the messenger preparing the way in the opening of the gospel.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
How can faithful service continue when immediate results seem discouraging?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. Which account best distinguishes Malachi 3:1–6 (The coming messenger and Lord bring purification and judgment) from the other movements of this chapter?
2. Which account best distinguishes Malachi 3:7–12 (Return includes faithfulness in tithes and offerings) from the other movements of this chapter?
3. Which account best distinguishes Malachi 3:13–18 (Cynical words are contrasted with remembered reverence) from the other movements of this chapter?
4. How does the coming judgment include economic and social wrongs?
5. What distinguishes the God-fearing people from cynical speakers?
Notes
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