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Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old and years gone by.
Malachi 3:4 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to Yahweh, 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.
  • NKJV “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem Will be pleasant to the Lord, As in the days of old, As in former years.
  • NASB Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old, and as in former years.
  • NLT Then once more the Lord will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did in the past.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Once purified, the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will again be pleasing to God as in former days.

Overview

The result of God's refining is restored, acceptable worship, recalling an earlier age of faithfulness. What human corruption ruined, divine purification renews. This anticipates the worship made truly acceptable through Christ, whose perfect sacrifice cleanses His people and their offerings of praise and obedience.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 21

  • 2 Chr 7:1–3When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
  • Zech 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 called the Holy Mountain.”
  • Isa 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 a house of prayer for all the nations.”
  • Ezek 43:26–27For seven days the priests are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; so they shall consecrate it.
  • Jer 30:18–20This is what the LORD says: “I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings. And the city will be rebuilt on her own ruins, and the palace will stand in its rightful place.
  • Ezek 20:40–41For on My holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, there the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land. There I will accept them and will require your offerings and choice gifts, along with all your holy sacrifices.
  • 1 Chr 16:1–3So they brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.
  • 2 Chr 30:21–27The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the LORD day after day, accompanied by loud instruments of praise to the LORD.
  • 2 Chr 1:6Solomon offered sacrifices there before the LORD on the bronze altar in the Tent of Meeting, where he offered a thousand burnt offerings.
  • 1 Chr 29:20–22Then David said to the whole assembly, “Blessed be the LORD your God.” So the whole assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers. They bowed down and paid homage to the LORD and to the king.
  • Jer 2:2–3“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.
  • 2 Chr 7:10–12On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the good things that the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel.
  • 1 Chr 15:26And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.
  • 2 Chr 8:12–14At that time Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of the LORD he had built in front of the portico.
  • 2 Chr 29:31–36Then Hezekiah said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.
  • Ps 51:19Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, in whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on Your altar.
  • 1 Chr 21:26And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. He called upon the LORD, who answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.
  • 2 Chr 31:20–21So this is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the LORD his God.
  • Jer 31:23–24This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “When I restore them from captivity, they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities: ‘May the LORD bless you, O righteous dwelling place, O holy mountain.’
  • Isa 1:26–27I will restore your judges as at first, and your counselors as at the beginning. After that you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.”
  • Zech 14:20–21On that day, HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the house of the LORD will be like the sprinkling bowls before the altar.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Malachi videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Malachi 3:4YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MalachiMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The messenger who prepares the way, the sun of righteousness rising with healing, and the Lord suddenly coming to his temple set the stage for the gospel that opens with John and Jesus.

How Malachi 3:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.