Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes.
- KJV Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
- NKJV Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
- NASB “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.
- NLT “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives.
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
God promises to send the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
Overview
This closing promise pledges an Elijah-like forerunner to ready the people before the day of judgment. Jesus identifies John the Baptist as the fulfillment of this Elijah who was to come (Matthew 11:14; 17:11-13). The verse links the close of the Old Testament to the opening of the New, where the promised forerunner prepares the way for Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 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 make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
- Matt 17:10–13The disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
- Mark 9:11–13And they asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
- Matt 11:13–14For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.
- Mal 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 is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Isa 40:3A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
- Joel 2:31The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
- John 1:21“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
- Mal 4:1“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”
- Rev 6:17For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”
- Luke 7:26–28What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
- Matt 27:47–49When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He is calling Elijah.”
- John 1:25asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
- Luke 9:30Suddenly two men, Moses and Elijah, began talking with Jesus.
- Acts 2:19–20I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 4:5 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.