This chapter begins with a prophecy of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ; and of the coming of Christ, and the effects and consequences of it, with respect both to the righteous and the wicked; and it contains accusations and charges of sin against the Jews, intermixed with exhortations to…

Behold, I will send my messenger These are the words of Christ, in answer to the question put in the last verse of the preceding chapter , “Where is the God of judgment?” intimating that he would quickly appear, and previous to his coming send his messenger or angel; not the angel of death to…

But who may abide the day of his coming? &c.] When he should be manifest in Israel, and come preaching the Gospel of the kingdom; who could bear the doctrines delivered by him, concerning his deity and equality with God the Father; concerning his character and mission as the Messiah, and his…

And he shall sit as a refiner, and purifier of silver Kimchi interprets this, as he does the latter part of the preceding verse , of the day, and not of the Lord, which he compares to a judge that sits and separates the guilty from the innocent; see but it is to be understood of the Lord himself,…

Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord Or “sweet” [[1]]; grateful and well pleasing to him, as all spiritual sacrifices are acceptable to God through Christ, being offered up in the faith of his atoning sacrifice and righteousness, without which it is impossible to…

And I will come near to you to judgment And so will manifestly appear to be the God of judgment they asked after, this is not to be understood of Christ’s coming to judgment at the last day, but of his coming to judge and punish the wicked Jews at the time of Jerusalem’s destruction; for the same…

For I am the Lord Or Jehovah; a name peculiar to the most High, and so a proof of the deity of Christ, who here speaks; and is expressive of his being; of his self-existence; of his purity and simplicity; of his immensity and infinity; and of his eternity and sovereignty: I change not; being the…

Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances Here begins an enumeration of the sins of the Jews, which were the cause of their ruin; and here is first a general charge of apostasy from the statutes and ordinances of the law, which they made void by the traditions of the…

Will a man rob God? &c.] Or “the gods”; the false gods, the idols of the Gentiles; the Heathens will not do that, accounting sacrilege a great sin, and yet this the Jews were guilty of: or “the judges” [[2]], as the Targum; civil magistrates; will any dare to defraud them of their due? see .

Ye are cursed with a curse Or “with penury”, as the Vulgate Latin version; which, though not a proper rendering of the word, is the meaning of the curse they were cursed with; rain was withheld from them for their sins, and the earth did not bring forth its usual increase; wherefore there was want…

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse Or “treasury” {e}; for there were places in the temple where the tithe was put, and from thence distributed to the priests and Levites, for the support of their families, as they wanted.

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes Or “eater” [[11]]; the locust or caterpillar, or any such devouring creature, that eats up the herbage, corn, and fruits of trees; every such creature is under the restraint of Providence; and by a nod, a rebuke, they are easily prevented doing the…

And all nations shall call you blessed When they shall see the land freed from the devouring locust, and other hurtful creatures; the former and the latter rains given in their season, and the earth yielding a large increase: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts; or a…

Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord, &c.] Hard and strong; they bore very hardly upon him, were exceeding impudent and insolent; murmuring at his providence; arraigning his justice and goodness; and despising his word, worship, and ordinances.

Ye have said, it is vain to serve God This they said in their hearts, if not with their lips, that it was a vain thing for a man to serve God; he got nothing by it; he had no reward for it; it fared no better with him than the wicked; nay, the wicked fared better than he; and therefore who would be…

And now we call the proud happy Or “therefore now” [[15]]; since this is the case, that the worshippers of God are not regarded, and there is nothing got by serving him; they that are proud and haughty, that neither fear God nor regard men, are the happy persons; even presumptuous sinners, as the…

Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, &c.] Abarbinel thinks this is a continuation of the speech of the wicked; observing, that while they that work wickedness were set up, and they that tempted God escaped punishment, they that were religious, and feared God, “were destroyed…

And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts That is, such as fear the Lord, and think of him, hereby they are known to be his; and hereafter, in the time referred to, it will be manifest that they are his: they are Christ’s already by his Father’s gift of them to him; by his own purchase; by…

Then shall ye return Either the wicked, who will be “converted” [[24]], as some render the word, and will have a different view of things, and change their minds and language; or they that feared the Lord, who at the time before spoken of will have a new turn of thought, and another and clear…