¹万军 之耶和华 说 ：我要差遣 我的使者 在我前面 预备 道路 。你们所寻求 的主 必忽然 进入 他的殿 ；立约 的使者 ，就是你们所仰慕 的，快要来到 。

¹Behold, I 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.

¹ CHAPTER III

In allusion to the custom of sending pioneers to prepare the

way for the march of an eastern monarch, the coming of

Christ's forerunner is described, and then the coming of

Christ himself, 1;

with the terrible judgments which were to accompany that event,

in order to refine and purify his people and his priests, 2-6.

The following verses reprehend them for withholding the legal

tithes and offerings, with large promises in case of their

repentance and amendments, 7-12.

The prophet expostulates with the people for their hard and

profane speeches against the conduct of Providence, and

declares God will one day make a fearful and final distinction

between the righteous and the wicked, whose different

characters are in the mean time carefully recorded, 13-18.

NOTES ON CHAP. III



Verse 1. Behold, I will send my messenger] Malachi, the

very name of the prophet. But this speaks of John the Baptist. I,

the Messiah, the Seed of God, mentioned above, will send my

messenger, John the Baptist.



He shall prepare the way] Be as a pioneer before me; a corrector

of civil abuses, and a preacher of righteousness.



And the Lord, whom ye seek] The Messiah, whom ye expect, from

the account given by the prophet Daniel, in his seventy weeks,

Da 9:24.



Shall suddenly come to his temple] Shall soon be presented

before the Lord in his temple; cleanse it from its defilement, and

fill it with his teaching and his glory.



The Messenger of the covenant] He that comes to fulfil the great

design, in reference to the covenant made with Abram, that in his

seed all the families of the earth should be blessed. See the

parallel texts in the margin, and the notes on them.

²他来 的日子 ，谁能当 得起呢？他显现 的时候，谁能立 得住呢？因为他如炼金 之人的火 ，如漂布 之人的碱 。

²But who 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:

² Verse 2. But who may abide the day of his coming?] Only they who

shall believe on his name; for they that will not, shall be

blinded, and the unbelieving nations shall be destroyed by the

Romans.



Like fuller's soap] keborith, from barar, to

cleanse, any thing that deterges. Kali, or fern ashes, or such

things. I doubt whether the composition which we call soap, was

known in ancient times.

³他必坐下 如炼 净 银子 的，必洁净 利未 人 ，熬炼 他们象金 银 一样；他们就凭公义 献 供物 给耶和华 。

³And he shall sit 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.

³ Verse 3. He shall sit as a refiner] Alluding to the case of a

refiner of metals, sitting at his fire; increasing it when he sees

necessary, and watching the process of his work.



The sons of Levi] Those who minister in their stead under the

NEW covenant, for the OLD Levitical institutions shall be

abolished; yet, under the preaching of our Lord, a great number of

the priests became obedient to the faith, Ac 6:7; and, as to the

others that did not believe, this great Refiner threw them as

dross into the Roman fire, that consumed both Jerusalem and the

temple.

⁴那时，犹大 和耶路撒冷 所献的供物 必蒙耶和华 悦纳 ，彷彿古时 之日 、上古 之年 。

⁴Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.^a

⁵万军 之耶和华 说 ：我必临近 你们，施行审判 。我必速速 作见证 ，警戒行邪术 的、犯姦淫 的、起假 誓 的、亏负 人 之工价 的、欺压寡妇 孤儿 的、屈枉 寄居的 ，和不敬畏 我的。

⁵And I 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 oppress 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.^b

⁵ Verse 5. I will come near to you to judgment] And what fearful

cases does he get to judge! Sorcerers, adulterers, false swearers,

defrauders of the wages of the hireling, oppressors of widows and

orphans, and perverters of the stranger and such as do not

fear the Lord: a horrible crew; and the land at that time was full

of them. Several were converted under the preaching of Christ and

his apostles, and the rest the Romans destroyed or carried into

captivity.

⁶因我―耶和华 是不改变 的，所以你们雅各 之子 没有灭亡 。

⁶For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

⁶ Verse 6. I am the Lord, I change not] The new dispensation of

grace and goodness, which is now about to be introduced, is not

the effect of any change in my counsels; it is, on the contrary,

the fulfilment of my everlasting purposes; as is also the throwing

aside of the Mosaic ritual, which was only intended to introduce

the great and glorious Gospel of my Son.



And because of this ancient covenant, ye Jews are not totally

consumed; but ye are now, and shall be still, preserved as a

distinct people-monuments both of my justice and mercy.

⁷万军 之耶和华 说 ：从你们列祖 的日子 以来，你们常常偏离 我的典章 而不遵守 。现在你们要转向 我，我就转向 你们。你们却问说 ：我们如何才是转向 呢？

⁷ ¶ Even from 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?

⁷ Verse 7. Gone away from mine ordinances] Never acting according

to their spirit and design.



Return unto me] There is still space to repent.



Wherein shall we return?] Their consciences were seared, and

they knew not that they were sinners.

⁸人 岂可夺取 神 之物呢？你们竟夺取 我的供物。你们却说 ：我们在何事上夺取 你的供物呢？就是你们在当纳的十分之一 和当献的供物 上。

⁸ ¶ Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

⁸ Verse 8. Will a man rob God?] Here is one point on which ye are

guilty; ye withhold the tithes and offerings from the temple of

God, so that the Divine worship is neglected.

⁹因你们通国 的人都夺取 我的供物，咒诅 就临到 你们身上。

⁹Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

⁹ Verse 9. Ye are cursed with a curse] The whole nation is under

my displeasure. The curse of God is upon you.

¹⁰万军 之耶和华 说 ：你们要将 当纳的十分之一 全然送入仓库 ，使我家 有粮 ，以此 试试 我，是否为你们敞开 天上 的窗户 ，倾 福 与你们，甚至无处可容 。

¹⁰Bring ye all 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 pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.^c

¹⁰ Verse 10. Bring ye all the tithes] They had so withheld these

that the priests had not food enough to support life, and the

sacred service was interrupted. See Ne 13:10.



And prove me now herewith] What ye give to God shall never

lessen your store. Give as ye should, and see whether I will not

so increase your store by opening the windows of heaven-giving you

rain and fruitful seasons-that your barns and granaries

shall not be able to contain the abundance of your harvests and

vintage.

¹¹万军 之耶和华 说 ：我必为你们斥责 蝗虫（原文是吞噬者 ），不容它毁坏 你们的土 产 。你们田 间的葡萄树 在未熟之先也不掉果子 。

¹¹And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.^d

¹¹ Verse 11. I will rebuke the devourer] The locusts, &c., shall

not come on your crops; and those that are in the country I will

disperse and destroy.



Neither shall your vine cast her fruit] Every blossom shall bear

fruit, and every bunch of grapes come to maturity.

¹²万军 之耶和华 说 ：万国 必称你们为有福 的，因你们的地必成为喜乐 之地 。

¹²And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

¹² Verse 12. All nations shall call you blessed] They shall see

that a peculiar blessing of God rests upon you, and your land

shall be delightsome; like Paradise, the garden of the Lord.

¹³耶和华 说 ：你们用话 顶撞 我，你们还说 ：我们用甚么话 顶撞了你呢？

¹³ ¶ Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?

¹³ Verse 13. Your words have been stout against me] He speaks here

to open infidels and revilers.



What have we spoken] They are ready either to deny the whole, or

impudently to maintain and defend what they had spoken!

¹⁴你们说 ：事奉 神 是徒然 的，遵守 神所吩咐 的，在万军 之耶和华 面前 苦苦 斋戒 ，有甚么益处 呢？

¹⁴Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?^{e, f}

¹⁴ Verse 14. Ye have said, It is vain to serve God] They strove to

destroy the Divine worship; they asserted that it was vanity;

that, if they performed acts of worship, they should be nothing

the better; and if they abstained, they should be nothing the

worse. This was their teaching to the people.



Walked mournfully] Even repentance they have declared to be

useless. This was a high pitch of ungodliness; but see what

follows; behold the general conclusions of these reprobates-

¹⁵如今我们称 狂傲 的人为有福 ，并且行 恶 的人得建立 ；他们虽然试探 神 ，却得脱离 灾难。

¹⁵And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.^g

¹⁵ Verse 15. And now we call the proud happy] Proud and insolent

men are the only happy people, for they domineer everywhere, and

none dares to resist them.



They that work wickedness are set up] The humble and holy are

depressed and miserable; the proud and wicked are in places of

trust and profit. Too often it is so.



They that tempt God are even delivered.] Even those who despise

God, and insult his justice and providence, are preserved in and

from dangers; while the righteous fall by them.

¹⁶那时，敬畏 耶和华 的彼此 谈论 ，耶和华 侧耳 而听 ，且有纪念 册 在他面前 ，记录 那敬畏 耶和华 、思念 他名 的人。

¹⁶ ¶ Then they that feared the LORD spake 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.

¹⁶ Verse 16. They that feared the Lord] There were a few godly in

the land, who, hearing the language and seeing the profligacy of

the rebels above, concluded that some signal mark of God's

vengeance must fall upon them; they, therefore, as the corruption

increased, cleaved the closer to their Maker. There are three

characteristics given of this people, viz.:-



1. They feared the Lord. They had that reverence for Jehovah

that caused them to depart from evil, and to keep his ordinances.



2. They spake often one to another. They kept up the communion

of saints. By mutual exhortation they strengthened each other's

hands in the Lord.



3. They thought on his name. His name was sacred to them; it was

a fruitful source of profound and edifying meditation. The name of

God is God himself in the plenitude of his power, omniscience,

justice, goodness, mercy, and truth. What a source for thinking

and contemplation! See how God treats such persons: The Lord

hearkened to their conversation, heard the meditations of their

hearts; and so approved of the whole that a book of remembrance

was written before the Lord-all their names were carefully

registered in heaven. Here is an allusion to records kept by

kings, Es 6:1, of such as had performed signal services, and who

should be the first to be rewarded.

¹⁷万军 之耶和华 说 ：在我所定 的日子 ，他们必属我，特特归我 。我必怜恤 他们，如同人 怜恤 服事 自己的儿子 。

¹⁷And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.^h

¹⁷ Verse 17. They shall be mine] I will acknowledge them as my

subjects and followers; in the day, especially, when I come to

punish the wicked and reward the righteous.



When I make up my jewels] segullah, my peculium, my

proper treasure; that which is a man's own, and most prized by

him. Not jewels; for in no part of the Bible does the word mean a

gem or precious stone of any kind. The interpretations frequently

given of the word in this verse, comparing saints to jewels, are

forced and false.



I will spare them] When I come to visit the wicked, I will take

care of them. I will act towards them as a tender father would act

towards his most loving and obedient son.

¹⁸那时你们必归回 ，将善人 和恶人 ，事奉 神 的和不事奉 神的，分别 出来。

¹⁸Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

¹⁸ Verse 18. Then shall ye return] To your senses, when perhaps too

late; and discern-see the difference which God makes, between the

righteous and the wicked, which will be most marked and awful.



Between him that serveth God] Your obedience to whom, ye said,

would be unprofitable to you.



And him that serveth him not.] Of whom ye said, his disobedience

would be no prejudice to him. You will find the former received

into the kingdom of glory; and the latter, with yourselves, thrust

down into the bitter pains of an eternal death. Reader, ponder

these things.



In the great day of the Lord, at least, if not long before, it

will be fully discovered who have been the truly wise people;

those who took up their cross and followed Christ; or those who

satisfied the flesh, with its affections and desires, following a

multitude to do evil.