Malachi 4
EasyEnglish Bible
4 ‘The great day when I come to judge people will certainly happen. Punishment will come like the great fire of a hot oven. It will destroy all the proud people who do evil things. It will completely destroy them, like a fire that destroys dry grass. Nothing will remain.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
2 ‘But it will be different for you who respect my name. My power to make you well again will come to you. It will be like the sun that rises to shine on you. When that happens, you will be very happy. You will jump up and down like young cows when someone lets them go free.[a] 3 Then you will walk over the wicked people. They will be like ashes under your feet. That will happen on the day when I do these things.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
4 ‘Remember the rules that I gave to my servant Moses at Sinai mountain. Those rules and laws were for all the Israelites to obey.[b]
5 Look! I will send my prophet Elijah to you.[c] He will come before that great day of the Lord arrives. That will be a day that makes people afraid. 6 He will speak my message, so that fathers and their children return together to me.[d] Then I will not have to come and bring punishment on the land.’
Footnotes
- 4:2 The sun can burn with a strong heat and it can cause a fire. But the sun can also make people well. When Jesus appears on the great day of the Lord, people who worship the Lord will become completely well. They will be very happy.
- 4:4 See Exodus 20:1-17.
- 4:5 Elijah was a prophet who spoke God's message to the people. See 1 Kings 17:1. Here, God promises that another ‘Elijah’ will come before the day of the Lord. About 460 years after Malachi wrote his book, John the Baptist was born. People thought that he was like Elijah. He prepared the way for Jesus to come.
- 4:6 return together to me or return to each other as friends.
Malachi 4
New King James Version
The Great Day of God
4 “For behold, (A)the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all (B)the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be (C)stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“That will (D)leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But to you who (E)fear My name
The (F)Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;
And you shall go out
And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
3 (G)You shall trample the wicked,
For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
On the day that I do this,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
4 “Remember the (H)Law of Moses, My servant,
Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,
With (I)the statutes and judgments.
5 Behold, I will send you (J)Elijah the prophet
(K)Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And (L)he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and (M)strike the earth with (N)a curse.”
Malachi 4
English Standard Version
The Great Day of the Lord
4 [a] “For behold, (A)the day is coming, (B)burning like an oven, when (C)all the arrogant and (D)all evildoers (E)will be stubble. The day that is coming (F)shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you (G)who fear my name, (H)the sun (I)of righteousness shall rise (J)with healing in its wings. You shall go out (K)leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, (L)on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.
4 (M)“Remember (N)the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules[b] that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
5 (O)“Behold, I will send you (P)Elijah the prophet (Q)before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will (R)turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and (S)strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”[c]
Footnotes
- Malachi 4:1 Ch 4:1–6 is ch 3:19–24 in Hebrew
- Malachi 4:4 Or and just decrees
- Malachi 4:6 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
