1For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
2But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
3And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.
4Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
📖 Chapter study
Summary
The book, and the entire Old Testament, ends with a warning about 'the great and dreadful day of the Lord,' the promise that the 'Sun of righteousness' will bring healing to those who fear God, and the announcement that the prophet Elijah will come before that day.
Explanation
This final chapter, though short, closes not only the book of Malachi but the entire canon of the Old Testament (in the traditional Christian order), with a powerful balance between judgment and hope: the day of the Lord will be like a burning oven for the proud and evildoers, but it will bring healing and joy, compared to calves released from the stall, for those who fear God's name. The promise that 'the prophet Elijah' would come before that great day generated intense Jewish expectation that persists to this day (including the tradition of reserving a place for Elijah at the Jewish Passover Seder); the New Testament identifies this prophecy as fulfilled in John the Baptist, who would come 'in the spirit and power of Elijah' (Luke 1:17). The last verse of the Old Testament speaks of reconciling the hearts of fathers and children, so that the land will not be struck with a curse — an ending that points to family and social restoration as an essential part of spiritual preparation. The application today: the close of the Old Testament is not a final period, but an open expectation that points directly to what would come next in the story of redemption.
Fun facts
- The Jewish expectation of the literal coming of the prophet Elijah before the Messiah is so strong that, to this day, Orthodox Jewish families reserve an empty chair and a cup of wine for Elijah during the Passover Seder, awaiting his arrival as announced by this chapter.
- Between the end of Malachi and the beginning of John the Baptist's ministry in the New Testament, about 400 years passed without any recognized prophet in Israel — a period traditionally known as the 'silent years,' making the fulfillment of this final prophecy all the more significant.