Again the punctuation of Revised Standard Version is strange. It opens a quotation at the beginning of this verse and apparently continues the same quotation to the end of verse 15. It seems that the LORD is regarded as the speaker throughout. No other version we have seen punctuates in this way, which neglects the rhetorical structure of the Hebrew. This Handbook will indicate in the appropriate places where it regards quotations as beginning and ending. In this case the quotation is taken to extend from verse 1 to the end of verse 6.

This verse contains the words of the LORD of hosts, though in Hebrew this is not made clear till the end of the verse. Since the previous verse contained the words of the prophet, many translators will find it helpful to make the change of speaker clear at the beginning of the verse, as Good News Translation does with “The LORD Almighty answers” (similarly Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). I and me in the following clause then refer back to the LORD. Translators could also express it as “I, the LORD Almighty say, ‘I….’ ”

This verse has no textual problems or rare words, but it is nevertheless difficult to understand, largely because of the confusion that exists over how many participants are mentioned, and who they are. The first thing to note is that the verse is a response to the sarcastic question at the end of 2.17, “Where is the God of justice?” Seen in that light, it is to be understood as a threat rather than a promise. It maintains a tone of sarcasm or irony, according to Baldwin and Merrill.

Behold, I send my messenger: In Hebrew this construction is the same as in 2.3 and 4.5, namely the particle hinneni (“behold-me”), followed by a present participle. The word Behold often marks the beginning of a discourse unit or subunit, as at 2.3. Here, as there, the underlying sense is of an imminent punishment (compare Hab 1.6 [Revised Standard Version “lo”]; Zech 2.9; 11.16 [Revised Standard Version “lo”]; 12.2 [Revised Standard Version “Lo”]), and the verb is better translated as a future, “I will send” (Good News Translation, New International Version, Contemporary English Version). Other possibilities in English are “I am going to send” (Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, Beck), “I am sending” (New American Bible, New English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Living Translation), and “I am about to send” (Revised English Bible). Translators should try to indicate an action in the near future. The Hebrew word translated my messenger is the same word as in 1.1, where it was treated as the prophet’s name. It should be translated here as an ordinary word rather than a proper name. In 4.5 the messenger is identified as Elijah. A possible model for this clause is “See, I am sending my messenger.”

To prepare the way before me: The background for this is the practice of sending a representative ahead of a king to make sure obstacles were removed from the road he was going to travel on. Similar expressions occur in Isa 40.3; 57.14 and 62.10. Way may be alternatively rendered as “road” or even “path.”

It is not clear whether the prophet regarded himself or someone else as the messenger (compare the notes on 2.7), and translators should not make the translation clearer than the original. In particular, they should make no mention of John the Baptist here in the Old Testament. (They may of course provide cross references to the places where the New Testament mentions John as the fulfillment of this prophecy: Matt 11.10; Mark 1.2; Luke 7.27.) The New Testament quotations of this verse all say “before your face” rather than before me (literally “before my face”). Translators should not put “you/your” into the text of Malachi.

And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple: The word here translated Lord is not the divine name, usually written as “LORD” with capital letters. It is the Hebrew word ʾadon, which can refer either to a human being or to God. In reference to God it occurs in Zech 4.14 and 6.5. Most scholars and translators think it also refers to God in this verse, though Traduction œcuménique de la Bible translates it here as maître (“master”) with no capital. This presumably indicates a human figure, though it is not clear who this is. The occurrence of the phrase his temple at the end of the clause strongly suggests that a divine figure is intended here.

The words whom you seek are almost certainly ironic, since those the prophet was speaking to were not in fact seeking the Lord. Translators may need to expand here a little in order not to lose the irony, and say “the one you claim to seek” or “the one you say you are seeking.” Good News Translation renders you seek as “you are looking for” (also Beck, Contemporary English Version). Moffatt renders it as “for whom you long.” The Hebrew word translated suddenly conveys a sense of unexpectedness rather than swiftness. The temple is the Temple in Jerusalem rather than a heavenly temple, and should be translated by the usual term for this Temple. Alternative models for this clause are “The Lord [or, ruler] you are waiting for will suddenly come to his Temple” and “Then, suddenly the Lord [or ruler/master] you claim to be seeking will come to his Temple.”

The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming: The word here translated messenger is the same word in Hebrew as in the phrase my messenger above. What is not clear is whether the same person is in view or not. We would normally expect a noun repeated so soon after the first occurrence to refer to the same person, but the sentence structure suggests that this clause is to be understood as in parallel with the Lord whom you seek. This would lead to the conclusion that the messenger of the covenant refers to the same person as the Lord in the previous clause (that is to say, they are in apposition). Compare Driver. This is the understanding of the ancient Greek version, and probably of the Latin also. Some modern versions state in footnotes whether they regard the text to refer to one participant (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh footnote) or two (Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible footnotes).

The phrase messenger of the covenant does not occur elsewhere. It probably means “the one who brings a message about the covenant” or “the one who will come to speak about my covenant,” rather than “the messenger that the covenant speaks about” (compare Merrill). It is not clear what covenant is referred to. Most versions and commentators think it refers to the Sinai covenant (compare 4.4), though some take it to refer to the “covenant of Levi” mentioned in 2.8. If the meaning is “the messenger that the covenant speaks about,” then this possibly has in mind the prophet whose coming is mentioned in Deut 18.15, 18.

In whom you delight is a sarcastic reference back to “he delights in them” in 2.17. Translators may find it helpful to render “the one you say you delight in” or “the one you claim to delight in.” The same word for delight should be used here as was used in 2.17 if at all possible. It is possible that in whom you delight should be taken as referring to the covenant and translated “which you delight in”; however, the parallelism with the Lord whom you seek makes this unlikely.

The structure of the sentence is quite unusual with the verb is coming being put into focus by its marked position at the end. In this position it forms a pattern of repetition with the verb will … come in the previous clause, which has only the adverb suddenly before it in the Hebrew word order. There is a chiastic structure that covers the two clauses:
verb phrase (“he will come to his Temple”) + noun phrase (“the Lord…”)
noun phrase (“the messenger of the covenant…”) + verb phrase (“behold he will come”)

This structure strengthens the view that the Lord and the messenger of the covenant refer to the same figure. Behold can be rendered with something like “indeed,” as in “he is indeed coming.”

Says the LORD of hosts is the formula that concludes the answer to the last question in 2.17. As noted above, some translators may need to express this at the beginning of the verse to show the change of speaker.

Before leaving this verse, translators should note that while most versions translate the Hebrew word malʾak as “messenger” in both its occurrences in this verse, a significant minority translate it as “messenger” in the first occurrence and “angel” in the second (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Beck, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Biblen: Det Gamle og Det Nye Testamente). This rendering has the advantage that it leads the reader to the view that two different participants are indicated. However, while this is a valid option, it does obscure the possibility that the writer is making a play on the double meaning of the word malʾak. Probably it is best to use the same translation for both occurrences and add a footnote to give the alternative possibility, as Revised Version does. Some translators may wish to supply a longer footnote explaining the alternative possibilities for interpretation.

An alternative translation model for the whole verse is:

• The LORD Almighty says, “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the road in front of me. Then suddenly there will come to his Temple the Lord [or, ruler/master] that you claim to be seeking! Yes, the messenger who speaks about the covenant, the one you claim to delight in, he is indeed coming!”

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Malachi. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .