malachi-4:5-6,-luke-1:13-14

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 4:5

The mission of the second Elijah. There is no reason for doubting that John the Baptist is referred to. Our Lord's allusions to John as fulfilling this prophecy should suffice to settle the question. There need be no difficulty in admitting John to be the second Elijah, if we apprehend the figurative and poetical character of the prophetical Scriptures. One who would do for his age a similar work to that which was done by Elijah for his age would, in Scripture, be called an Elijah. There... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 4:5-6

The day of Divine manifestation. The margin of the Revised Version gives the rendering with, as preferable to to, in the clause, "And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children," etc. Then the reference is to the work and influence of the second Elijah on all classes of society, on the hearts of both fathers and children. Keil, however, suggests a more difficult, yet more likely, explanation of the verse, "The fathers are rather the ancestors of the Israelitish nation, the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 4:6

He shall turn, etc.; i.e; taking the preposition, rendered "to," in the sense of "with," he shall convert one and all, fathers and children, young and old, unto the Lord. Or, in agreement with the versions, he shall bring back the Jews then living to the faith of their ancestors, who rejoiced to see the day of Christ ( John 8:56 ); and then the patriarchs, who for their unbelief had disowned them, shall recognize them as true Israelites, true children of Abraham. Others explain—He shall... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Malachi 4:5

Behold I will send (I send, as a future, proximate in the prophet’s mind) you Elijah the prophet - The Archangel Gabriel interprets this for us, to include the sending of John the Immerser. For he not only says Luke 1:17. that he shall “go before” the Lord “in the spirit and power of Elias,” but describes his mission in the characteristic words of Malachi, “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children:” and those other words also, “and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,” perhaps... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Malachi 4:6

And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children - Now they were unlike, and severed by that unlikeness from each other. Yet not on earth, for on earth parents and children were alike alienated from God, and united between themselves in wickedness or worldliness. The common love of the world or of worldly pursuits, or gain or self-exaltation, or making a fortune or securing it, is, so far, a common bond of interest to those of one family, through a common selfishness, though that... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Malachi 4:5

Malachi 4:5. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet The first prophet that I shall send to you, after him who now speaks to you, will be Elijah the messenger, that shall go before the Messiah to prepare his way. In him the spirit of prophecy shall be revived; and he shall be another Elijah for zeal, for courage, austerity of life, and labour for reformation. “It was the universal opinion in Christ’s time, received by the learned and unlearned, the governors and the common people, that... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Malachi 4:6

Malachi 4:6. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, &c. After the times of the Maccabees, to the times of Christ, the Jewish people were miserably divided among themselves, by discords, which broke out into civil wars, of which Josephus gives an account. And moreover, the different religious sects among them, especially those of the Sadducees and Pharisees, greatly distracted the people, and alienated and separated the nearest relations from each other. Now John the... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Malachi 4:1-6

4:1-6 GOD’S CARE IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENTGod’s action in destroying the wicked in the day of judgment is pictured in the illustration of a farmer burning off his field after he has harvested his grain. The righteous are likened to the farmer’s calves, which were previously tied up in the dark stalls but are now set free. They burst forth to go leaping and skipping over the recently burnt-off fields. As the sun shines down upon them it brings healing and vigour into their lives of newfound joy and... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Malachi 4:5

Elijah the prophet. Called thus, only here, and in 2 Chronicles 21:12 . Elsewhere, always "Elijah the Tishbite", to indicate his own person; but here "Elijah the prophet "because had Israel received Messiah, John the Baptist would have been reckoned as Elijah (see notes on Matthew 17:9-13 , Mark 9:11-13 ): and, at His last supper, the wine, representing His blood, would have been (as it will yet be) reckoned as "the blood of the (New) Covenant", as foretold in Jeremiah 31:31-34 .Hebrews 8:8-13... read more