The Lord who rules over all says,“ I will send my messenger. He will prepare my way for me. Then suddenly the Lord you are looking for will come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant will come. He is the one you long for.”

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。”

万军之耶和华说：“看哪，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来到他的殿；立约的使者，就是你们所仰慕的，看哪，快要来到。”

万军之耶和华说：“看哪，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来到他的殿；立约的使者，就是你们所仰慕的，看哪，快要来到。”

万军之耶和华说：“我要差遣我的使者为我开路。你们所寻求的主必突然来到祂的殿中。你们所期盼的那位立约的使者快要来了！”

万军之耶和华说：“看哪！我派我的使者，在我前面预备道路；你们所寻求的主，必忽然进入他的殿；你们所爱慕立约的使者，就要来到。”

万军之耶和华说：“看哪，我要派遣我的使者在我前面预备道路！你们所寻求的主，必突然来到他的殿；看哪，你们所喜悦的那立约的使者，就要来到！”

萬軍之耶和華說：「我要差遣我的使者在我前面預備道路。你們所尋求的主必忽然進入他的殿；立約的使者，就是你們所仰慕的，快要來到。」

萬軍之耶和華說：「看哪，我要差遣我的使者在我前面預備道路。你們所尋求的主必忽然來到他的殿；立約的使者，就是你們所仰慕的，看哪，快要來到。」

萬軍之耶和華說：「看哪，我要差遣我的使者在我前面預備道路。你們所尋求的主必忽然來到他的殿；立約的使者，就是你們所仰慕的，看哪，快要來到。」

萬軍之耶和華說：「我要差遣我的使者為我開路。你們所尋求的主必突然來到祂的殿中。你們所期盼的那位立約的使者快要來了！」

萬軍之耶和華說：“看哪！我派我的使者，在我前面預備道路；你們所尋求的主，必忽然進入他的殿；你們所愛慕立約的使者，就要來到。”

『看吧，我將要差遣我的使者在我前面豫備道路；你們所尋求的主必忽然進入他的殿堂；你們所愛慕的、盟約的使者、看哪，他快來了！萬軍之永恆主說。

萬軍之耶和華說：「看哪，我要派遣我的使者在我前面預備道路！你們所尋求的主，必突然來到他的殿；看哪，你們所喜悅的那立約的使者，就要來到！」

萬軍之耶和華曰、我遣我使備路於我前、爾所求之主、必忽臨厥殿、盟約之使、爾所慕者、將至矣、

萬有之主耶和華曰、我遣使者、備道於我前、爾所求所悅之上主、盟約之天使、果將至矣、率入厥殿、

萬有之主曰、我將遣我使者、備道於我前、爾所求之主、將忽至其殿、盟約之天使、爾所慕者、視哉速至、爾所求之主將忽至其殿盟約之天使爾所慕者視哉速至或作爾曹所尋求之主立約之天使爾所迎慕者必忽入其殿必速涖臨

“ I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

“ Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.

“ Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

“ See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in— see, he is coming,” says the LORD of Armies.

“ Behold, I am sending My messenger, and he will clear a way before Me. And the Lord, whom you are seeking, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of armies.

“ Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts.

Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah of hosts.

“ See, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to His temple, the Messenger of the covenant you desire— see, He is coming,” says the Lord of Hosts.

Behold, 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.

“ I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the LORD who rules over all.

“ Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says Yahweh of Armies.

“ I will send the prophet Elijah to you. He will come before the day of the Lord arrives. It will be a great and terrifying day.

“ And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God. You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare the way for him.

When they suffered, he suffered with them. He sent his angel to save them. He set them free because he is loving and kind. He lifted them up and carried them. He did it again and again in days long ago.

Paul said,“ John baptized people, calling them to turn away from their sins. He told them to believe in the one who was coming after him. Jesus is that one.”

“ The lips of a priest should guard knowledge. After all, he is the messenger of the Lord who rules over all. And people seek instruction from his mouth.

There was a man sent from God. His name was John.He came to be a witness about that light. He was a witness so that all people might believe.

Long ago Isaiah the prophet wrote,“ I will send my messenger ahead of you. He will prepare your way.”( Malachi 3:1)“ A messenger is calling out in the desert,‘ Prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight paths for him.’ ”( Isaiah 40:3)

A child will be born to us. A son will be given to us. He will rule over us. And he will be called Wonderful Adviser and Mighty God. He will also be called Father Who Lives Forever and Prince Who Brings Peace.

The disciples asked him,“ Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah has to come first?”Jesus replied,“ That’s right. Elijah is supposed to come and make all things new again.But I tell you, Elijah has already come. People didn’t recognize him. They have done to him everything they wanted to do. In the same way, they are going to make the Son of Man suffer.”Then the disciples understood that Jesus was talking to them about John the Baptist.

He is the one written about in Scripture. It says,“‘ I will send my messenger ahead of you. He will prepare your way for you.’( Malachi 3:1)What I’m about to tell you is true. No one more important than John the Baptist has ever been born. But the least important person in the kingdom of heaven is more important than he is.

Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.He is the one written about in Scripture. It says,“‘ I will send my messenger ahead of you. He will prepare your way for you.’( Malachi 3:1)I tell you, no one more important than John has ever been born. But the least important person in God’s kingdom is more important than John is.”

When the child was eight days old, he was circumcised. At the same time he was named Jesus. This was the name the angel had given him before his mother became pregnant.The time came for making Mary“ clean” as required by the Law of Moses. So Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem. There they presented him to the Lord.In the Law of the Lord it says,“ The first boy born in every family must be set apart for the Lord.”( Exodus 13:2, 12)They also offered a sacrifice. They did it in keeping with the Law, which says,“ a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”( Leviticus 12:8)In Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was a good and godly man. He was waiting for God’s promise to Israel to come true. The Holy Spirit was with him.The Spirit had told Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.The Spirit led him into the temple courtyard. Then Jesus’ parents brought the child in. They came to do for him what the Law required.Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God. He said,“ Lord, you are the King over all. Now let me, your servant, go in peace. That is what you promised.My eyes have seen your salvation.You have prepared it in the sight of all nations.It is a light to be given to the Gentiles. It will be the glory of your people Israel.”

Every day Jesus was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests and the teachers of the law were trying to kill him. So were the leaders among the people.

“ I am sending an angel ahead of you. He will guard you along the way. He will bring you to the place I have prepared.

The Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin is going to have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And he will be called Immanuel.

A messenger is calling out,“ In the desert prepare the way for the Lord. Make a straight road through it for our God.Every valley will be filled in. Every mountain and hill will be made level. The rough ground will be smoothed out. The rocky places will be made flat.Then the glory of the Lord will appear. And everyone will see it together. The Lord has spoken.”

Moses was with the Israelites in the desert. He was with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai. Moses was with our people of long ago. He received living words to pass on to us.

I will shake all the nations. Then what is desired by all nations will come to my temple. And I will fill the temple with glory,” says the Lord who rules over all.“ The silver belongs to me. So does the gold,” announces the Lord who rules over all.“ The new temple will be more beautiful than the first one was,” says the Lord.“ And in this place I will bring peace,” announces the Lord who rules over all.

Anna came up to Jesus’ family at that moment. She gave thanks to God. And she spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the time when Jerusalem would be set free.

You yourselves are witnesses that I said,‘ I am not the Messiah. I was sent ahead of him.’The bride belongs to the groom. The friend who helps the groom waits and listens for him. He is full of joy when he hears the groom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.He must become more important. I must become less important.

He sent them to the Lord. John told them to ask him,“ Are you the one who is supposed to come? Or should we look for someone else?”The men came to Jesus. They said,“ John the Baptist sent us to ask you,‘ Are you the one who is supposed to come? Or should we look for someone else?’ ”

After three days they found him in the temple courtyard. He was sitting with the teachers. He was listening to them and asking them questions.

He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.And he will prepare the way for the Lord. He will have the same spirit and power that Elijah had. He will bring peace between parents and their children. He will teach people who don’t obey to be wise and do what is right. In this way, he will prepare a people who are ready for the Lord.”

He went into all the countryside around the Jordan River. There he preached that people should be baptized and turn away from their sins. Then God would forgive them.Here is what is written in the book of Isaiah the prophet. It says,“ A messenger is calling out in the desert,‘ Prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight paths for him.Every valley will be filled in. Every mountain and hill will be made level. The crooked roads will become straight. The rough ways will become smooth.And all people will see God’s salvation.’ ”( Isaiah 40:3–5)

I myself did not know him. But the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,‘ You will see the Spirit come down and remain on someone. He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’I have seen it happen. I am a witness that this is God’s Chosen One.”

The Lord says to my lord,“ Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your control.”

In the temple courtyard he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves. Others were sitting at tables exchanging money.So Jesus made a whip out of ropes. He chased all the sheep and cattle from the temple courtyard. He scattered the coins of the people exchanging money. And he turned over their tables.He told those who were selling doves,“ Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”

Then Israel gave Joseph his blessing. He said,“ May God bless these boys. He is the God of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. They walked faithfully with him. He is the God who has been my shepherd all my life right up to this day.He is the Angel who has saved me from all harm. May he bless these boys. May they be called by my name. May they also be called by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. And may the number of them greatly increase on the earth.”

Even before Jacob was born, he was holding on to his brother’s heel. When he became a man, he struggled with God.At Peniel he struggled with the angel and won. Jacob wept and begged for his blessing. God also met with him at Bethel. He talked with him there.He is the Lord God who rules over all. His name is the Lord.

Before Jesus came, John preached that we should turn away from our sins and be baptized. He preached this to all Israel.John was coming to the end of his work.‘ Who do you suppose I am?’ he said.‘ I am not the one you are looking for. But there is someone coming after me. I am not good enough to untie his sandals.’

In those days John the Baptist came and preached in the Desert of Judea.He said,“ Turn away from your sins! The kingdom of heaven has come near.”John is the one Isaiah the prophet had spoken about. He had said,“ A messenger is calling out in the desert,‘ Prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight paths for him.’ ”( Isaiah 40:3)

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord.

John was a witness about the Word. John cried out and said,“ This was the one I was talking about. I said,‘ He who comes after me is more important than I am. He is more important because he existed before I was born.’ ”God is full of grace. From him we have all received grace in place of the grace already given.In the past, God gave us grace through the law of Moses. Now, grace and truth come to us through Jesus Christ.No one has ever seen God. But the One and Only is God and is at the Father’s side. The one at the Father’s side has shown us what God is like.The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. John spoke the truth to them.He did not try to hide the truth. He spoke to them openly. He said,“ I am not the Messiah.”They asked him,“ Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said,“ I am not.”“ Are you the Prophet we’ve been expecting?” they asked.“ No,” he answered.They asked one last time,“ Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”John replied, using the words of Isaiah the prophet. John said,“ I’m the messenger who is calling out in the desert,‘ Make the way for the Lord straight.’ ”( Isaiah 40:3)