“ 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.

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.

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.”

“ 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.

“ 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.

“ Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives.

“ And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord.

In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.

Paul said,“ John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”

“ The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

God sent a man, John the Baptist,to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.

just as the prophet Isaiah had written:“ Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way.He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,‘ Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Then his disciples asked him,“ Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?”Jesus replied,“ Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready.But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer.”Then the disciples realized he was talking about John the Baptist.

John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,‘ Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’“ I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!

Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet.John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,‘ Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”

Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.The law of the Lord says,“ If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.”So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“ either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon himand had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required,Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,“ Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised.I have seen your salvation,which you have prepared for all people.He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

After that, he taught daily in the Temple, but the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill him.

“ See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you.

All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel( which means‘ God is with us’).

Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,“ Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!”

Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God’s people in the wilderness, when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there Moses received life giving words to pass on to us.

I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will be brought to this Temple. I will fill this place with glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And in this place I will bring peace. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”

She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.

You yourselves know how plainly I told you,‘ I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success.He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

and he sent them to the Lord to ask him,“ Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him,“ John the Baptist sent us to ask,‘ Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’”

Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions.

And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God.He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.Isaiah had spoken of John when he said,“ He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,‘ Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!The valleys will be filled, and the mountains and hills made level. The curves will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth.And then all people will see the salvation sent from God.’”

I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me,‘ The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”

The Lord said to my Lord,“ Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”

In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money.Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables.Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them,“ Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”

Then he blessed Joseph and said,“ May the God before whom my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac, walked— the God who has been my shepherd all my life, to this very day,the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm— may he bless these boys. May they preserve my name and the names of Abraham and Isaac. And may their descendants multiply greatly throughout the earth.”

Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God.Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him—the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the Lord is his name!

Before he came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be baptized.As John was finishing his ministry he asked,‘ Do you think I am the Messiah? No, I am not! But he is coming soon— and I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the sandals on his feet.’

In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was,“ Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,“ He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,‘ Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”

The Savior— yes, the Messiah, the Lord— has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds,“ This is the one I was talking about when I said,‘ Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John,“ Who are you?”He came right out and said,“ I am not the Messiah.”“ Well then, who are you?” they asked.“ Are you Elijah?”“ No,” he replied.“ Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”“ No.”“ Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah:“ I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,‘ Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’”