Malachi 3

1 ‘I am about to send my messenger and he will clear a path before me: And the Lord, who you are seeking, will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant who you long for is already 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; And the messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, Behold, he shall come, saith Jehovah of hosts.

2 But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand firm when he appears? He is like a refiner’s fire, and like a launderer’s soap,

But who shall abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he shall be like the fire of the refiner, And like the soap of the fuller.

3 and he will sit as a refiner and purifier. He will purify the descendants of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, until they are fit to bring offerings to the Lord.

And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, And he shall purify the sons of Levi, And shall refine them as gold and silver, That, being holy to Jehovah, they may bring an offering in righteousness.

4 Then will the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasing to Jehovah, As in the days of old, And as in former years.

5 ‘I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against the sorcerers, adulterers, perjurers, those who cheat workers, or widows, or orphans, deny justice to immigrants, and do not fear me,’ says the Lord of hosts.

And I will come near to you to judgment; And I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, and against adulterers, and against false swearers, And against those who defraud the hireling of his hire, And oppress the widow and the fatherless, And turn aside the stranger from his right, And fear not me, saith Jehovah of hosts.

6 ‘For I, the Lord, do not change; and you have not ceased to be descendants of Jacob.’

For I am Jehovah; I change not; Therefore, ye sons of Jacob, are ye not consumed.

7 ‘From the days of your ancestors, you have turned aside from my statutes, and you have not kept them. Turn to me and I will turn to you,’ says the Lord. ‘You say, “How should we turn?”

From the days of your fathers have ye turned aside from my statutes, And have not kept them; Return to me, and I will return to you, Saith Jehovah of hosts. But ye say, “Wherein shall we return?”

8 Can a human rob God? Yet you robbed me. You ask, “How have we robbed you?” In tithes and gifts!

Shall a man rob God, That ye have robbed me? But ye say, “Wherein have we robbed thee?” In tithes and offerings.

9 You – your entire nation – are all cursed, because you rob me.

Ye are cursed with a curse, For ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

10 ‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there is food in my house. Test me in this way. See if I will not open to you the windows of the sky, and pour you out a blessing, until there is more than enough.

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, That there be food in my house; And try me now in this, Saith Jehovah of hosts, Whether I will not open to you the windows of heaven, And pour out upon you a blessing, until there is none left.

11 I will rebuke for your sakes the devouring locust and he will not destroy your crops, nor will the vine fail to ripen its fruit in the field, says the Lord of hosts,

And I will rebuke for you the devourer, And he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, Nor shall your vine be barren in the field, Saith Jehovah of hosts.

12 and all nations will call you happy, for you will be a delightful land,’ says the Lord of hosts.

And all nations shall call you blessed; For ye shall be a delightful land, Saith Jehovah of hosts.

13 ‘You have said terrible things about me,’ says the Lord. ‘You ask, “What have we said about you?”

Your words have been bold against me, saith Jehovah; Yet ye say, “What have we spoken against thee?”

14 You have said, “It is useless to serve God, and what do we gain from the Lord of hosts by keeping his commands, and walking mournfully in funeral garb before him?

Ye have said, “It is a vain thing to serve God”; And, “What profit is it that we have kept his ordinances, And that we have walked mournfully before Jehovah of hosts?

15 So now we call the proud happy, evildoers thrive: they dare God and escape unharmed.”’

Therefore we call the proud happy; Yea, they that do wickedness are built up; Yea, they tempt God, and are delivered.”

16 Such things those who revered the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice, and a record was written before him of those who revered the Lord and those who keep in mind his name.

Then they that feared Jehovah spake to one another, And Jehovah gave ear and heard; And a book of remembrance was written before him, For them that feared Jehovah, And that thought upon his name.

17 ‘They will be mine,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘my special possession on that day that I am preparing. I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

And they shall be to me, saith Jehovah of hosts, In the day which I appoint, as my own possession; And I will spare them, As a father spareth his own son that serveth him.

18 Once again my people will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between the person who serves God and the person who does not.’

Then shall ye return and see What is the difference between the righteous and the wicked, Between him who serveth God And him who serveth him not.