Malachi 3

1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me! The Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple. Behold, the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, is coming!” says the LORD of Hosts.

The Commander of the armies of angels says [this]: “Listen! I [am about to] send my messenger who will prepare [the people to receive me] when I come. [You claim that] [IRO] you are wanting to see me, and I will suddenly come to my temple. The messenger [who will tell you about a new] agreement, the one whom you are eagerly [SAR] awaiting, is certainly going to come [to you].”

2 “But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderers’ soap;

But will anyone [RHQ] be able to survive when he comes? Will anyone [RHQ] be able to [remain] standing in front of him? [Certainly not, ] because he will be like [SIM] a blazing fire that refines/purifies [metal/gold]. He will be like [SIM] a very strong soap [that bleaches clothes].

3 and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer to the LORD offerings in righteousness.

[He will be like a worker who] sits [in front of his work] to cause silver to become pure by burning all the impurities. Like [a worker refines] silver and gold, he will cause the (descendants of Levi/priests) to become pure, [in order that they will again become acceptable to] offer sacrifices that will be acceptable to him.

4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the LORD as in the days of old and as in ancient years.

When that happens, Yahweh will [again] accept the offerings brought to him by [the people of] Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah, as [he did] previously.

5 I will come near to you to judgement. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says the LORD of Hosts.

[This is what] the Commander of the armies of angels says: “At that time, I will come to you to judge you. I will quickly testify against [all] those who practice sorcery/witchcraft, [all] who have committed adultery, and [all] liars. [I will testify] against those who have not given their workers the pay/wages that they promised, those who (oppress/treat cruelly) widows and orphans, and those who do not allow foreigners who live among you to be treated fairly. [I will testify that all] the people who do those things do not revere me.”

6 “For I, the LORD, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

“I am Yahweh, and I never change. And although you [deceive people like] your ancestor Jacob did, I have not [yet] gotten rid of you.

7 From the days of your fathers you have turned away from my ordinances and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

You and your ancestors have ignored my commands and you have not obeyed them. [Now] return to me; and when that happens, I will (return/do good) to you. [That is what I, ] the Commander of the armies of angels, say.” But you ask, “[We have never gone away from you, so] how can we return [to you]?”

8 Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings.

[I reply, ] “People should certainly not [RHQ] cheat God; but you people have cheated me!” You ask, “In what way did we cheat you?” [I reply, ] “[You have cheated me by not bringing to me each year] (the tithes/one tenth of [all] your crops and animals) and [other] offerings [that you are required to give to me].

9 You are cursed with the curse; for you rob me, even this whole nation.

All that you do is cursed, because all you people in this country have been cheating me.

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says the LORD of Hosts, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be enough room for.

[Now] bring all the tithes to the storage rooms [in the temple], in order that there will be [enough] food [for the people who serve me] there. If you do that, I, the Commander of the armies of angels, promise that I will open the windows of heaven, and pour out [from them] blessings on you. [If you bring your tithes to the temple, the blessings will be] very great, with the result that you will not have enough space to store all of them. So test me [to see if I am telling the truth].

11 I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field,” says the LORD of Hosts.

You will have abundant crops [to harvest], because I will protect them in order that they will not be harmed by locusts/insects. Your grapes will not fall from the vines [before they are ripe].

12 “All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the LORD of Hosts.

When that happens, [the people of] all nations will say that [I] have blessed you, because your country will be delightful. [That is what I, ] the Commander of the armies of angels, say.

13 “Your words have been harsh against me,” says the LORD. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against you?’

[I, ] Yahweh, [have something else] to say [to you]. You have said terrible things about me.” But you reply, “What terrible things have we said about you?”

14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God,’ and ‘What profit is it that we have followed his instructions and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?

[I reply], “You have said, ‘It is useless [for us] to serve God. We have gained nothing [RHQ] by obeying the commands that he gave [to us] and by trying to show the Commander of the armies of angels that we are sorry [for the sins that we have committed].

15 Now we call the proud happy; yes, those who work wickedness are built up; yes, they tempt God, and escape.’

From now on, we will say/consider that those who are proud are [the ones whom God has] blessed. [We will say that because it seems that it is] those who do evil who become rich, and [that it is] those who try to find out how many evil things they can do without God punishing them who are not punished.’”

16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke one with another; and the LORD listened and heard, and a book of memory was written before him for those who feared the LORD and who honoured his name.

After [the people heard my message], those who revered Yahweh discussed [those things] with each other, and Yahweh listened to what they said. While Yahweh was watching, they wrote on a scroll the things that would remind them [about what they promised], and they wrote on that scroll the names of those who revered Yahweh and who [said that they] always wanted to honor him [MTY].

17 They shall be mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “my own possession in the day that I make. I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.

The Commander of the armies of angels says this [about those people]: “They will be my people. At the time that I judge people, [they will be like] [MET] a special treasure to me. I will be kind to them, like [SIM] fathers are kind to their sons who obey them.

18 Then you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who doesn’t serve him.

When that happens, you will again see that [the manner in which I treat] righteous people is different from [the manner in which I treat] wicked people. [You will see that the manner in which I act toward] those who serve me is different from [the manner in which I act toward] those who do not.”