Malachi 3

1 “Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—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; 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 can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, 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 of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.

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 the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old and years gone by.

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

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but 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 “Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.

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

7 Yet from the days of your fathers, you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts. “But you ask, ‘How can we return?’

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 Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings.

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

9 You are cursed with a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me.

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

10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.

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 the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” 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 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts.

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

13 “Your words against Me have been harsh,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against 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 futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?

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 arrogant blessed. Not only do evildoers prosper, they even test God and escape.’”

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

16 At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD and honored 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, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own 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 So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do 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.