Malachi 3

1 Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way for me. The Lord you are seeking will suddenly arrive at his Temple. The messenger of the agreement you say is so happy with you is coming, says the Lord Almighty.

“Behold, I am sending My messenger, And he has prepared a way before Me, And suddenly the Lord whom you are seeking comes into His temple, Even the Messenger of the Covenant, Whom you are desiring, Behold, He is coming,” said YHWH of Hosts.

2 Who can survive the day when he comes? Who can stand before him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing furnace that refines metal, or like the strong alkali that cleanses stains.

“And who is bearing the day of His coming? And who is standing in His appearing? For He [is] as fire of a refiner, And as soap of a fuller.

3 He will sit down like a refiner who purifies silver; he will purify Levi's descendants and refine them like gold and silver so they can present pure offerings to the Lord.

And He has sat, a refiner and purifier of silver, And He has purified the sons of Levi, And has refined them as gold and as silver, And they have been bringing a present near to YHWH in righteousness.

4 Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as they did in the old days, in the former years.

And the present of Judah and Jerusalem has been sweet to YHWH, As in days of old, and as in former years.

5 I will come and put you on trial. I am ready to be a witness against those who: practice witchcraft commit adultery tell lies give false evidence cheat employees oppress widows and orphans abuse foreigners and do not respect me, says the Lord Almighty.

And I have drawn near to you for judgment, And I have been a witness, Making haste against sorcerers, and against adulterers, And against swearers to a falsehood, And against oppressors of the hire of a hired worker, Of a widow, and of a fatherless one, And those turning aside a sojourner, And who do not fear Me,” said YHWH of Hosts.

6 For I am the Lord, I don't change, and you haven't stopped being descendants of Jacob.

“For I, YHWH, have not changed, And you, the sons of Jacob, You have not been consumed.

7 From the time of your forefathers onward, you have turned away from my laws and not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty. But you ask, “How should we return?”

Even from the days of your fathers You have turned aside from My statutes, And you have not taken heed. Return to Me, and I return to you,” said YHWH of Hosts. “And you have said, In what do we turn back?

8 Should people defraud God? Yet you are defrauding me! But you ask, “How have we defrauded you?” In tithes and offerings.

Does man deceive God? But you are deceiving Me, And you have said, In what have we deceived You? The tithe and the raised-offering!

9 You are under a curse, for you and the whole nation are defrauding me.

You are cursed with a curse! And you are deceiving Me—this nation—all of it.

10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse so that there will be food in my Temple. Put me to the test in this, says the Lord Almighty, and I will open the windows of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you won't have enough room for it.

Bring in all the tithe to the treasure-house, And there is food in My house; When you have tried Me, now, with this,” said YHWH of Hosts, “Do I not open the windows of the heavens to you? Indeed, I have emptied on you a blessing until there is no space.

11 I will prevent locusts from destroying your crops, and your vineyards will not fail to bear fruit, says the Lord Almighty.

And I have pushed against the consumer for you, And He does not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor does the vine in the field miscarry to you,” said YHWH of Hosts.

12 All nations will call you blessed because you live in such a wonderful land, says the Lord Almighty.

“And all the nations have declared you blessed, For you are a delightful land,” said YHWH of Hosts.

13 You have said hard things about me, says the Lord. But you say, “What have we said against you?”

“Your words have been hard against Me,” said YHWH, “And you have said, What have we spoken against You?

14 You have said, “What's the point of serving God? What benefit is there in keeping his commandments or going before the Lord Almighty with long faces?

You have said, A vain thing to serve God! And what gain when we kept His charge? And when we have gone in black, Because of YHWH of Hosts?

15 From now on we'll say that the proud are blessed. Evil people do well, and nothing happens when they dare God to punish them.”

And now, we are declaring the proud blessed, Indeed, those doing wickedness have been built up, Indeed, they have tempted God, and escape.

16 Then those who truly respected the Lord spoke to each other, and the Lord heard what they said. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence of those who respected the Lord and paid attention to him.

Then have those fearing YHWH spoken to one another, And YHWH attends and hears, And a scroll of memorial is written before Him Of those fearing YHWH, And of those esteeming His Name.

17 They shall be mine, says the Lord Almighty, my prized possession on the day when I take action. I will treat them kindly, as a father treats an obedient son.

And they have been to Me,” said YHWH of Hosts, “In the day that I am appointing—a peculiar treasure, And I have had pity on them, As one has pity on his son who is serving him.

18 Then you will once again be able to distinguish those who do right from those who do wrong, between those who serve him and those who don't.

And you have turned back and considered, Between the righteous and the wicked, Between the servant of God and him who is not His servant.”