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.

Lo, I am sending My messenger, And he hath prepared a way before Me, And suddenly come in unto his temple Doth the Lord whom ye are seeking, Even the messenger of the covenant, Whom ye are desiring, Lo, he is coming, said Jehovah 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 hath sat, a refiner and purifier of silver, And he hath purified the sons of Levi, And hath refined them as gold and as silver, And they have been to Jehovah bringing nigh a present 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 sweet to Jehovah hath been the present of Judah and Jerusalem, 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 an hireling, Of a widow, and of a fatherless one, And those turning aside a sojourner, And who fear Me not, said Jehovah of Hosts.

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

For I [am] Jehovah, I have not changed, And ye, the sons of Jacob, Ye 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 Ye have turned aside from My statutes, And ye have not taken heed. Turn back unto Me, and I turn back to you, Said Jehovah of Hosts. And ye 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.

Doth man deceive God? but ye are deceiving Me, And ye have said: 'In what have we deceived Thee?' The tithe and the heave-offering!

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

With a curse ye are cursed! And Me ye are deceiving — 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 unto the treasure-house, And there is food in My house; When ye have tried Me, now, with this, Said Jehovah of Hosts, Do not I open to you the windows of heaven? Yea, I have emptied on you a blessing till 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 for you against the consumer, And He doth not destroy to you the fruit of the ground, Nor miscarry to you doth the vine in the field, Said Jehovah of Hosts.

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

And declared you happy have all the nations, For ye are a delightful land, said Jehovah of Hosts.

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

Hard against Me have been your words, Said Jehovah, and ye have said: 'What have we spoken against Thee?'

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?

Ye 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 Jehovah 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 happy, Yea, built up have been those doing wickedness, Yea 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 Jehovah spoken one to another, And Jehovah doth attend and hear, And written is a book of memorial before Him Of those fearing Jehovah, 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 Jehovah of Hosts, In the day that I am appointing — a peculiar treasure, And I have had pity on them, As one hath 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 ye have turned back and considered, Between the righteous and the wicked, Between the servant of God and him who is not His servant.