Malachi 3

1 “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.

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall clear out the way before me: and suddenly will come to his temple the Lord, whom ye seek; and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire for, behold, he is coming, saith the Lord of hosts.

2 “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.

But who can sustain the day of his coming? and who can stand when he appeareth? for he is like the fire of the melter, and like the lye of the washers:

3 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.

And he will sit as a melter and purifier of silver; and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness

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

And then shall be pleasant unto the Lord the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

5 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.

And I will come near unto you to [hold] judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against those that swear falsely, and against those that withhold the wages of the hired laborer, [oppress] the widow, and the fatherless, and that do injustice to the stranger, and fear me not, saith the Lord of hosts.

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

For I the Lord, —I have not changed: and ye sons of Jacob—ye have not ceased to be.

7 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?

From the days of your fathers did ye depart from my statutes, and did not keep them; return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts; but ye say, Wherein shall we return?

8 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!

Can a man rob God, that ye will rob me? But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and in heave-offerings.

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

With the curse are ye cursed, and yet me do ye rob, O ye entire nation!

10 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.

Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be provision in my house, and prove me but herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing, until it be more than enough.

11 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.

And I will rebuke for you the devourer, and he shall not destroy for you the fruit of the ground: and the vine shall not cast its fruit for you before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

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

And all the nations shall call you blessed; for ye shall be a land of delight, saith the Lord of hosts.

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

Your words have been strong against me, saith the Lord; but ye say, What have we spoken among us against thee?

14 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?

Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his charge, and that we have walked contritely before the Lord of hosts?

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

And now we call the presumptuous happy: yea, built up are those that practise wickedness; yea, they have even tempted God and are [yet] suffered to escape.

16 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.

Then conversed they that fear the Lord one with the other: and the Lord listened and heard it, and there was written a book of remembrance before him for those who fear the Lord, and for those who respect his name.

17 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.

And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, on that day which I create as a special treasure: and I will spare them, as a man spareth his son that serveth him.

18 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.”

And ye shall return, and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that hath not served him.