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.

“I am about to send my messenger and he will clear a path before me: And the Lord, who you are seeking, will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant who you long for is already coming, says 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 endure the day of his coming? And who will stand firm when he appears? He is like a refiner’s fire, and like a launderer’s soap,

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 refiner and purifier. He will purify the descendants of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, until they are fit to bring offerings to the Lord.

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

Then will the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant to the Lord, 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.

“I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against the sorcerers, adulterers, perjurers, those who cheat workers, or widows, or orphans, deny justice to immigrants, and do not fear me,” says 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, do not change; and you have not ceased to be descendants of Jacob.”

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 ancestors, you have turned aside from my statutes, and you have not kept them. Turn to me and I will turn to you,” says the Lord. “You say, ‘How should we turn?’

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 human rob God? Yet you robbed me. You ask, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and gifts!

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

You – your entire nation – are all cursed, because you rob me.

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 the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there is food in my house. Test me in this way. See if I will not open to you the windows of the sky, and pour you out a blessing, until there is 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.

I will rebuke for your sakes the devouring locust and he will not destroy your crops, nor will the vine fail to ripen its fruit in the field, says 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 nations will call you happy, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.

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

“You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord. “You ask, ‘What have we said about you?’

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?

You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God, and what do we gain from the Lord of hosts by keeping his commands, and walking mournfully in funeral garb before him?

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

So now we call the proud happy, evildoers thrive: they dare God and escape unharmed.’”

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.

Such things those who revered the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice, and a record was written before him of those who revered the Lord and those who keep in mind 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.

“They will be mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “my special possession on that day that I am preparing. I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves 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.”

Once again my people will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between the person who serves God and the person who does not.”