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 me! sending my messenger, who will prepare a way before me, — and, suddenly, shall come to his temple The Lord whom ye are seeking, even the messenger of the covenant in whom ye are delighting, Lo! he cometh! saith Yahweh 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 may endure the day of his coming? And who is he that can stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ alkali;

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.

Therefore will he sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and will purify the sons of Levi, and will smelt them, as gold and as silver; so shall they belong to Yahweh, offering a gift 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.

Then shall the gift of Judah and Jerusalem, be pleasant to Yahweh, —as in the days of age-past times, and as in the ancient 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.

Therefore will I draw near unto you for judgment, and will become a swift witness against the mutterers of incantations, and against the adulterers, and against them that swear to a falsehood, —and against them who rob the hire of the hireling, the widow and the fatherless, and that drive away the sojourner, and do not revere me, saith Yahweh of hosts.

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

Because, I, Yahweh, have not changed, therefore, ye, the sons of Jacob, have not been utterly consumed.

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, have ye departed from my statutes, and not observed them, Return ye unto me, that I may return unto you, saith Yahweh of hosts. And yet 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!

Will, a son of earth, defraud, God? Nevertheless, ye, have been defrauding me, and yet ye say, Wherein have we defrauded thee? In the tithe and the offering.

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

With a curse, have ye been cursing, and yet, me, have ye been defrauding, — the whole 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 tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, Yea, I pray you, put me to the proof hereby, saith Yahweh of hosts, whether I will not open to you the sluices of the heavens, and pour out for you blessing, until there be no room.

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.

Then will I rebuke, for you, the devourer that he spoil not, for you, the fruit of the ground, — neither shall the vine in the field, be barren to you, saith Yahweh of hosts.

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

So shall all the nations, pronounce you happy, —for, ye, shall become, a land of delight, saith Yahweh of hosts.

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

Stout against me, have been your words, saith Yahweh, —and yet ye say, What have we spoken, one to another, 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, Vain is it to serve God, —and, What profit when we have kept his charge, or when we have walked gloomily before Yahweh 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.

Now, therefore, we are pronouncing happy—the proud, —and, the doers of lawlessness have, even been built up, and, they who have put God to the proof, have even been delivered.

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, they who revered Yahweh, conversed, one with another, —and Yahweh hearkened, and heard, and there was written a book of remembrance before him, for them who revered Yahweh, and for such as thought of 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.

Therefore shall they be mine, saith Yahweh of hosts, in the day for which, I, am preparing treasure, —and I will deal tenderly with them, just as a man, dealeth tenderly, with his own son who is serving 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.”

So shall ye return, and see the difference, between the righteous and the lawless, —between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not.