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.

“See, I am about to send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, see, he will come,” says 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 will be able to endure the day of his coming? Who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire and like laundry 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.

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi. He will refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings of righteousness to Yahweh.

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

Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Yahweh, as in the days of old, and as in 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.

“Then I will approach you for judgment. I will quickly become a witness against the sorcerers, the adulterers, the false witnesses, and against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, those who oppress the widow and the fatherless, against those who turn away the foreigner, and against those who do not honor me,” says Yahweh of hosts.

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

“For I, Yahweh, have not changed; therefore you, sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.

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 you have turned aside from my ordinances and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of hosts. “But you say, 'How will 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!

Would a person rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In tithes and offerings.

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

You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, 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 the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says Yahweh of hosts, “if I do not open to you the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing on you, until there is no more room for it all.

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 speak against those who destroy your crops, so that they do not destroy the harvest of your land. Your vines in the fields will not lose their fruit,” says Yahweh of hosts.

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

“All the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says Yahweh of hosts.

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

“Your words against me have been strong,” says Yahweh. “But you say, 'What have we said among ourselves against 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. What profit is it that we have kept his requirements or walked mournfully 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.

So now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper, but they even test God and 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 those who feared Yahweh spoke with one another. Yahweh paid attention and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before him about those who feared Yahweh and honored 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 Yahweh of hosts, “my own treasured possession, on the day that I act. I will pity them, as a man pities his own 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.”

Then once again you will distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who worships God and one who does not worship him.