Malachi 3

1 The Commander of the armies of angels says [this]: “Listen! I [am about to] send my messenger who will prepare [the people to receive me] when I come. [You claim that] [IRO] you are wanting to see me, and I will suddenly come to my temple. The messenger [who will tell you about a new] agreement, the one whom you are eagerly [SAR] awaiting, is certainly going to come [to you].”

“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 But will anyone [RHQ] be able to survive when he comes? Will anyone [RHQ] be able to [remain] standing in front of him? [Certainly not, ] because he will be like [SIM] a blazing fire that refines/purifies [metal/gold]. He will be like [SIM] a very strong soap [that bleaches clothes].

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 [He will be like a worker who] sits [in front of his work] to cause silver to become pure by burning all the impurities. Like [a worker refines] silver and gold, he will cause the (descendants of Levi/priests) to become pure, [in order that they will again become acceptable to] offer sacrifices that will be acceptable to him.

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 When that happens, Yahweh will [again] accept the offerings brought to him by [the people of] Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah, as [he did] previously.

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

5 [This is what] the Commander of the armies of angels says: “At that time, I will come to you to judge you. I will quickly testify against [all] those who practice sorcery/witchcraft, [all] who have committed adultery, and [all] liars. [I will testify] against those who have not given their workers the pay/wages that they promised, those who (oppress/treat cruelly) widows and orphans, and those who do not allow foreigners who live among you to be treated fairly. [I will testify that all] the people who do those things do not revere me.”

“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 “I am Yahweh, and I never change. And although you [deceive people like] your ancestor Jacob did, I have not [yet] gotten rid of you.

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

7 You and your ancestors have ignored my commands and you have not obeyed them. [Now] return to me; and when that happens, I will (return/do good) to you. [That is what I, ] the Commander of the armies of angels, say.” But you ask, “[We have never gone away from you, so] how can we return [to you]?”

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 [I reply, ] “People should certainly not [RHQ] cheat God; but you people have cheated me!” You ask, “In what way did we cheat you?” [I reply, ] “[You have cheated me by not bringing to me each year] (the tithes/one tenth of [all] your crops and animals) and [other] offerings [that you are required to give to me].

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

9 All that you do is cursed, because all you people in this country have been cheating me.

You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation.

10 [Now] bring all the tithes to the storage rooms [in the temple], in order that there will be [enough] food [for the people who serve me] there. If you do that, I, the Commander of the armies of angels, promise that I will open the windows of heaven, and pour out [from them] blessings on you. [If you bring your tithes to the temple, the blessings will be] very great, with the result that you will not have enough space to store all of them. So test me [to see if I am telling the truth].

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 You will have abundant crops [to harvest], because I will protect them in order that they will not be harmed by locusts/insects. Your grapes will not fall from the vines [before they are ripe].

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 When that happens, [the people of] all nations will say that [I] have blessed you, because your country will be delightful. [That is what I, ] the Commander of the armies of angels, say.

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

13 [I, ] Yahweh, [have something else] to say [to you]. You have said terrible things about me.” But you reply, “What terrible things have we said about you?”

“Your words against me have been strong,” says Yahweh. “But you say, 'What have we said among ourselves against you?'

14 [I reply], “You have said, ‘It is useless [for us] to serve God. We have gained nothing [RHQ] by obeying the commands that he gave [to us] and by trying to show the Commander of the armies of angels that we are sorry [for the sins that we have committed].

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 From now on, we will say/consider that those who are proud are [the ones whom God has] blessed. [We will say that because it seems that it is] those who do evil who become rich, and [that it is] those who try to find out how many evil things they can do without God punishing them who are not punished.’”

So now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper, but they even test God and escape.'”

16 After [the people heard my message], those who revered Yahweh discussed [those things] with each other, and Yahweh listened to what they said. While Yahweh was watching, they wrote on a scroll the things that would remind them [about what they promised], and they wrote on that scroll the names of those who revered Yahweh and who [said that they] always wanted to honor him [MTY].

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 The Commander of the armies of angels says this [about those people]: “They will be my people. At the time that I judge people, [they will be like] [MET] a special treasure to me. I will be kind to them, like [SIM] fathers are kind to their sons who obey them.

“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 When that happens, you will again see that [the manner in which I treat] righteous people is different from [the manner in which I treat] wicked people. [You will see that the manner in which I act toward] those who serve me is different from [the manner in which I act toward] those who do not.”

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