Malachi 3

1 Lo, I am sending My messenger, And he hath prepared a way before Me, And suddenly come in unto his temple Doth the Lord whom ye are seeking, Even the messenger of the covenant, Whom ye are desiring, Lo, he is coming, said Jehovah of Hosts.

Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall clear the way before Me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to His temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he cometh, 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 may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap;

3 And he hath sat, a refiner and purifier of silver, And he hath purified the sons of Levi, And hath refined them as gold and as silver, And they have been to Jehovah bringing nigh a present in righteousness.

And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver; and there shall be they that shall offer unto the LORD offerings in righteousness.

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

Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, 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 an hireling, Of a widow, and of a fatherless one, And those turning aside a sojourner, And who fear Me not, said Jehovah of Hosts.

And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers; and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me, saith the LORD of hosts.

6 For I [am] Jehovah, I have not changed, And ye, the sons of Jacob, Ye have not been consumed.

For I the LORD change not; and ye, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

7 Even from the days of your fathers Ye have turned aside from My statutes, And ye have not taken heed. Turn back unto Me, and I turn back to you, Said Jehovah of Hosts. And ye have said, 'In what do we turn back?'

From the days of your fathers ye have turned aside from Mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye say: 'Wherein shall we return?'

8 Doth man deceive God? but ye are deceiving Me, And ye have said: 'In what have we deceived Thee?' The tithe and the heave-offering!

Will a man rob God? Yet ye rob Me. But ye say: 'Wherein have we robbed Thee?' In tithes and heave-offerings.

9 With a curse ye are cursed! And Me ye are deceiving — this nation — all of it.

Ye are cursed with the curse, yet ye rob Me, even this whole nation.

10 Bring in all the tithe unto the treasure-house, And there is food in My house; When ye have tried Me, now, with this, Said Jehovah of Hosts, Do not I open to you the windows of heaven? Yea, I have emptied on you a blessing till there is no space.

Bring ye the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall be more than sufficiency.

11 And I have pushed for you against the consumer, And He doth not destroy to you the fruit of the ground, Nor miscarry to you doth the vine in the field, Said Jehovah of Hosts.

And I will rebuke the devourer for your good, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your land; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

12 And declared you happy have all the nations, For ye are a delightful land, said Jehovah of Hosts.

And all nations shall call you happy; for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

13 Hard against Me have been your words, Said Jehovah, and ye have said: 'What have we spoken against Thee?'

Your words have been all too strong against Me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say: 'Wherein have we spoken against thee?'

14 Ye 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 Jehovah 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 mournfully because of the LORD of hosts?

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

And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are built up; yea, they try God, and are delivered.'

16 Then have those fearing Jehovah spoken one to another, And Jehovah doth attend and hear, And written is a book of memorial before Him Of those fearing Jehovah, And of those esteeming His name.

Then they that feared the LORD spoke one with another; and the LORD hearkened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him, for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name.

17 And they have been to Me, said Jehovah of Hosts, In the day that I am appointing — a peculiar treasure, And I have had pity on them, As one hath pity on his son who is serving him.

And they shall be Mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in the day that I do make, even Mine own treasure; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

18 And ye have turned back and considered, Between the righteous and the wicked, Between the servant of God and him who is not His servant.

Then shall ye again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.