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 will send my messenger, And he shall prepare the way before me; And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple; And the messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, Behold, he shall come, saith Jehovah 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 shall abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he shall be like the fire of the refiner, And like the soap of the fuller.

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 shall refine them as gold and silver, That, being holy to Jehovah, they may bring an offering 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 pleasing to Jehovah, 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 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 sorcerers, and against adulterers, and against false swearers, And against those who defraud the hireling of his hire, And oppress the widow and the fatherless, And turn aside the stranger from his right, And fear not me, saith Jehovah of hosts.

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

For I am Jehovah; I change not; Therefore, ye sons of Jacob, are ye 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 have ye turned aside from my statutes, And have not kept them; Return to me, and I will return to you, Saith Jehovah 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!

Shall a man rob God, That ye have robbed me? But ye say, “Wherein have we robbed thee?” In tithes and offerings.

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

Ye are cursed with a curse, For ye have robbed 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 all the tithes into the storehouse, That there be food in my house; And try me now in this, Saith Jehovah of hosts, Whether I will not open to you the windows of heaven, And pour out upon you a blessing, until there is none left.

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 for you the devourer, And he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, Nor shall your vine be barren in the field, Saith Jehovah 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 blessed; For ye shall be a delightful land, Saith Jehovah 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 bold against me, saith Jehovah; Yet ye say, “What 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 a vain thing to serve God”; And, “What profit is it that we have kept his ordinances, And that we have walked mournfully before Jehovah 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.'

Therefore we call the proud happy; Yea, they that do wickedness are built up; Yea, they tempt 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 Jehovah spake to one another, And Jehovah gave ear and heard; And a book of remembrance was written before him, For them that feared Jehovah, 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 to me, saith Jehovah of hosts, In the day which I appoint, as my own possession; And I will spare them, As a father 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 return and see What is the difference between the righteous and the wicked, Between him who serveth God And him who serveth him not.