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.

“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 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.

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 sweet to Jehovah hath been the present of Judah and Jerusalem, 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 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.

“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 [am] Jehovah, I have not changed, And ye, the sons of Jacob, Ye 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 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 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 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!

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

9 With a curse ye are cursed! And Me ye are deceiving — 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 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 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 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.

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

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

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

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

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?

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 happy, Yea, built up have been those doing wickedness, Yea 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 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 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 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.

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