Malachi 3

¹“See, I am going to send my messenger, ^a and he will clear the way before me. ^b Then the Lord you seek ^c will suddenly come to his temple, ^d the Messenger of the covenant you delight in #— #see, he is coming,” says the Lord of Armies. ²But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears? ^e For he will be like a refiner’s fire ^f and like launderer’s bleach. ^g,^{h 3}He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. ⁱ Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. ⁴And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as in days of old ^j and years gone by.

⁵“I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless; and against those who deny justice to the resident alien. ^k They do not fear me,” ^l says the Lord of Armies. ⁶“Because I, the Lord, have not changed, ^m you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed. ⁿ,^o

Robbing God

⁷“Since the days of your ancestors, you have turned from my statutes; you have not kept them. ^p Return to me, ^q and I will return to you,” ^r says the Lord of Armies.

Yet you ask, “How can we return? ”

⁸“Will a man rob ^s God? Yet you are robbing me! ”

“How do we rob you? ” you ask.

“By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions. ^{t 9}You are suffering under a curse, yet ^u you #— #the whole nation #— #are still robbing me. ¹⁰Bring the full tenth into the storehouse ^v so that there may be food in my house. ^w Test me in this way,” ^x says the Lord of Armies. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven ^y and pour out a blessing for you without measure. ^{z 11}I will rebuke the devourer ^aa,^ab for you, so that it will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the Lord of Armies. ¹²“Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of Armies.

The Righteous and the Wicked

¹³“Your words against me are harsh,” ^ac says the Lord.

Yet you ask, “What have we spoken against you? ”

¹⁴You have said, “It is useless to serve God. What have we gained by keeping his requirements ^ad and walking mournfully ^ae before the Lord of Armies? ¹⁵So now we consider the arrogant ^af to be fortunate. ^ag Not only do those who commit wickedness prosper, they even test God ^ah and escape.” ^ai

¹⁶At that time those who feared the Lord spoke to one another. The Lord took notice and listened. So a book of remembrance ^aj was written before him for those who feared the Lord and had high regard for his name. ¹⁷“They will be mine,” says the Lord of Armies, ^ak “my own possession on the day I am preparing. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. ^{al 18}So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.