3:1 “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.
3:2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.
3:3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,
3:4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
3:5 “So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.
3:6 “I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
3:7 Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’
3:8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings.
3:9 You are under a curse–the whole nation of you–because you are robbing me.
3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
3:11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty.
3:12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.
3:13 “You have said harsh things against me,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?’
3:14 “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty?
3:15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.’”
3:16 Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.
3:17 “They will be mine,” says the LORD Almighty, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him.
3:18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.
3:1 I am about to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me; and suddenly the Lord, whom you seek, will come to His temple. And the Angel of the covenant, whom you desire, He will come, says Jehovah of hosts.
3:2 And who will endure the day of His coming? And who will stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.
3:3 And He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and purge them like gold and like silver, and they will offer to Jehovah a sacrifice in righteousness.
3:4 And the sacrifice of Judah and of Jerusalem will be pleasing to Jehovah, as in the days of old and as in the former years.
3:5 And I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely and against those who oppress the hired worker for his hire, and the widow and the orphan, and those who turn the stranger aside, and who do not fear Me, says Jehovah of hosts.
3:6 For I, Jehovah, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
3:7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you, says Jehovah of hosts. But you say, How shall we return?
3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me. But you say, How have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings.
3:9 With the curse you are cursed, yet you, even the whole nation, rob Me.
3:10 Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse that there may be food in My house; and prove Me, if you will, by this, says Jehovah of hosts, whether I will open to you the windows of heaven and pour out blessing for you until there is no room for it.
3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, and for your sake he will not destroy the fruit of the ground; and for your sake the vine will not lose its fruit in the field, says Jehovah of hosts.
3:12 And all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says Jehovah of hosts.
3:13 Your words have been strongly against Me, says Jehovah; but you say, What have we spoken against You?
3:14 You say, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge and have walked mournfully before Jehovah of hosts?
3:15 And now we call the arrogant blessed; not only have those who act wickedly been built up, but they also try God and escape.
3:16 Then those who feared Jehovah spoke to one another, each with his neighbor. And Jehovah gave heed and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who feared Jehovah and considered His name.
3:17 And they will be Mine, says Jehovah of hosts, a personal treasure, in the day that I prepare; and I will spare them, as a man spares his son who serves him.
3:18 And you will return and discern between him who is righteous and him who is wicked, between him who serves God and him who does not serve Him.