Malachi 3

The Purifier

1“1Behold, I am going to send 2My 3messenger, and he will 45clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; 6and the 78messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts. 2“But who can 9endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a 10refiner’s fire and like 11fullers’ soap. 3He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will 12purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may 13present to the Lord 14offerings in righteousness. 4Then the 15offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be 16pleasing to the Lord as in the 17days of old and as in former years.

5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the 18sorcerers and against the 19adulterers and against those who 20swear falsely, and against those who oppress the 21wage earner in his wages, the 22widow and the 23orphan, and those who turn aside the 2425alien and do not 26fear Me,” says the Lord of hosts. 6“For 27I, the Lord, 28do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, 29are not consumed.

7“From the 30days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. 31Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

You Have Robbed God

8“Will a man 32rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In 33tithes and 34offerings. 9You are 35cursed with a curse, for you are 36robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 1037Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be 38food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not 39open for you the windows of heaven and 40pour out for you a blessing until 4142it overflows. 11Then I will rebuke the 43devourer for you, so that it will not 44destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the Lord of hosts. 12“45All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a 46delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.

13“Your words have been 47arrogant against Me,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ 14You have said, ‘It is 48vain to serve God; and what 49profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15So now we 50call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up but they also test God and 51escape.’”

The Book of Remembrance

16Then those who 52feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord 53gave attention and heard it, and a 54book of remembrance was written before Him for those who 55fear the Lord and who esteem His name. 17“They will be 56Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “on the 57day that I 58prepare My 5960own possession, and I will 61spare them as a man 6263spares his own son who serves him.” 18So you will again 64distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.