Malachi 3

The Purifier

1“1Behold, I am sending 2My 3messenger, and he will 4clear a way before Me. And the Lord, whom you are seeking, will suddenly come to His temple; 5and the 67messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of armies. 2“But who can 8endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a 9refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap. 3And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will 10purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may 11present to the Lord 12offerings in righteousness. 4Then the 13offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be 14pleasing to the Lord as in the 15days of old, and as in former years.

5“Then I will come near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the 16sorcerers, the 17adulterers, against those who 18swear falsely, those who 19oppress the 20wage earner in his wages or the 21widow or the 22orphan, and those who turn away the 23stranger from justice and do not 24fear Me,” says the Lord of armies. 6“For 25I, the Lord, 26do not change; therefore you, the sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.

7“From the 27days of your fathers you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. 28Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of armies. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

You Have Robbed God

8“Would anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In 29tithes and 30offerings. 9You are 31cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the entire nation of you! 1032Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and put Me to the test now in this,” says the Lord of armies, “if I do not 33open for you the windows of heaven and 34pour out for you a blessing until 3536it overflows. 11Then I will rebuke the 37devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruit of your ground; nor will the vine in the field prove fruitless to you,” says the Lord of armies. 12“38All the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a 39delightful land,” says the Lord of armies.

13“Your words have been 40arrogant against Me,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ 14You have said, ‘It is 41pointless to serve God; and what 42benefit is it for us that we have done what He required, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of armies? 15So now we 43call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up, but they also put God to the test and 44escape punishment.’”

The Book of Remembrance

16Then those who 45feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord 46listened attentively and heard it, and a 47book of remembrance was written before Him for those who 48fear the Lord and esteem His name. 17“And they will be 49Mine,” says the Lord of armies, “on the 50day that I 51prepare My 52own possession, and I will have compassion for them just as a man 53has compassion for his own son who serves him.” 18So you will again 54distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.