Malachi 3
Legacy Standard Bible
The Messenger and the Lord
3 “(A)Behold, I am going to send (B)My [a]messenger, and he will [b](C)prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; [c]and the [d](D)messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says Yahweh of hosts. 2 “But who can (E)endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a (F)smelter’s fire and like [e]fullers’ soap. 3 And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will (G)purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may (H)present to Yahweh [f]offerings in righteousness. 4 Then the [g]offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be (I)pleasing to Yahweh as in the (J)ancient days and as in former years.
5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the (K)sorcerers and against the (L)adulterers and against those who (M)swear falsely and against those who oppress the (N)wage earner in his wages, the (O)widow and the [h]orphan, and those who turn aside the (P)sojourner and do not [i]fear Me,” says Yahweh of hosts. 6 “For [j]I, Yahweh, (Q)do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, [k]are not consumed.
You Have Robbed God
7 “From the (R)days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. (S)Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’
8 “Will a man [l]rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In (T)tithes and [m]contributions. 9 You are (U)cursed with a curse, for you are [n]robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10 (V)Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be [o]food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says Yahweh of hosts, “if I will not (W)open for you the windows of heaven and (X)empty out for you a blessing until [p](Y)it is beyond enough. 11 Then I will rebuke the (Z)devourer for you so that it will not corrupt the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field [q]fail to bear,” says Yahweh of hosts. 12 “(AA)So all the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a (AB)delightful land,” says Yahweh of hosts.
Arrogant Words
13 “Your words have been strong against Me,” says Yahweh. “But you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is (AC)worthless to serve God; and what (AD)gain is it that we have kept His charge and that we have walked in mourning before Yahweh of hosts? 15 So now we (AE)call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up, but they also test God and (AF)escape.’”
The Book of Remembrance
16 Then those who [r]feared Yahweh spoke to one another, and Yahweh (AG)gave heed and heard it, and a (AH)book of remembrance was written before Him for those who [s]fear Yahweh and who think upon His name. 17 “And they will be (AI)Mine,” says Yahweh of hosts, “on the (AJ)day that I [t]prepare My [u](AK)own treasured possession, and I will [v]spare them as a man [w](AL)spares his own son who serves him.” 18 So you will return and (AM)see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
Footnotes
- Malachi 3:1 Or angel
- Malachi 3:1 Or clear
- Malachi 3:1 Or even
- Malachi 3:1 Or angel
- Malachi 3:2 Lit laundrymen’s
- Malachi 3:3 Or grain offerings
- Malachi 3:4 Or grain offering
- Malachi 3:5 Or fatherless
- Malachi 3:5 Or reverence
- Malachi 3:6 Or I am Yahweh; I do not
- Malachi 3:6 Or have not come to an end
- Malachi 3:8 Or defraud
- Malachi 3:8 Or heave offerings
- Malachi 3:9 Or defrauding
- Malachi 3:10 Lit prey
- Malachi 3:10 Or there is not room enough
- Malachi 3:11 Lit be bereaved
- Malachi 3:16 Or reverence(d)
- Malachi 3:16 Or reverence(d)
- Malachi 3:17 Lit make
- Malachi 3:17 Or special treasure
- Malachi 3:17 Or have compassion on
- Malachi 3:17 Or has compassion on
Malachi 3
The Voice
3 These are the words of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies:
Eternal One: Pay attention! I am sending My messenger,
and he will clear the road ahead for Me.[a]
The Lord you seek will suddenly arrive at His temple.
And the Messenger of God’s covenant, your soul’s delight,
Watch, because He, too, is coming.
God declares His Anointed One will come, and the way will be prepared. Notice has been given: be ready.
2 Can anyone live through the day when He arrives?
Will anyone be left standing when He appears?
He is a purifying fire;
He is like lye soap.
3 Like a refiner of silver,
He will purify the descendants of Levi—
Until they are pure, unalloyed gold and silver.
Then they will draw near to the Eternal One,
Presenting offerings with righteous, clean hands.
4 Then the Eternal One will unequivocally accept the sweet offering of Judah and Jerusalem as He did in the days of old, as in the former years when the covenant was new.
Eternal One: 5 Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the constant sorcerers; the chronic adulterers; the habitual liars; those who continue cheating wages from their hired laborer, a widow, or an orphan; and those who always reject the immigrant, not fearing Me, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies. 6 Because I am the Eternal One, I never change; as a result, you children of Jacob have not been destroyed though your blessing may have been delayed.
7 From the days when your ancestors served Me, you have turned from and ignored My statutes. Return to Me and I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, will return to you. But you shameless people ask, “How will we return? 8 Will someone steal from God?” Yet you are always stealing from Me! But you self-centered people still ask, “How have we stolen from You?” In the tithes and the offerings you have not given Me as the law requires! 9 You are cursed with a curse, for as an entire nation you are stealing from Me. 10 To rectify this situation, you must bring the entire tithe into the storage house in the temple so that there may be food for Me and for the Levites in My house. Feel free to test Me now in this. See whether or not I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, will open the windows of heaven to you and pour a blessing down upon you until all needs are satisfied. 11 I will rebuke the swarm of locusts devouring your crops, and the devourer will not cause the produce you have grown in the earth to decay or the vines in the field to drop their grapes. 12 And all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight. I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, promise you this.
13 Your words of rebellion against Me have been strong. Yet you ask, “What have we said against You?” 14 You have said, “Serving God is a waste of time,” and, “What benefits have we received by following Him as we mourned on our journey before the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies? 15 Now we believe the bluster of the arrogant and agree they are blessed; we encourage the wicked who also test God and escape.”
16 Then those who fear the Eternal One consulted each other about God’s charges, each one to his neighbor, and the Eternal One paid attention and heard. A book of remembrance was written before Him for those who honored the Eternal One and valued His name and the good reputation.
Eternal One: 17 And they will be Mine on that day when I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, make My unique treasure—which is the kingdom of Israel. I will have pity on them as a man has pity on his son who serves him.
18 And you will return and notice the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those serving God and those not serving Him.
Footnotes
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.