Old/New Testament
1 This ·message [oracle; burden] is the word of the Lord given to Israel through Malachi [C “my messenger”].
God Loves Israel
2 The Lord said, “I have loved you.”
But you ask, “How have you loved us?”
The Lord said, “Esau and Jacob were brothers. I loved Jacob, 3 but I ·hated [rejected] Esau [Gen. 25:19–34]. I ·destroyed [laid waste] his mountain country and left his ·land [inheritance] to the ·wild dogs [jackals] of the ·desert [wilderness].”
4 The people of Edom [L descendants of Esau] might say, “We were ·destroyed [crushed; shattered], but we will go back and rebuild the ruins.”
But the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says, “If they rebuild them, I will ·destroy [demolish] them. ·People will say, ‘Edom is a wicked country. The Lord is always angry with the Edomites.’ [or They will be known as, ‘The Wicked Land’ and ‘The people always under God’s wrath.’] 5 You will see these things with your own eyes. And you will say, ‘The Lord is great, even ·outside [beyond] the borders of Israel!’”
The Priests Don’t Respect God
6 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says, “A son honors his father [Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16], and a ·servant [slave] honors his master.” ·I am a [L If I am your] father, so why don’t you honor me? ·I am a [L If I am your] master, so why don’t you respect me? You priests ·do not respect me [L despise my name].
“But you ask, ‘How have we ·shown you disrespect [L despised your name]?’
7 “You have shown it by bringing ·unclean [defiled] food to my altar.
“But you ask, ‘What makes it ·unclean [defiled]?’
“It is ·unclean [defiled] because you ·don’t respect [treat as contemptible] the altar of the Lord. 8 When you ·bring [offer] blind animals as sacrifices, ·that is [L is that not…?] wrong. When you ·bring [offer] crippled and sick animals, ·that is [L is that not…?] wrong [Lev. 1:3]. Try giving them to your governor. Would he be pleased with you? ·He wouldn’t [L Would he…?] accept you,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
9 “Now ·ask [plead with] God to ·be kind [show favor] to you, but he won’t ·accept [show favor to] you with such offerings,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
10 “I wish one of you would close the Temple doors so that you would not light ·useless [worthless; meaningless] fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you and will not accept ·your gifts [L an offering from your hand],” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 11 “From the east to the west ·I [L my name] will be honored among the nations. Everywhere they will bring incense and ·clean [pure; undefiled] offerings to me, because ·I will be honored [L my name will be great] among the nations,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
12 “But you ·don’t honor [profane] me. You say about the Lord’s ·altar [table], ‘It is ·unclean [defiled], and the food ·has no worth [is despicable/contemptible].’ 13 You say, ‘We are tired of doing this,’ and you ·sniff [sneer] at it in disgust,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
“And you bring ·hurt [or stolen], crippled, and sick animals as gifts. You bring them as ·gifts [offerings], but I won’t accept them from ·you [L your hands],” says the Lord. 14 “The person who cheats will be cursed. He has a male animal in his flock and promises to offer it, but then he offers to the Lord an animal that ·has something wrong with it [is blemished; Lev. 1:3]. I am a great king,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], “and ·I am [my name is] feared ·by all [among] the nations.
Rules for Priests
2 “Priests, this ·command [warning] is for you. 2 Listen to me. Pay attention to what I say. Honor my name,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. “If you don’t, I will send a curse on you and on your blessings. I have already cursed them, because you don’t ·pay attention to what I say [take my warning to heart].
3 “I will ·punish [discipline; rebuke] your descendants. I will smear your faces with ·the animal insides [offal; entrails; or dung] left from your feasts, and you will be thrown away with it. 4 Then you will know that I am giving you this ·command [warning] so my ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with Levi will continue,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 5 “My ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with ·the Levites [L him; C Levi] was to bring life and peace so they would ·honor [fear] me. And they did ·honor [fear] me and ·fear me [L stood in awe of my name; Prov. 1:7]. 6 ·They taught the true teachings [True law/instruction/L Torah was in his mouth] and ·spoke no lies [no iniquity was found on his lips]. With peace and ·honesty [integrity] they ·did what I said they should do [walked with me], and they kept many people from sinning.
7 “·A priest [L The lips of a priest] should ·teach what he knows [preserve/guard knowledge; Deut. 33:10], and people should ·learn the teachings [seek instruction] from ·him [L his mouth], because he is the messenger of the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 8 But you priests have ·stopped obeying me [L turned from the way/path]. With your teachings you have caused many people to ·do wrong [stumble]. You have ·broken [corrupted] the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with ·the tribe of Levi [L Levi]!” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 9 “You have not been careful to ·do what I say [follow my ways/paths], but instead you ·take sides [show favoritism/partiality] in ·court [legal] cases. So I have caused you to be ·hated [despised] and ·disgraced [humiliated] in front of everybody.”
Judah Was Not Loyal to God
10 ·We all have the same [L Do we not have one….?] father; the ·same [one] God created us. So why do people ·break their promises to [betray] each other and ·show no respect for [profane; defile] the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] our ·ancestors [fathers] made with God [Ex. 19–24]? 11 ·The people of Judah [L Judah] have ·broken their promises [been unfaithful]. They have done ·something God hates [an abomination/detestable thing] in Israel and Jerusalem: ·The people of Judah [L Judah] ·did not respect [desecrated] the ·Temple [sanctuary; or holy things] that the Lord loves, and the men of Judah married ·women who worship [L the daughter of] foreign gods. 12 Whoever does this might bring offerings to the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], but the Lord will still cut that person off from the ·community of Israel [L tents of Jacob].
13 This is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with your tears. You ·cry [weep] and moan, because he does not ·accept [look with favor on] your offerings and is not pleased with what you bring. 14 You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord ·sees how you treated [L is the witness between you and] the wife ·you married when you were young [L of your youth]. You ·broke your promise [have been unfaithful] to her, even though she was your partner and ·you had an agreement with her [your wife by solemn covenant]. 15 ·God made [L Did not God make…?] husbands and wives to become one body and one spirit for his purpose—so they would have ·children who are true to God [godly offspring].
So ·be careful [L guard yourself in your spirit], and do not ·break your promise [be unfaithful] to the wife ·you married when you were young [L of your youth].
16 The Lord God of Israel says, “·I hate divorce. And I hate the person who [or The one who hates and divorces] ·does cruel things as easily as he puts on clothes [L covers his clothes in violence],” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
So be ·careful [on your guard]. And do not ·break your trust [be unfaithful].
The Special Day of Judging
17 You have ·tired [wearied] the Lord with your words.
You ask, “How have we ·tired [wearied] him?”
You did it by saying, “·The Lord thinks [L In the Lord’s eyes] anyone who does evil is good, and he is pleased with them.” Or you asked, “Where is the God ·who is fair [of justice]?”
3 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says, “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way for me [Is. 40:3; Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27]. Suddenly, the Lord you are ·looking for [seeking] will come to his Temple; the messenger of the ·agreement [covenant; treaty], ·whom you want [in whom you delight], will come.” 2 ·No one can live through [L Who can endure…?] ·that time [the day of his coming]; ·no one can survive [who can stand…?] when he ·comes [appears]. He will be like a ·purifying [refiner’s] fire and like ·laundry [launderer’s] soap. 3 Like someone who ·heats [refines] and purifies silver, he will purify the ·Levites [L sons/descendants of Levi] and ·make them pure [refine them] like gold and silver. Then they will bring offerings to the Lord in ·the right way [righteousness]. 4 And the Lord will ·accept [be pleased with] the offerings from Judah and Jerusalem, as it was in ·the past [L days of antiquity and former years]. 5 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says, “Then I will come to you and judge you. I will be quick to testify against those who take part in ·evil magic [sorcery], adultery, and ·lying under oath [perjury], those who cheat workers of their pay and who cheat widows and orphans, those who ·are unfair to [turn away; deprive of justice] ·foreigners [aliens; immigrants], and those who do not ·respect [fear] me [Prov. 1:7].
Stealing from God
6 “I the Lord do not change. So you descendants of Jacob have not been ·destroyed [consumed]. 7 ·Since the time [L From the days] of your ·ancestors [fathers], you have ·disobeyed [turned away from; spurned] my ·rules [decrees; commands] and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
“But you ask, ‘How can we return?’
8 “·Should [or Can] a person rob God? But you are robbing me.
“You ask, ‘How have we robbed you?’
“You have robbed me in your offerings and ·the tenth of your crops [tithes]. 9 So a curse is on you, because the whole nation has robbed me. 10 Bring to the storehouse a full ·tenth of what you earn [tithe] so there will be food in my house [C the temple; Deut. 14:22–28]. Test me in this,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. “I will open the windows of heaven for you and pour out all the blessings you need. 11 I will stop the ·insects [pests; or plague; L the devourer] so they won’t ·eat [destroy] your crops. The grapes won’t ·fall from your vines before they are ready to pick [or fail to produce a crop],” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 12 “All the nations will call you blessed, because you will have a ·pleasant country [delightful land],” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
The Lord’s Promise of Mercy
13 The Lord says, “You have said ·terrible things about [L hard things against] me.
“But you ask, ‘What have we said about you?’
14 “You have said, ‘It is ·useless [futile] to serve God. ·It did no good to obey [L What profit is there to keep] his laws and to ·show that we were sorry [L walk about in mourning] for what we did before the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 15 So we say that proud people are ·happy [blessed]. Evil people ·succeed [prosper]. They ·challenge [test] God and ·get away with it [escape harm].’”
16 Then those who ·honored [feared] the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened and heard them. The names of those who ·respected [feared] the Lord and honored ·him [L his name] were written in his presence in a ·book to be remembered [scroll of remembrance].
17 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says, “They ·belong to me [shall be mine]; on that day they will be my ·very own [treasured possession; special treasure]. As a ·parent [father] ·shows mercy to [spares] his ·child [son] who serves him, I will ·show mercy to [spare] my people. 18 You will again see the difference between ·good [the righteous] and ·evil people [the wicked], between those who serve God and those who don’t.
The Day of the Lord’s Judging
4 “[L For look/T behold] There is a day coming that will burn like a hot furnace, and all the ·proud [arrogant] and ·evil people [evildoers] will be like ·straw [chaff; stubble]. On that day they will be completely burned up so that not a root or branch will be left,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 2 “But for you who ·honor me [L fear/revere my name], ·goodness will shine on you like the sun [L the sun of righteousness will rise], with healing in its ·rays [L wings]. You will ·jump around [go out leaping], like ·well-fed calves [L calves from the stall]. 3 Then you will ·crush [trample] the wicked like ashes under your feet on the day I will do this,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
4 “Remember the ·teaching [law; L Torah] of Moses my servant, those ·laws [decrees] and rules I gave to him on ·Mount Sinai [L Horeb] for all the Israelites [Ex. 19–24].
5 “But I will send you Elijah the prophet before that great and terrifying day of the ·Lord’s judging [L Lord]. 6 Elijah will ·help parents love [L turn the hearts of fathers/parents to] their children and ·children love [L turn children to] their parents. Otherwise, I will come and ·put a curse on the land [strike the land with a curse/destruction].”
22 Then the angel showed me the river of the ·water of life [or living water]. It was ·shining [bright; clear] like crystal and was flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the ·street [main street; square] of the city [Gen. 2:10; Ezek. 47:1–12]. The tree of life was on each side of the river [Gen. 2:9; C heaven is like Eden, only better]. It produces ·fruit twelve times a year, once each month [or twelve kinds of fruit, producing fruit each month]. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of all the nations. 3 ·Nothing that God judges guilty will be in that city [Nothing accursed will be there; or There will no longer be any curse; Gen. 3:16–19; Zech. 14:11]. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and God’s servants will ·worship [serve] him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads [C denoting ownership; 3:12; 7:3; contrast 13:16; Ex. 28:36–38]. 5 There will never be night again. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give them light. And they will ·rule as kings [reign] forever and ever.
6 The angel said to me, “These words ·can be trusted and are [are faithful and] true.” The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets [C the spirit that inspires the prophets; 1 Cor. 14:32], sent his angel to show his servants the things that must happen ·soon [quickly].
7 “·Listen [L Look; T Behold]! I am coming ·soon [quickly]! ·Blessed [Happy] is the one who obeys the words of prophecy in this ·book [scroll].”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I ·bowed [fell] down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed these things to me. 9 But the angel said to me, “·Do not worship me [Don’t do that!; L See, not]! I am a ·servant like you [fellow servant with you], your brothers the prophets, and all those who ·obey [keep] the words in this ·book [scroll]. Worship God!”
10 Then the angel told me, “Do not ·keep secret [L seal; contrast 10:4] the words of prophecy in this ·book [scroll], because the time is near for all this to happen. 11 Let whoever is doing ·evil [wrong; harm] continue to do evil [wrong; harm; Dan. 12:10]. Let whoever is ·unclean [vile; impure; filthy] continue to be ·unclean [vile; impure; filthy]. Let whoever is ·doing right [righteous; just] continue to do ·right [righteousness; justice]. Let whoever is holy continue to be holy.”
12 “·Listen [L Look; Behold]! I am coming ·soon [quickly]! ·I will bring my reward with me [L and my reward is with me; Is. 40:10], and I will repay ·each one of you [L each person] for what you have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End [1:8; 21:6].
14 “·Blessed [Happy] are those who wash their robes [C an image of spiritual cleansing] so that they will receive the ·right [power; authority] to eat the fruit from the tree of life and may ·go through [enter] the gates into the city. 15 Outside the city are the ·evil people [L dogs], those who do ·evil magic [sorcery], who ·sin sexually [fornicate], who murder, who worship idols, and who love lies and tell lies.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to ·tell you [testify/witness to] these things for the churches. I am the ·descendant from the family of David [root and descendant/offspring of David; C a messianic title applied to Jesus; 5:4; Is. 11:10], and I am the bright morning star [2:28; Num. 24:17; C a messianic title].”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears this say, “Come!” Let whoever is thirsty come; whoever wishes may ·have [take; receive] the water of life ·as a free gift [freely].
18 I ·warn [testify to] everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this ·book [scroll]: If anyone adds anything to these words, God will add to that person the ·disasters [plagues] written about in this ·book [scroll]. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this ·book [scroll] of prophecy, God will take away that one’s ·share [part] of the tree of life and of the holy city, which are written about in this ·book [scroll; Deut. 4:2; 12:32].
20 ·Jesus, the One who says these things are true, [L The One who witnesses to these things] says, “Yes, I am coming ·soon [quickly].”
·Amen [C Hebrew for “so be it”]. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.