Malachi 3New King James Version
The Coming Messenger
3 “Behold,(A)I send My messenger,
And he will(B)prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
(C)Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold,(D)He is coming,”
Says theLordof hosts.
2 “But who can endure(E)the day of His coming?
And(F)who can stand when He appears?
For(G)Heislike a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
3 (H)He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And[a]purge them as gold and silver,
That they may(I)offer to theLord
An offering in righteousness.
4 “Then(J)the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
Will be[b]pleasant to theLord,
As in the days of old,
As in former years.
5 And I will come near you for judgment;
I will be a swift witness
Against sorcerers,
Against adulterers,
(K)Against perjurers,
Against those who(L)exploit wage earners and(M)widows and orphans,
And against those who turn away an alien—
Because they do not fear Me,”
Says theLordof hosts.
6 “For IamtheLord,(N)I do not change;
(O)Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
7 Yet from the days of(P)your fathers
You have gone away from My ordinances
And have not keptthem.
(Q)Return to Me, and I will return to you,”
Says theLordof hosts.
(R)“But you said,
‘In what way shall we return?’
Do Not Rob God
8 “Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’
(S)In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Eventhis whole nation.
10 (T)Bring all the tithes into the(U)storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says theLordof hosts,
“If I will not open for you the(V)windows of heaven
And(W)pour out for yousuchblessing
Thatthere willnotbe roomenoughto receive it.
11 “And I will rebuke(X)the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says theLordof hosts;
12 “And all nations will call you blessed,
For you will be(Y)a delightful land,”
Says theLordof hosts.
The People Complain Harshly
13 “Your(Z)words have been[c]harsh against Me,”
Says theLord,
“Yet you say,
‘What have we spoken against You?’
14 (AA)You have said,
‘It is useless to serve God;
What profitis itthat we have kept His ordinance,
And that we have walked as mourners
Before theLordof hosts?
15 So now(AB)we call the proud blessed,
For those who do wickedness are[d]raised up;
They even(AC)tempt God and go free.’ ”
A Book of Remembrance
16 Then those(AD)who feared theLord(AE)spoke to one another,
And theLordlistened and heardthem;
So(AF)a book of remembrance was written before Him
For those who fear theLord
And who[e]meditate on His name.
17 “They(AG)shall be Mine,” says theLordof hosts,
“On the day that I make them My(AH)jewels.[f]
And(AI)I will spare them
As a man spares his own son who serves him.”
18 (AJ)Then you shall again discern
Between the righteous and the wicked,
Between one who serves God
And one who does not serve Him.
Footnotes
- Malachi 3:3Orrefine
- Malachi 3:4pleasing
- Malachi 3:13Lit.strong
- Malachi 3:15Lit.built
- Malachi 3:16Oresteem
- Malachi 3:17Lit.special treasure
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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