Malachi 3
Good News Translation
3 (A)The Lord Almighty answers, “I will send my messenger to prepare the way for me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger you long to see will come and proclaim my covenant.”
2 (B)But who will be able to endure the day when he comes? Who will be able to survive when he appears? He will be like strong soap, like a fire that refines metal. 3 He will come to judge like one who refines and purifies silver. As a metalworker refines silver and gold, so the Lord's messenger will purify the priests, so that they will bring to the Lord the right kind of offerings. 4 Then the offerings which the people of Judah and Jerusalem bring to the Lord will be pleasing to him, as they used to be in the past.
5 The Lord Almighty says, “I will appear among you to judge, and I will testify at once against those who practice magic, against adulterers, against those who give false testimony, those who cheat employees out of their wages, and those who take advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners—against all who do not respect me.
The Payment of Tithes
6 (C)“I am the Lord, and I do not change. And so you, the descendants of Jacob, are not yet completely lost. 7 You, like your ancestors before you, have turned away from my laws and have not kept them. Turn back to me, and I will turn to you. But you ask, ‘What must we do to turn back to you?’ 8 I ask you, is it right for a person to cheat God? Of course not, yet you are cheating me. ‘How?’ you ask. In the matter of tithes and offerings. 9 A curse is on all of you because the whole nation is cheating me. 10 (D)Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple, so that there will be plenty of food there. Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things. 11 I will not let insects destroy your crops, and your grapevines will be loaded with grapes. 12 Then the people of all nations will call you happy, because your land will be a good place to live.
God's Promise of Mercy
13 “You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord. “But you ask, ‘What have we said about you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It's useless to serve God. What's the use of doing what he says or of trying to show the Lord Almighty that we are sorry for what we have done? 15 As we see it, proud people are the ones who are happy. Evil people not only prosper, but they test God's patience with their evil deeds and get away with it.’”
16 Then the people who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard what they said. In his presence, there was written down in a book a record of those who feared the Lord and respected him. 17 “They will be my people,” says the Lord Almighty. “On the day when I act, they will be my very own. I will be merciful to them as parents are merciful to the children who serve them. 18 Once again my people will see the difference between what happens to the righteous and to the wicked, to the person who serves me and the one who does not.”
Malachi 3
Expanded Bible
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.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.