玛拉基书 3
Chinese New Version (Simplified)
立约的使者快临
3 万军之耶和华说：“看哪！我派我的使者，在我前面预备道路；你们所寻求的主，必忽然进入他的殿；你们所爱慕立约的使者，就要来到。” 2 可是，他来的日子，谁能当得起呢？他显现的时候，谁能站立得住呢？因为他像炼金之人的火，又像漂布之人的碱。 3 他必坐着，像熬炼和洁净银子的人；他必洁净利未人，炼净他们像炼净金银一样。这样，他们就会凭公义献礼物给耶和华。 4 那时，犹大和耶路撒冷所献的礼物，必蒙耶和华悦纳，正如古时的日子，也像往昔之年一样。 5 万军之耶和华说：“我必临近你们施行审判；我要快快指证那些行邪术的、犯奸淫的、起假誓的、在工钱上欺压雇工的、欺压孤儿寡妇的、屈枉寄居的和不敬畏我的。”
6 万军之耶和华说：“因为我耶和华是不改变的，所以你们雅各的子孙也不会灭没。
当纳十分之一
7 “从你们列祖的日子以来，你们就偏离了我的律例而不遵守。现在你们要转向我，我就必转向你们。你们还问：‘我们要怎样回转呢？’ 8 人怎可抢夺 神之物呢？你们却抢夺属我之物，竟还问：‘我们抢夺了你的甚么呢？’就是抢夺了当纳的十分之一和当献的祭物。 9 你们要受严厉的咒诅，因你们全国的人都抢夺了属我之物。” 10 万军之耶和华说：“你们要把当纳的十分之一，全部送入仓库，使我家中有粮；藉此试验我，看我是不是为你们敞开天窗，把福气倒给你们，直到充足有余呢。” 11 万军之耶和华说：“我必为你们斥责那吞吃者，不容他毁坏你们地上的果实，也不让你们田间的葡萄在未熟以先就掉下来。” 12 万军之耶和华说：“万国都要称你们为有福，因为你们的地必成为喜乐之地。”
指摘以色列狂傲自大
13 耶和华说：“你们用无礼的话顶撞我。你们还问：‘我们用甚么话顶撞了你呢？’ 14 你们说：‘事奉 神是白费的；遵守他的吩咐，在万军之耶和华面前哀痛而行，有甚么益处呢？ 15 现在我们称骄傲的人为有福，作恶的人得建立；他们虽然试探 神，却得以逃脱。’”
敬畏耶和华的必蒙怜恤
16 那时，敬畏耶和华的人彼此谈论，耶和华也留意细听；在他面前有记录册，记录那些敬畏耶和华和思念他名的人。 17 万军之耶和华说：“在我施行作为的日子，他们要属我，作特别的产业；我必怜恤他们，好象人怜恤那服事自己的儿子一样。 18 那时，你们就要再看出义人与恶人、事奉 神的人和不事奉他的人之间有甚么分别。”
Malachi 3
Names of God Bible
The Coming of the Messenger of the Promise
3 “I’m going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way ahead of me. Then the Adonay you are looking for will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the promise[a] will come. He is the one you want,” says Yahweh Tsebaoth.
2 But who will be able to endure the day he comes? Who will be able to survive on the day he appears? He is like a purifying fire and like a cleansing soap. 3 He will act like a refiner and a purifier of silver. He will purify Levi’s sons and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will bring acceptable offerings to Yahweh. 4 The offerings from Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Yahweh as in the past, as in years long ago.
5 “I will come to judge you. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers, lying witnesses, and those who cheat workers out of their wages and oppress widows and orphans. I will also testify against those who deprive foreigners of their rights. None of them fear me,” says Yahweh Tsebaoth.
The People Are Cheating God
6 “I, Yahweh, never change. That is why you descendants of Jacob haven’t been destroyed yet. 7 Since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my laws and have not followed them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says Yahweh Tsebaoth.
“But you ask, ‘How can we return?’
8 “Can a person cheat Elohim? Yet, you are cheating me!
“But you ask, ‘How are we cheating you?’
“When you don’t bring a tenth of your income and other contributions. 9 So a curse is on you because the whole nation is cheating me!
10 “Bring one-tenth of your income into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way,” says Yahweh Tsebaoth. “See if I won’t open the windows of heaven for you and flood you with blessings. 11 Then, for your sake, I will stop insects from eating your crops. They will not destroy the produce of your land. The vines in your fields will not lose their unripened grapes,” says Yahweh Tsebaoth. 12 “All nations will call you blessed because you will be a delightful land,” says Yahweh Tsebaoth.
13 “You have used harsh words against me,” says Yahweh.
“You ask, ‘How have we spoken against you?’
14 “You have said, ‘It’s pointless to serve Elohim. What do we gain if we meet his standards or if we walk around feeling sorry for what we’ve done? 15 So now we call arrogant people blessed. Not only are evildoers encouraged, they even test Elohim and get away with it.’”
16 Then those who feared Yahweh spoke to one another, and Yahweh paid attention and listened. A book was written in his presence to be a reminder to those who feared Yahweh and respected his name.
17 “They will be mine,” says Yahweh Tsebaoth. “On that day I will make them my special possession. I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. 18 Then you will again see the difference between righteous people and wicked people, between the one who serves Elohim and the one who doesn’t serve him.
Footnotes
- Malachi 3:1 Or “covenant.”
Malachi 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 3
The Messenger of the Covenant
1 (A)Now I am sending my messenger—
he will prepare the way before me;[a]
And the lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple;
The messenger of the covenant whom you desire—
see, he is coming! says the Lord of hosts.
2 But who can endure the day of his coming?
Who can stand firm when he appears?
For he will be like a refiner’s fire,
like fullers’ lye.
3 (B)He will sit refining and purifying silver,
and he will purify the Levites,
Refining them like gold or silver,
that they may bring offerings to the Lord in righteousness.
4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
will please the Lord,
as in ancient days, as in years gone by.
5 I will draw near to you for judgment,
and I will be swift to bear witness
Against sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers,
those who deprive a laborer of wages,
Oppress a widow or an orphan,
or turn aside a resident alien,
without fearing me, says the Lord of hosts.
Gifts for God, Blessings for the People
6 For I, the Lord, do not change,[b]
and you, sons of Jacob, do not cease to be.
7 (C)Since the days of your ancestors you have turned aside
from my statutes and have not kept them.
Return to me, that I may return to you,
says the Lord of hosts.
But you say, “Why should we return?”
8 (D)Can anyone rob God? But you are robbing me!
And you say, “How have we robbed you?”
Of tithes and contributions!
9 You are indeed accursed,
for you, the whole nation, rob me.
10 (E)Bring the whole tithe
into the storehouse,[c]
That there may be food in my house.
Put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts,
And see if I do not open the floodgates of heaven for you,
and pour down upon you blessing without measure!
11 I will rebuke the locust for you
so that it will not destroy your crops,
And the vine in the field will not be barren,
says the Lord of hosts.
12 (F)All the nations will call you blessed,
for you will be a delightful land,
says the Lord of hosts.
The Need to Serve God
13 Your words are too much for me, says the Lord.
You ask, “What have we spoken against you?”
14 (G)You have said, “It is useless to serve God;
what do we gain by observing God’s requirements,
And by going about as mourners[d]
before the Lord of hosts?
15 But we call the arrogant blessed;
for evildoers not only prosper
but even test God and escape.”
16 (H)Then those who fear the Lord spoke with one another,
and the Lord listened attentively;
A record book[e] was written before him
of those who fear the Lord and esteem his name.
17 (I)They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts,
my own special possession, on the day when I take action.
And I will have compassion on them,
as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.
18 Then you will again distinguish
between the just and the wicked,
Between the person who serves God,
and the one who does not.
19 (J)For the day is coming, blazing like an oven,
when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble,
And the day that is coming will set them on fire,
leaving them neither root nor branch,
says the Lord of hosts.
20 (K)But for you who fear my name, the sun of justice
will arise with healing in its wings;[f]
And you will go out leaping like calves from the stall
21 and tread down the wicked;
They will become dust under the soles of your feet,
on the day when I take action, says the Lord of hosts.
Moses and Elijah
22 (L)Remember the law of Moses my servant,
whom I charged at Horeb
With statutes and ordinances
for all Israel.
23 (M)Now I am sending to you
Elijah[g] the prophet,
Before the day of the Lord comes,
the great and terrible day;
24 He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons,
and the heart of sons to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
the land with utter destruction.
Footnotes
- 3:1 My messenger…before me: Mt 11:10 applies these words to John the Baptist; Mt 11:14 further identifies John as Elijah (see Mal 3:23). Some take God’s messenger in v. 1a to be a person distinct from “the lord” and “the messenger of the covenant” in v. 1b; others hold that they are one and the same person. Some consider “the lord” and “the messenger of the covenant” to be divine, while others hold that in the text’s literal sense he is a messianic earthly ruler.
- 3:6–7 Not change: God remains faithful to the covenant even when the human partners break it.
- 3:10 Storehouse: the temple treasury.
- 3:14 As mourners: the adverb translated “as mourners” means something like “with a long face.”
- 3:16 Record book: see note on Ex 32:32.
- 3:20 Wings: a common symbol of the manifestation of a god in the ancient Near East is the winged sun disk found, for example, on premonarchic jar handles. Cf. Nm 6:25; Ps 4:7; 31:17; 34:6; 84:12.
- 3:23 Elijah: taken up in a whirlwind, according to 2 Kgs 2:11. Here his return seems to be foretold. A Jewish tradition interpreted this literally; the gospels saw Elijah in the person of John the Baptist (Mt 11:13–14; 17:10–13; Mk 9:9–13).
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.