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Malachi 1-4
New American Standard Bible

God’s Love for Jacob

1 The (A)pronouncement of the word of the Lord to (B)Israel through [a]Malachi:

2 “I have (C)loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was Esau not Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I (D)have loved Jacob; 3 but I have hated Esau, and I have (E)made his mountains a desolation and given his inheritance to the jackals of the wilderness.” 4 Though Edom says, “We have been (F)beaten down, but we will [b](G)return and build up the ruins”; this is what the Lord of armies says: “They may (H)build, but I will tear down; and people will call them the [c]territory of wickedness, and the people [d]with whom the Lord is indignant (I)forever.” 5 And your eyes will see this, and you will say, “(J)The Lord [e]be exalted beyond the [f]border of Israel!”

Sin of the Priests

6 “‘A son (K)honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a (L)father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My [g]respect?’ says the Lord of armies to you, the (M)priests who despise My name! But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ 7 You are presenting (N)defiled [h](O)food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The (P)table of the Lord is to be despised.’ 8 And when you present a (Q)blind animal for sacrifice, is it not evil? Or when you present a lame or sick animal, is it not evil? So offer it to your (R)governor! Would he be pleased with you, or would he receive you kindly?” says the Lord of armies. 9 “But now, do indeed (S)plead for God’s favor, so that He will be gracious to us. [i]With such an offering on your part, will He (T)receive any of you kindly?” says the Lord of armies. 10 “If only there were one among you who would (U)shut the [j]gates, so that you would not kindle fire on My altar for nothing! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of armies, “(V)nor will I accept an offering from your hand. 11 For from the (W)rising of the sun even to its setting, (X)My name shall be (Y)great among the nations, and in every place (Z)frankincense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name shall be (AA)great among the nations,” says the Lord of armies. 12 “But you are (AB)profaning it by your saying, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’ 13 You also say, ‘See, [k]how (AC)tiresome it is!’ And you view it as trivial,” says the Lord of armies, “and you bring what was taken by (AD)robbery and what is (AE)lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I (AF)accept it from your hand?” says the Lord. 14 “But cursed be the (AG)swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a (AH)blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great (AI)King,” says the Lord of armies, “and My name is [l](AJ)feared among the [m]nations.”

Priests to Be Disciplined

2 “And now, this commandment is for you, the priests. 2 If you do (AK)not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,” says the Lord of armies, “then I will send the (AL)curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have (AM)cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart. 3 Behold, I am going to (AN)rebuke your [n]descendants, and I will (AO)spread [o]dung on your faces, the [p]dung of your (AP)feasts; and you will be taken away [q]with it. 4 Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, [r]so that My (AQ)covenant may [s]continue with Levi,” says the Lord of armies. 5 “My covenant with him was one of life and (AR)peace, and I gave them to him as an object of [t]reverence; so he [u](AS)revered Me and was in awe of My name. 6 [v](AT)True instruction was in his mouth and injustice was not found on his lips; he walked (AU)with Me in peace and justice, and he (AV)turned many back from wrongdoing. 7 For the lips of a priest should maintain (AW)knowledge, and people should (AX)seek [w]instruction from his mouth; for he is the (AY)messenger of the Lord of armies. 8 But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to (AZ)stumble [x]by the instruction; you have (BA)ruined the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of armies. 9 “So (BB)I also have made you despised and of (BC)low reputation [y]in the view of all the people, since you are not keeping My ways but are showing (BD)partiality in the [z]instruction.”

Sin in the Family

10 Do we not all have (BE)one Father? (BF)Is it not one God who has created us? Why do we deal (BG)treacherously, each against his brother so as to profane the (BH)covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has dealt (BI)treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has (BJ)profaned the sanctuary of the Lord [aa]which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 As for the man who does this, may the (BK)Lord eliminate from the tents of Jacob everyone who is awake and answers, or who (BL)presents [ab]an offering to the Lord of armies.

13 And this is [ac]another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and sighing, because He (BM)no longer gives attention to the [ad]offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the (BN)wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt (BO)treacherously, though she is your marriage companion and your wife by covenant. 15 [ae]But not one has (BP)done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And [af]why the one? He was seeking a (BQ)godly offspring. Be careful then about your spirit, and see that none of you deals (BR)treacherously against the wife of your youth. 16 “For [ag]I hate [ah](BS)divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and [ai]him who covers his garment with (BT)violence,” says the Lord of armies. “So be careful about your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

17 You have (BU)wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “(BV)Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He (BW)delights in them,” or, “(BX)Where is the God of (BY)justice?”

The Purifier

3 “(BZ)Behold, I am sending (CA)My [aj]messenger, and he will (CB)clear a way before Me. And the Lord, whom you are seeking, will suddenly come to His temple; [ak]and the [al](CC)messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of armies. 2 “But who can (CD)endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a (CE)refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap. 3 And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will (CF)purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may (CG)present to the Lord [am]offerings in righteousness. 4 Then the [an]offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be (CH)pleasing to the Lord as in the (CI)days of old, and as in former years.

5 “Then I will come near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the (CJ)sorcerers, the (CK)adulterers, against those who (CL)swear falsely, those who [ao]oppress the (CM)wage earner in his wages or the (CN)widow or the [ap]orphan, and those who turn away the (CO)stranger from justice and do not [aq]fear Me,” says the Lord of armies. 6 “For [ar]I, the Lord, (CP)do not change; therefore you, the sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.

7 “From the (CQ)days of your fathers you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. (CR)Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of armies. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

You Have Robbed God

8 “Would anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In (CS)tithes and [as]offerings. 9 You are (CT)cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the entire nation of you! 10 (CU)Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and put Me to the test now in this,” says the Lord of armies, “if I do not (CV)open for you the windows of heaven and (CW)pour out for you a blessing until [at](CX)it overflows. 11 Then I will rebuke the (CY)devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruit of your ground; nor will the vine in the field prove fruitless to you,” says the Lord of armies. 12 “(CZ)All the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a (DA)delightful land,” says the Lord of armies.

13 “Your words have been [au]arrogant against Me,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is (DB)pointless to serve God; and what (DC)benefit is it for us that we have done what He required, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of armies? 15 So now we (DD)call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up, but they also put God to the test and (DE)escape punishment.’”

The Book of Remembrance

16 Then those who [av]feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord (DF)listened attentively and heard it, and a (DG)book of remembrance was written before Him for those who [aw]fear the Lord and esteem His name. 17 “And they will be (DH)Mine,” says the Lord of armies, “on the (DI)day that I [ax]prepare My (DJ)own possession, and I will have compassion for them just as a man (DK)has compassion for his own son who serves him.” 18 So you will again (DL)distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

Final Admonition

4 “[ay]For behold, the day is coming, (DM)burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be (DN)chaff; and the day that is coming will (DO)set them ablaze,” says the Lord of armies, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branches. 2 But for you who [az]fear My name, the (DP)sun of righteousness will rise with (DQ)healing in its wings; and you will go forth and (DR)frolic like calves from the stall. 3 And you will (DS)crush the wicked underfoot, for they will be (DT)ashes under the soles of your feet (DU)on the day [ba]that I am preparing,” says the Lord of armies.

4 “(DV)Remember the Law of Moses My servant, the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.

5 “Behold, I am going to send you (DW)Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. 6 He will (DX)turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and (DY)strike the land with complete destruction.”

Footnotes

  1. Malachi 1:1 Or My messenger
  2. Malachi 1:4 Or rebuild the ruins
  3. Malachi 1:4 Lit border of wickedness
  4. Malachi 1:4 Or whom the Lord has cursed
  5. Malachi 1:5 Or will be great
  6. Malachi 1:5 Or territory
  7. Malachi 1:6 Lit fear
  8. Malachi 1:7 Lit bread
  9. Malachi 1:9 Lit This has been from your hand
  10. Malachi 1:10 Or doors
  11. Malachi 1:13 Lit it is hardship
  12. Malachi 1:14 Or revered
  13. Malachi 1:14 Or Gentiles
  14. Malachi 2:3 Lit seed
  15. Malachi 2:3 Or vomit
  16. Malachi 2:3 Or vomit
  17. Malachi 2:3 Lit to
  18. Malachi 2:4 Or to be My covenant with
  19. Malachi 2:4 Lit be
  20. Malachi 2:5 Or fear
  21. Malachi 2:5 Or feared
  22. Malachi 2:6 Or Law of truth
  23. Malachi 2:7 Or the Law
  24. Malachi 2:8 Or in the Law
  25. Malachi 2:9 Lit to
  26. Malachi 2:9 Or law
  27. Malachi 2:11 Or in that he has loved and married
  28. Malachi 2:12 Or a grain offering
  29. Malachi 2:13 Lit a second
  30. Malachi 2:13 Or grain offering
  31. Malachi 2:15 Or Did He not make one, although He had the remnant
  32. Malachi 2:15 Or what did the one do while he was seeking
  33. Malachi 2:16 Lit He hates
  34. Malachi 2:16 Lit sending away
  35. Malachi 2:16 Lit he covers
  36. Malachi 3:1 Or angel
  37. Malachi 3:1 Or that is, the
  38. Malachi 3:1 Or angel
  39. Malachi 3:3 Or grain offerings
  40. Malachi 3:4 Or grain offering
  41. Malachi 3:5 Or exploit
  42. Malachi 3:5 Or fatherless
  43. Malachi 3:5 Or revere
  44. Malachi 3:6 Or I am the Lord; I do not
  45. Malachi 3:8 Or contributions
  46. Malachi 3:10 Or there is not room enough
  47. Malachi 3:13 Lit strong
  48. Malachi 3:16 Or revere(d)
  49. Malachi 3:16 Or revere(d)
  50. Malachi 3:17 Lit make
  51. Malachi 4:1 Ch 3:19 in Heb
  52. Malachi 4:2 Or revere
  53. Malachi 4:3 Or when I act
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Malachi 1-4
New International Version

1 A prophecy:(A) The word(B) of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.[a]

Israel Doubts God’s Love

2 “I have loved(C) you,” says the Lord.

“But you ask,(D) ‘How have you loved us?’

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob,(E) 3 but Esau I have hated,(F) and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland(G) and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.(H)”

4 Edom(I) may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild(J) the ruins.”

But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish.(K) They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord.(L) 5 You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great(M) is the Lord—even beyond the borders of Israel!’(N)

Breaking Covenant Through Blemished Sacrifices

6 “A son honors his father,(O) and a slave his master.(P) If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect(Q) due me?” says the Lord Almighty.(R)

“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.

“But you ask,(S) ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’

7 “By offering defiled food(T) on my altar.

“But you ask,(U) ‘How have we defiled you?’

“By saying that the Lord’s table(V) is contemptible. 8 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals,(W) is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased(X) with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.(Y)

9 “Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings(Z) from your hands, will he accept(AA) you?”—says the Lord Almighty.

10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors,(AB) so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased(AC) with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept(AD) no offering(AE) from your hands. 11 My name will be great(AF) among the nations,(AG) from where the sun rises to where it sets.(AH) In every place incense(AI) and pure offerings(AJ) will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty.

12 “But you profane it by saying, ‘The Lord’s table(AK) is defiled,’ and, ‘Its food(AL) is contemptible.’ 13 And you say, ‘What a burden!’(AM) and you sniff at it contemptuously,(AN)” says the Lord Almighty.

“When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices,(AO) should I accept them from your hands?”(AP) says the Lord. 14 “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal(AQ) to the Lord. For I am a great king,(AR)” says the Lord Almighty,(AS) “and my name is to be feared(AT) among the nations.(AU)

Additional Warning to the Priests

2 “And now, you priests, this warning is for you.(AV) 2 If you do not listen,(AW) and if you do not resolve to honor(AX) my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse(AY) on you, and I will curse your blessings.(AZ) Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.

3 “Because of you I will rebuke your descendants[b]; I will smear on your faces the dung(BA) from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.(BB) 4 And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi(BC) may continue,” says the Lord Almighty. 5 “My covenant was with him, a covenant(BD) of life and peace,(BE) and I gave them to him; this called for reverence(BF) and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction(BG) was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked(BH) with me in peace(BI) and uprightness,(BJ) and turned many from sin.(BK)

7 “For the lips of a priest(BL) ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger(BM) of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.(BN) 8 But you have turned from the way(BO) and by your teaching have caused many to stumble;(BP) you have violated the covenant(BQ) with Levi,”(BR) says the Lord Almighty. 9 “So I have caused you to be despised(BS) and humiliated(BT) before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality(BU) in matters of the law.”(BV)

Breaking Covenant Through Divorce

10 Do we not all have one Father[c]?(BW) Did not one God create us?(BX) Why do we profane the covenant(BY) of our ancestors by being unfaithful(BZ) to one another?

11 Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable(CA) thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves(CB) by marrying(CC) women who worship a foreign god.(CD) 12 As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove(CE) him from the tents of Jacob[d](CF)—even though he brings an offering(CG) to the Lord Almighty.

13 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears.(CH) You weep and wail(CI) because he no longer looks with favor(CJ) on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.(CK) 14 You ask,(CL) “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness(CM) between you and the wife of your youth.(CN) You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.(CO)

15 Has not the one God made you?(CP) You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.[e](CQ) So be on your guard,(CR) and do not be unfaithful(CS) to the wife of your youth.

16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,(CT)” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”[f](CU) says the Lord Almighty.

So be on your guard,(CV) and do not be unfaithful.

Breaking Covenant Through Injustice

17 You have wearied(CW) the Lord with your words.

“How have we wearied him?” you ask.(CX)

By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased(CY) with them” or “Where is the God of justice?(CZ)”

3 “I will send my messenger,(DA) who will prepare the way before me.(DB) Then suddenly the Lord(DC) you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant,(DD) whom you desire,(DE) will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

2 But who can endure(DF) the day of his coming?(DG) Who can stand(DH) when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire(DI) or a launderer’s soap.(DJ) 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver;(DK) he will purify(DL) the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.(DM) Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,(DN) 4 and the offerings(DO) of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.(DP)

5 “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers,(DQ) adulterers(DR) and perjurers,(DS) against those who defraud laborers of their wages,(DT) who oppress the widows(DU) and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners(DV) among you of justice, but do not fear(DW) me,” says the Lord Almighty.

Breaking Covenant by Withholding Tithes

6 “I the Lord do not change.(DX) So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.(DY) 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away(DZ) from my decrees and have not kept them. Return(EA) to me, and I will return to you,”(EB) says the Lord Almighty.

“But you ask,(EC) ‘How are we to return?’

8 “Will a mere mortal rob(ED) God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes(EE) and offerings. 9 You are under a curse(EF)—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe(EG) into the storehouse,(EH) that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates(EI) of heaven and pour out(EJ) so much blessing(EK) that there will not be room enough to store it.(EL) 11 I will prevent pests from devouring(EM) your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,(EN)” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed,(EO) for yours will be a delightful land,”(EP) says the Lord Almighty.(EQ)

Israel Speaks Arrogantly Against God

13 “You have spoken arrogantly(ER) against me,” says the Lord.

“Yet you ask,(ES) ‘What have we said against you?’

14 “You have said, ‘It is futile(ET) to serve(EU) God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements(EV) and going about like mourners(EW) before the Lord Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant(EX) blessed. Certainly evildoers(EY) prosper,(EZ) and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.’”

The Faithful Remnant

16 Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard.(FA) A scroll(FB) of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared(FC) the Lord and honored his name.

17 “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my(FD) treasured possession.(FE) I will spare(FF) them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son(FG) who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous(FH) and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.(FI)

Judgment and Covenant Renewal

4 [g]“Surely the day is coming;(FJ) it will burn like a furnace.(FK) All the arrogant(FL) and every evildoer will be stubble,(FM) and the day that is coming will set them on fire,(FN)” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch(FO) will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name,(FP) the sun of righteousness(FQ) will rise with healing(FR) in its rays. And you will go out and frolic(FS) like well-fed calves. 3 Then you will trample(FT) on the wicked; they will be ashes(FU) under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.

4 “Remember the law(FV) of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb(FW) for all Israel.(FX)

5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah(FY) to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.(FZ) 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children,(GA) and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike(GB) the land with total destruction.”(GC)

Footnotes

  1. Malachi 1:1 Malachi means my messenger.
  2. Malachi 2:3 Or will blight your grain
  3. Malachi 2:10 Or father
  4. Malachi 2:12 Or 12 May the Lord remove from the tents of Jacob anyone who gives testimony in behalf of the man who does this
  5. Malachi 2:15 The meaning of the Hebrew for the first part of this verse is uncertain.
  6. Malachi 2:16 Or “I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “because the man who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,”
  7. Malachi 4:1 In Hebrew texts 4:1-6 is numbered 3:19-24.
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