Israel Speaks Arrogantly Against God

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

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

¹⁴ “You have said, ‘It is futile^(C) to serve^(D) God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements^(E) and going about like mourners^(F) before the Lord Almighty? ¹⁵ But now we call the arrogant^(G) blessed. Certainly evildoers^(H) prosper,^(I) 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.^(J) A scroll^(K) of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared^(L) the Lord and honored his name.

¹⁷ “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my^(M) treasured possession.^(N) I will spare^(O) them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son^(P) who serves him. ¹⁸ And you will again see the distinction between the righteous^(Q) and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.^(R)

Judgment and Covenant Renewal

4 ^[a]“Surely the day is coming;^(S) it will burn like a furnace.^(T) All the arrogant^(U) and every evildoer will be stubble,^(V) and the day that is coming will set them on fire,^(W)” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch^(X) will be left to them. ² But for you who revere my name,^(Y) the sun of righteousness^(Z) will rise with healing^(AA) in its rays. And you will go out and frolic^(AB) like well-fed calves.

⁵ “See, I will send the prophet Elijah^(A) to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.^{(B) 6} He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children,^(C) and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike^(D) the land with total destruction.”^(E)