Malachi 3
New American Standard Bible
The Purifier
3 “(A)Behold, I am sending (B)My [a]messenger, and he will (C)clear a way before Me. And the Lord, whom you are seeking, will suddenly come to His temple; [b]and the [c](D)messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of armies. 2 “But who can (E)endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a (F)refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap. 3 And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will (G)purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may (H)present to the Lord [d]offerings in righteousness. 4 Then the [e]offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be (I)pleasing to the Lord as in the (J)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 (K)sorcerers, the (L)adulterers, against those who (M)swear falsely, those who [f]oppress the (N)wage earner in his wages or the (O)widow or the [g]orphan, and those who turn away the (P)stranger from justice and do not [h]fear Me,” says the Lord of armies. 6 “For [i]I, the Lord, (Q)do not change; therefore you, the sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.
7 “From the (R)days of your fathers you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. (S)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 (T)tithes and [j]offerings. 9 You are (U)cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the entire nation of you! 10 (V)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 (W)open for you the windows of heaven and (X)pour out for you a blessing until [k](Y)it overflows. 11 Then I will rebuke the (Z)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 “(AA)All the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a (AB)delightful land,” says the Lord of armies.
13 “Your words have been [l]arrogant against Me,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is (AC)pointless to serve God; and what (AD)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 (AE)call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up, but they also put God to the test and (AF)escape punishment.’”
The Book of Remembrance
16 Then those who [m]feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord (AG)listened attentively and heard it, and a (AH)book of remembrance was written before Him for those who [n]fear the Lord and esteem His name. 17 “And they will be (AI)Mine,” says the Lord of armies, “on the (AJ)day that I [o]prepare My (AK)own possession, and I will have compassion for them just as a man (AL)has compassion for his own son who serves him.” 18 So you will again (AM)distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
Footnotes
- Malachi 3:1 Or angel
- Malachi 3:1 Or that is, the
- Malachi 3:1 Or angel
- Malachi 3:3 Or grain offerings
- Malachi 3:4 Or grain offering
- Malachi 3:5 Or exploit
- Malachi 3:5 Or fatherless
- Malachi 3:5 Or revere
- Malachi 3:6 Or I am the Lord; I do not
- Malachi 3:8 Or contributions
- Malachi 3:10 Or there is not room enough
- Malachi 3:13 Lit strong
- Malachi 3:16 Or revere(d)
- Malachi 3:16 Or revere(d)
- Malachi 3:17 Lit make
Malachi 3
Living Bible
3 “Listen: I will send my messenger before me to prepare the way. And then the One[a] you are looking for will come suddenly to his Temple—the Messenger of God’s promises, to bring you great joy. Yes, he is surely coming,” says the Lord Almighty. 2 “But who can live when he appears? Who can endure his coming? For he is like a blazing fire refining precious metal, and he can bleach the dirtiest garments! 3 Like a refiner of silver he will sit and closely watch as the dross is burned away. He will purify the Levites, the ministers of God, refining them like gold or silver, so that they will do their work for God with pure hearts. 4 Then once more the Lord will enjoy the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did before. 5 At that time my punishments will be quick and certain; I will move swiftly against wicked men who trick the innocent, against adulterers and liars, against all those who cheat their hired hands, who oppress widows and orphans, or defraud strangers, and do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.
6 “For I am the Lord—I do not change. That is why you are not already utterly destroyed, for my mercy endures forever.[b]
7 “Though you have scorned my laws from earliest time, yet you may still return to me,” says the Lord Almighty. “Come and I will forgive you.
“But you say, ‘We have never even gone away!’
8 “Will a man rob God? Surely not! And yet you have robbed me.
“‘What do you mean? When did we ever rob you?’
“You have robbed me of the tithes and offerings due me. 9 And so the awesome curse of God is cursing you, for your whole nation has been robbing me. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be food enough in my Temple; if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won’t have room enough to take it in!
“Try it! Let me prove it to you! 11 Your crops will be large, for I will guard them from insects and plagues. Your grapes won’t shrivel away before they ripen,” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land sparkling with happiness. These are the promises of the Lord Almighty.
13 “Your attitude toward me has been proud and arrogant,” says the Lord.
“But you say, ‘What do you mean? What have we said that we shouldn’t?’
14-15 “Listen; you have said, ‘It is foolish to worship God and obey him. What good does it do to obey his laws, and to sorrow and mourn for our sins? From now on, as far as we’re concerned, “Blessed are the arrogant.” For those who do evil shall prosper, and those who dare God to punish them shall get off scot-free.’”
16 Then those who feared and loved the Lord spoke often of him to each other. And he had a Book of Remembrance drawn up in which he recorded the names of those who feared him and loved to think about him.
17 “They shall be mine,” says the Lord Almighty, “in that day when I make up my jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares an obedient and dutiful son. 18 Then you will see the difference between God’s treatment of good men and bad, between those who serve him and those who don’t.
Footnotes
- Malachi 3:1 the One, literally, “the Lord.”
- Malachi 3:6 for my mercy endures forever, implied.
Malachi 3
The Voice
3 These are the words of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies:
Eternal One: Pay attention! I am sending My messenger,
and he will clear the road ahead for Me.[a]
The Lord you seek will suddenly arrive at His temple.
And the Messenger of God’s covenant, your soul’s delight,
Watch, because He, too, is coming.
God declares His Anointed One will come, and the way will be prepared. Notice has been given: be ready.
2 Can anyone live through the day when He arrives?
Will anyone be left standing when He appears?
He is a purifying fire;
He is like lye soap.
3 Like a refiner of silver,
He will purify the descendants of Levi—
Until they are pure, unalloyed gold and silver.
Then they will draw near to the Eternal One,
Presenting offerings with righteous, clean hands.
4 Then the Eternal One will unequivocally accept the sweet offering of Judah and Jerusalem as He did in the days of old, as in the former years when the covenant was new.
Eternal One: 5 Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the constant sorcerers; the chronic adulterers; the habitual liars; those who continue cheating wages from their hired laborer, a widow, or an orphan; and those who always reject the immigrant, not fearing Me, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies. 6 Because I am the Eternal One, I never change; as a result, you children of Jacob have not been destroyed though your blessing may have been delayed.
7 From the days when your ancestors served Me, you have turned from and ignored My statutes. Return to Me and I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, will return to you. But you shameless people ask, “How will we return? 8 Will someone steal from God?” Yet you are always stealing from Me! But you self-centered people still ask, “How have we stolen from You?” In the tithes and the offerings you have not given Me as the law requires! 9 You are cursed with a curse, for as an entire nation you are stealing from Me. 10 To rectify this situation, you must bring the entire tithe into the storage house in the temple so that there may be food for Me and for the Levites in My house. Feel free to test Me now in this. See whether or not I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, will open the windows of heaven to you and pour a blessing down upon you until all needs are satisfied. 11 I will rebuke the swarm of locusts devouring your crops, and the devourer will not cause the produce you have grown in the earth to decay or the vines in the field to drop their grapes. 12 And all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight. I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, promise you this.
13 Your words of rebellion against Me have been strong. Yet you ask, “What have we said against You?” 14 You have said, “Serving God is a waste of time,” and, “What benefits have we received by following Him as we mourned on our journey before the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies? 15 Now we believe the bluster of the arrogant and agree they are blessed; we encourage the wicked who also test God and escape.”
16 Then those who fear the Eternal One consulted each other about God’s charges, each one to his neighbor, and the Eternal One paid attention and heard. A book of remembrance was written before Him for those who honored the Eternal One and valued His name and the good reputation.
Eternal One: 17 And they will be Mine on that day when I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, make My unique treasure—which is the kingdom of Israel. I will have pity on them as a man has pity on his son who serves him.
18 And you will return and notice the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those serving God and those not serving Him.
Footnotes
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.