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Malachi 3
New English Translation

3 1 “I am about to send my messenger,[a] who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord[b] you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger[c] of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

2 Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire,[d] like a launderer’s soap. 3 He will act like a refiner and purifier of silver and will cleanse the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will offer the Lord a proper offering. 4 The offerings[e] of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in former times and years past.

5 “I[f] will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination; those who commit adultery; those who break promises;[g] and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans,[h] who refuse to help[i] the resident foreigner[j] and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Resistance to the Lord through Selfishness

6 “Since, I, the Lord, do not go back on my promises,[k] you, sons of Jacob, have not perished. 7 From the days of your ancestors you have ignored[l] my commandments[m] and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you say, ‘How should we return?’ 8 Can a person rob[n] God? You are indeed robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions![o] 9 You are bound for judgment[p] because you are robbing me—this whole nation is guilty.[q]

10 “Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse[r] so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out blessing for you until there is no room for it all. 11 Then I will stop the plague[s] from ruining your crops,[t] and the vine will not lose its fruit before harvest,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 12 “All nations will call you blessed, for you indeed will live in[u] a delightful land,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Resistance to the Lord through Self-sufficiency

13 “You have criticized me sharply,”[v] says the Lord, “but you ask, ‘How have we criticized you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped[w] by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord of Heaven’s Armies?[x] 15 So now we consider the arrogant to be blessed; indeed, those who practice evil are successful.[y] In fact, those who challenge[z] God escape!’”

16 Then those who respected[aa] the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice.[ab] A scroll[ac] was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected the Lord and honored his name. 17 “They will belong to me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “in the day when I prepare my own special property.[ad] I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between[ae] the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.

Footnotes

  1. Malachi 3:1 tn In Hebrew the phrase “my messenger” is מַלְאָכִי (malʾakhi), the same form as the prophet’s name (see note on the name “Malachi” in 1:1). However, here the messenger appears to be an eschatological figure who is about to appear, as the following context suggests. According to 4:5, this messenger is “Elijah the prophet,” whom the NT identifies as John the Baptist (Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2) because he came in the “spirit and power” of Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:11-12; Lk 1:17).
  2. Malachi 3:1 tn Here the Hebrew term הָאָדוֹן (haʾadon) is used, not יְהוָה (yehvah, typically rendered Lord). Thus the focus is not on the Lord as the covenant God, but on his role as master.
  3. Malachi 3:1 sn This messenger of the covenant may be equated with my messenger (that is, Elijah) mentioned earlier in the verse, or with the Lord himself. In either case the messenger functions as an enforcer of the covenant. Note the following verses, which depict purifying judgment on a people that has violated the Lord’s covenant.
  4. Malachi 3:2 sn The refiner’s fire was used to purify metal and refine it by melting it and allowing the dross, which floated to the top, to be scooped off.
  5. Malachi 3:4 tn Or “gift.”
  6. Malachi 3:5 tn The first person pronoun (a reference to the Lord) indicates that the Lord himself now speaks (see also v. 1). The prophet speaks in vv. 2-4 (see also 2:17).
  7. Malachi 3:5 tn Heb “those who swear [oaths] falsely.” Cf. NIV “perjurers”; TEV “those who give false testimony”; NLT “liars.”
  8. Malachi 3:5 tn Heb “and against the oppressors of the worker for a wage, [the] widow and orphan.”
  9. Malachi 3:5 tn Heb “those who turn aside.”
  10. Malachi 3:5 sn Cf. Exod 22:21; Lev 19:33-34; Deut 10:18-19; 24:14, 17; 27:19; Jer 22:3; Zech 7:10.
  11. Malachi 3:6 tn Heb “do not change.” This refers to God’s ongoing commitment to his covenant promises to Israel.
  12. Malachi 3:7 tn Heb “turned aside from.”
  13. Malachi 3:7 tn Or “statutes” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “decrees”; NLT “laws.”
  14. Malachi 3:8 tc The LXX presupposes an underlying Hebrew text of עָקַב (ʿaqav, “deceive”), a metathesis of קָבַע (qavaʿ, “rob”), in all four uses of the verb here (vv. 8-9). The intent probably is to soften the impact of “robbing” God, but the language of the passage is intentionally bold and there is no reason to go against the reading of the MT (which is followed here by most English versions).
  15. Malachi 3:8 sn The tithes and contributions mentioned here are probably those used to sustain the Levites (see Num 18:8, 11, 19, 21-24).
  16. Malachi 3:9 tn Heb “cursed with a curse” that is, “under a curse” (so NIV, NLT, CEV).
  17. Malachi 3:9 tn The phrase “is guilty” is not present in the Hebrew text but is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
  18. Malachi 3:10 tn The Hebrew phrase בֵּית הָאוֹצָר (bet haʾotsar, here translated “storehouse”) refers to a kind of temple warehouse described more fully in Nehemiah (where the term לִשְׁכָּה גְדוֹלָה [lishkah gedolah, “great chamber”] is used) as a place for storing grain, frankincense, temple vessels, wine, and oil (Neh 13:5). Cf. TEV “to the Temple.”
  19. Malachi 3:11 tn Heb “the eater” (אֹכֵל, ʾokhel), a general term for any kind of threat to crops and livelihood. This is understood as a reference to a locust plague by a number of English versions: NAB, NRSV “the locust”; NIV “pests”; NCV, TEV “insects.”
  20. Malachi 3:11 tn Heb “and I will rebuke for you the eater and it will not ruin for you the fruit of the ground.”
  21. Malachi 3:12 tn Heb “will be” (so NAB, NRSV); TEV “your land will be a good place to live in.”
  22. Malachi 3:13 tn Heb “your words are hard [or “strong”] against me”; cf. NIV “said harsh things against me”; TEV, NLT “said terrible things about me.”
  23. Malachi 3:14 tn Heb “What [is the] profit”; NIV “What did we gain.”
  24. Malachi 3:14 sn The people’s public display of self-effacing piety has gone unrewarded by the Lord. The reason, of course, is that it was blatantly hypocritical.
  25. Malachi 3:15 tn Heb “built up” (so NASB); NIV, NRSV “prosper”; NLT “get rich.”
  26. Malachi 3:15 tn Or “test”; NRSV, CEV “put God to the test.”
  27. Malachi 3:16 tn Or “fear” (so NAB); NRSV “revered”; NCV “honored.”
  28. Malachi 3:16 tn Heb “heard and listened”; NAB “listened attentively.”
  29. Malachi 3:16 sn The scroll mentioned here is a “memory book” (סֵפֶר זִכָּרוֹן, sefer zikkaron) in which the Lord keeps an ongoing record of the names of all the redeemed (see Exod 32:32; Isa 4:3; Dan 12:1; Rev 20:12-15).
  30. Malachi 3:17 sn The Hebrew word סְגֻלָּה (segullah, “special property”) is a technical term referring to all the recipients of God’s redemptive grace, especially Israel (Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18). The Lord says here that he will not forget even one individual in the day of judgment and reward.
  31. Malachi 3:18 tn Heb “you will see between.” Cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “see the difference.”
Close ISV

Malachi 3
International Standard Version

The Coming of the Messenger

3 “Watch out! I’m sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly, the Lord you are looking for will come to his Temple. He is the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Watch out! He is coming!” says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.

2 But who will survive the day when he comes? Or who can stand when he appears? Because he’s like a refiner’s fire and a launderer’s soap, 3 he will sit refining and purifying silver, purifying the descendants of Levi, refining them like gold and silver. Then they’ll bring a righteous offering to the Lord. 4 Then the offering to the Lord by Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable as it was in the past, even as in former years.

The Judgment of God

5 “I’ll come near to you for judgment. I’ll be a witness, quick to speak against sorcerers, against adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who defraud the laborer of his wage, against those who defraud[a] the widow and the orphan, against those who deprive the alien of justice, and against those who don’t fear me,” says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 6 “Because I the Lord don’t change; therefore you children of Jacob aren’t destroyed.”

God’s Sixth Complaint: Against His People—Gifts and Offerings

7 “Ever since the time of your ancestors, you have turned away from my decrees and haven’t kept them. Return to me and I’ll return to you,” says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. “But you ask, ‘How will we return?’ 8 “Will a person rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “By the tithe and the offering. 9 You are cursed under the curse—the entire nation—because you are robbing me!

10 “Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. So put me to the test in this right now,” says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, “and see if I won’t throw open the windows[b] of heaven for you and pour out on you blessing without measure. 11 And I’ll prevent the devourer from harming you,[c] so that he does not destroy the crops of your land. Nor will the vines in your fields drop their fruit,” says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.

12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.

God’s Seventh Complaint: Against His People—Slandering God

13 “You have spoken arrogant words against me,” says the Lord. “Yet you ask, ‘What did we say against you?’ 14 You said, ‘It is futile to serve God,’ and, ‘What did we get out of it[d] when we carried out his requirements and went about like mourners in the presence of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies?’ 15 and, ‘Now we call the arrogant one blessed. Those who do evil prosper and those who challenge God escape the consequences.’”[e]

The Repentance of the Righteous

16 Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other. The Lord listened and took note,[f] and a scroll of remembrance was written in his presence about those who fear the Lord and honor His name. 17 “They’ll be mine,” says the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, “in the day when I prepare my treasured possession. I’ll spare them, just as a man spares his own son who serves him. 18 When you return, you will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, and between the one who serves God and the one who does not.”

Footnotes

  1. Malachi 3:5 The Heb. lacks against those who defraud
  2. Malachi 3:10 Or floodgates
  3. Malachi 3:11 Lit. I’ll rebuke the devourer from you
  4. Malachi 3:14 Lit. What gain
  5. Malachi 3:15 The Heb. lacks the consequences
  6. Malachi 3:16 Lit. heard
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Malachi 2
Malachi 4
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