Malachi 3
Lexham English Bible
Yahweh’s Messenger is Coming
3 “Look! I am going to send my messenger,[a] and he will prepare[b] the way before me.[c] And the Lord whom you are seeking will come suddenly to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you are taking pleasure—look!—he is about to come,” says Yahweh of hosts. 2 And who can endure the day of his coming? And who is the one who can stand when he appears?[d] For he is like a refiner’s fire, like launderers’ alkali.[e] 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the children of Levi, and he will refine them like gold and like silver, and they will present to Yahweh offerings[f] in righteousness. 4 And the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Yahweh, like in the days of old and like in former years.
5 “Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear falsely,[g] and against the oppressors of the hired worker with his wages, the widow and the orphan, and the abusers of[h] the alien,[i] and yet do not fear me,” says Yahweh of hosts.
An Overflowing Blessing
6 “For I, Yahweh, have not changed,[j] and you, O children of Jacob, have not perished.[k] 7 From the days of your ancestors[l] you have turned aside from my rules, and have not kept[m] them! Return to me and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of hosts, “but you say, ‘How shall we return?’
8 Will a human dare to rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In the tithes and the contributions! 9 You are being cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you! 10 Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse,[n] so that there will be food in my house, and test me please in this,” says Yahweh of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour forth for you an overflowing blessing.[o] 11 I will rebuke the devourer[p] for you; it will not destroy the fruit of your soil; your vine in the field will not be unfruitful,” says Yahweh of hosts. 12 “And all the nations will call you blessed, because you will be a land in which one takes joy,”[q] says Yahweh of hosts. 13 “Your words have been harsh[r] against me,” says Yahweh. “But you say, ‘How have we spoken together against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is useless[s] to serve God! What is the gain if we keep[t] his requirements, and if we walk as mourners before[u] Yahweh of hosts? 15 And now we are calling the arrogant blessed! Not only do those who do wickedness prosper; they also test God and they escape!’”
A Book of Remembrance is Written
16 Then those who revered[v] Yahweh spoke with one another.[w] And Yahweh listened attentively[x] and heard, and a scroll of remembrance was written before him[y] of those who revere[z] Yahweh and ponder his name. 17 “They will be mine,” says Yahweh of hosts, “on the day that I am acting, my treasured possession. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. 18 You will return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve him.
Footnotes
- Malachi 3:1 Or “my angel”
- Malachi 3:1 Or “clear”
- Malachi 3:1 Literally “before my face”
- Malachi 3:2 Literally “at his appearing”
- Malachi 3:2 Or “lye,” or “soap”
- Malachi 3:3 Hebrew “offering”
- Malachi 3:5 Literally “as far as the falseness”
- Malachi 3:5 Literally “those pushing aside”
- Malachi 3:5 Or “sojourner”
- Malachi 3:6 Or “I do not change”
- Malachi 3:6 Or “are not destroyed”
- Malachi 3:7 Or “fathers”
- Malachi 3:7 Or “observed”
- Malachi 3:10 Hebrew “the house of the treasure”
- Malachi 3:10 Literally, “a blessing up to not enough”
- Malachi 3:11 NRSV, JPS interpret this word as “locust”
- Malachi 3:12 Literally “a land of desire”
- Malachi 3:13 Hebrew “strong”
- Malachi 3:14 Or “vain”
- Malachi 3:14 Or “observe”
- Malachi 3:14 Literally “from the face of”
- Malachi 3:16 Or “fear”
- Malachi 3:16 Literally “each with his friend/companion”
- Malachi 3:16 Or “gave heed”
- Malachi 3:16 Literally “to the face of him”
- Malachi 3:16 Or “fear”
Malachi 3
Holman Christian Standard Bible
3 “See, I am going to send My messenger,(A) and he will clear the way before Me.(B) Then the Lord you seek(C) will suddenly come to His temple,(D) the Messenger of the covenant you desire—see, He is coming,” says the Lord of Hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of His coming? And who will be able to stand when He appears?(E) For He will be like a refiner’s fire(F) and like cleansing lye.(G) 3 He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver.(H) Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. 4 And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as in days of old(I) and years gone by.
5 “I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the widow and the fatherless, and cheat the wage earner; and against those who deny justice to the foreigner.(J) They do not fear Me,”(K) says the Lord of Hosts. 6 “Because I, Yahweh, have not changed,(L) you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.(M)
Robbing God
7 “Since the days of your fathers, you have turned from My statutes; you have not kept them.(N) Return to Me,(O) and I will return to you,”(P) says the Lord of Hosts.
But you ask: “How can we return?”
8 “Will a man rob(Q) God? Yet you are robbing Me!”
You ask: “How do we rob You?”
“By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions.(R) 9 You are suffering under a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me. 10 Bring the full tenth into the storehouse(S) so that there may be food in My house.(T) Test Me in this way,”(U) says the Lord of Hosts. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven(V) and pour out a blessing for you without measure.(W) 11 I will rebuke the devourer[a](X) for you, so that it will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the Lord of Hosts. 12 “Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of Hosts.
The Righteous and the Wicked
13 “Your words against Me are harsh,”(Y) says the Lord.
Yet you ask: “What have we spoken against You?”
14 You have said: “It is useless to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements(Z) and walking mournfully(AA) before the Lord of Hosts? 15 So now we consider the arrogant(AB) to be fortunate.(AC) Not only do those who commit wickedness prosper, they even test God(AD) and escape.”(AE)
16 At that time those who feared the Lord spoke to one another. The Lord took notice and listened. So a book of remembrance(AF) was written before Him for those who feared Yahweh and had high regard for His name. 17 “They will be Mine,” says the Lord of Hosts,(AG) “a special possession on the day I am preparing. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.(AH) 18 So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
Footnotes
- Malachi 3:11 Perhaps locusts
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).
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