Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close NET

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 CNVS

玛拉基书 3
Chinese New Version (Simplified)

立约的使者快临

3 万军之耶和华说：“看哪！我派我的使者，在我前面预备道路；你们所寻求的主，必忽然进入他的殿；你们所爱慕立约的使者，就要来到。” 2 可是，他来的日子，谁能当得起呢？他显现的时候，谁能站立得住呢？因为他像炼金之人的火，又像漂布之人的碱。 3 他必坐着，像熬炼和洁净银子的人；他必洁净利未人，炼净他们像炼净金银一样。这样，他们就会凭公义献礼物给耶和华。 4 那时，犹大和耶路撒冷所献的礼物，必蒙耶和华悦纳，正如古时的日子，也像往昔之年一样。 5 万军之耶和华说：“我必临近你们施行审判；我要快快指证那些行邪术的、犯奸淫的、起假誓的、在工钱上欺压雇工的、欺压孤儿寡妇的、屈枉寄居的和不敬畏我的。”

6 万军之耶和华说：“因为我耶和华是不改变的，所以你们雅各的子孙也不会灭没。

当纳十分之一

7 “从你们列祖的日子以来，你们就偏离了我的律例而不遵守。现在你们要转向我，我就必转向你们。你们还问：‘我们要怎样回转呢？’ 8 人怎可抢夺　神之物呢？你们却抢夺属我之物，竟还问：‘我们抢夺了你的甚么呢？’就是抢夺了当纳的十分之一和当献的祭物。 9 你们要受严厉的咒诅，因你们全国的人都抢夺了属我之物。” 10 万军之耶和华说：“你们要把当纳的十分之一，全部送入仓库，使我家中有粮；藉此试验我，看我是不是为你们敞开天窗，把福气倒给你们，直到充足有余呢。” 11 万军之耶和华说：“我必为你们斥责那吞吃者，不容他毁坏你们地上的果实，也不让你们田间的葡萄在未熟以先就掉下来。” 12 万军之耶和华说：“万国都要称你们为有福，因为你们的地必成为喜乐之地。”

指摘以色列狂傲自大

13 耶和华说：“你们用无礼的话顶撞我。你们还问：‘我们用甚么话顶撞了你呢？’ 14 你们说：‘事奉　神是白费的；遵守他的吩咐，在万军之耶和华面前哀痛而行，有甚么益处呢？ 15 现在我们称骄傲的人为有福，作恶的人得建立；他们虽然试探　神，却得以逃脱。’”

敬畏耶和华的必蒙怜恤

16 那时，敬畏耶和华的人彼此谈论，耶和华也留意细听；在他面前有记录册，记录那些敬畏耶和华和思念他名的人。 17 万军之耶和华说：“在我施行作为的日子，他们要属我，作特别的产业；我必怜恤他们，好象人怜恤那服事自己的儿子一样。 18 那时，你们就要再看出义人与恶人、事奉　神的人和不事奉他的人之间有甚么分别。”

Next
Malachi 2
Malachi 4
Next
dropdown
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Chinese New Version (Simplified) (CNVS)

Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.