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.