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.