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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.
The Day of the Lord
4 [b]“For indeed, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and everyone who commits wickedness will become stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says the Lord of Hosts, “not leaving them root or branches. 2 But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings,(AI) and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall.[c] 3 You will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the Lord of Hosts.
A Final Warning
4 “Remember the instruction of Moses My servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb(AJ) for all Israel. 5 Look, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet(AK) before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes.(AL) 6 [d]And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.(AM) Otherwise, I will come and strike the land[e] with a curse.”
The Source of Life
22 Then he showed me the river[a] of living water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb(A) 2 down the middle of the broad street of the city. The tree of life[b] was on both sides of the river, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month.(B) The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, 3 and there will no longer be any curse.(C) The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city,[c] and His slaves will serve Him. 4 They will see His face,(D) and His name will be on their foreheads.(E) 5 Night will no longer exist,(F) and people will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.
The Time Is Near
6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.(G) And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets,[d] has sent His angel to show His slaves what must quickly take place.”[e](H)
7 “Look, I am coming quickly!(I) The one who keeps the prophetic words of this book is blessed.”(J)
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow slave with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”(K) 10 He also said to me, “Don’t seal the prophetic words of this book, because the time is near.(L) 11 Let the unrighteous go on in unrighteousness; let the filthy go on being made filthy; let the righteous go on in righteousness; and let the holy go on being made holy.”(M)
12 “Look! I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me(N) to repay each person according to what he has done.(O) 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,(P) the First and the Last,(Q) the Beginning and the End.(R)
14 “Blessed(S) are those who wash their robes,[f] so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.(T)
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to attest these things to you[g] for the churches. I am the Root(U) and the Offspring of David,(V) the Bright Morning Star.”(W)
17 Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Anyone who hears should say, “Come!” And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift.(X)
18 I testify to everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this prophetic book, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, written in this book.(Y)
20 He who testifies about these things(Z) says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.”
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!(AA)
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus[h] be with all the saints.[i] Amen.[j]
Psalm 150
Praise the Lord
1 Hallelujah!
Praise God in His sanctuary.
Praise Him in His mighty heavens.(A)
2 Praise Him for His powerful acts;(B)
praise Him for His abundant greatness.(C)
3 Praise Him with trumpet blast;(D)
praise Him with harp and lyre.(E)
4 Praise Him with tambourine and dance;(F)
praise Him with flute and strings.(G)
5 Praise Him with resounding cymbals;
praise Him with clashing cymbals.(H)
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.(I)
Hallelujah!
25 Strength(A) and honor are her clothing,(B)
and she can laugh at the time to come.(C)
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom
and loving instruction[a] is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the activities of her household(D)
and is never idle.[b]
28 Her sons rise up and call her blessed.
Her husband also praises her:
29 “Many women[c] are capable,
but you surpass them all!”(E)
30 Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,(F)
but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.
31 Give her the reward of her labor,[d]
and let her works praise her at the city gates.
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