“See, I am going to send my messenger,^ad and he will clear the way before me.^ae Then the Lord you seek^af will suddenly come to his temple,^ag the Messenger of the covenant you delight in—see, he is coming,” says the Lord of Armies. ²But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears?^ah For he will be like a refiner’s fire^ai and like launderer’s bleach.^C^aj ³He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver.^ak Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. ⁴And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as in days of old^al 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 hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless; and against those who deny justice to the resident alien.^am They do not fear me,”^an says the Lord of Armies. ⁶“Because I, the Lord, have not changed,^ao you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.^D^ap

ROBBING GOD

⁷“Since the days of your ancestors, you have turned from my statutes; you have not kept them.^aq Return to me,^ar and I will return to you,”^as says the Lord of Armies.

Yet you ask, “How can we return?”

⁸“Will a man rob^at God? Yet you are robbing me!”

“How do we rob you?” you ask.

“By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions.^au ⁹You are suffering under a curse, yet^E you—the whole nation—are still robbing me. ¹⁰Bring the full tenth into the storehouse^av so that there may be food in my house.^aw Test me in this way,”^ax says the Lord of Armies. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven^ay and pour out a blessing for you without measure.^az ¹¹I will rebuke the devourer^L^ba 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 Armies. ¹²“Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of Armies.

Read in Logos

Malachi 3:6: “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”

Footnotes

C cleansing agent
DOr Because I, the Lord, do not change, you descendants of Jacob are not destroyed
EOr because
LPerhaps locusts

Cross references

ad Ex 23:20; 33:2; 2Ch 36:15–16
ae Is 40:3; Mk 1:2; Lk 1:76
af Hs 5:6
ag Ps 24:7–10
ah Rv 6:17
ai Dt 4:24; Is 1:25; Zch 13:9
aj Jr 2:22
ak Ps 12:6; Pr 17:3; Ezk 22:22
al Am 9:11
am Ex 20:14,16; 22:18–24; Dt 18:10; 24:14,17; Jr 5:2,7; 7:6,9
an Dt 10:17–20; Mal 2:5
ao Nm 23:19; 1Sm 15:29; Ps 33:11; 119:89–91; Rm 11:29; Heb 6:17–18; Jms 1:17
ap Ps 124; Hs 11:9
aq Jos 1:7; 23:6; 1Kg 8:58; 2Kg 17:15; Ezr 9:7; Am 2:4; Mal 2:8
ar Dt 4:30; 30:2; 2Ch 30:6,9; Is 55:7; Jl 2:13; Zch 1:3
as 1Kg 8:33; Jr 15:19; 24:7
at Pr 22:22–23
au Lv 7:14,32–33; 27:30–32; Nm 18:8–24; Dt 12:5–19; 14:22–29; 26:12
av Jos 6:19,24; 1Kg 7:51
aw 2Ch 31:4–10; Neh 10:34–39; Ezk 44:28–31
ax Ex 4:1–9; Jdg 6:36–40
ay Gn 7:11; 8:2; Dt 11:16–17
az Dt 28:12; Is 41:18–20; Jl 2:18–32; Am 9:13–15
ba Jl 1:4; 2:25