Malachi 3:1–18

^g“Behold, I send ^hmy messenger, and ⁱhe will prepare the way before me. And the Lord ^jwhom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and ^kthe messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. ²But ^lwho can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For ^mhe is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. ³He will sit ⁿas a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring ^oofferings in righteousness to the Lord.^{1 4p}Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

⁵“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be ^qa swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those ^rwho oppress the hired worker in his wages, ^sthe widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Robbing God

⁶“For ^tI the Lord do not change; ^utherefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. ^7vFrom the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. ^wReturn to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. ^xBut you say, ‘How shall we return?’ ⁸Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. ^xBut you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ ^yIn your tithes and contributions. ^9zYou are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. ^10aBring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby ^bput me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open ^cthe windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. ¹¹I will rebuke ^dthe devourer² for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. ¹²Then ^eall nations will call you blessed, for you will be ^fa land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

^13g“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. ^hBut you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ ¹⁴You have said, ⁱ‘It is vain to serve God. ^jWhat is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? ¹⁵And now we call ^kthe arrogant blessed. ^kEvildoers not only prosper but ^lthey put God to the test and they escape.’ ”

The Book of Remembrance

¹⁶Then those who feared the Lord ^mspoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and ⁿa book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. ¹⁷“They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, ^oin the day when I make up ^pmy treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. ¹⁸Then once more you shall ^qsee the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.