Malachi 3:16–18

3:16 Then those who respected28 the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice.29 A scroll30 was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected the Lord and honored his name. 3:17 “They will belong to me,” says the Lord who rules over all, “in the day when I prepare my own special property.31 I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 3:18 Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between32 the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.

28	tn Or “fear” (so NAB); NRSV “revered”; NCV “honored.”
29	tn Heb “heard and listened”; NAB “listened attentively.”
30	sn The scroll mentioned here is a “memory book” (סֵפֶר זִכָּרוֹן, sefer zikkaron) in which the Lord keeps an ongoing record of the names of all the redeemed (see Exod 32:32; Isa 4:3; Dan 12:1; Rev 20:12–15).
31	sn The Hebrew word סְגֻלָּה (ségullah, “special property”) is a technical term referring to all the recipients of God’s redemptive grace, especially Israel (Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18). The Lord says here that he will not forget even one individual in the day of judgment and reward.
32	tn Heb “you will see between.” Cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “see the difference.”