Malachi 1–4

CHAPTER 1

Yahweh’s Love for Jacob

¹The ^1aoracle of the word of ²Yahweh to ^bIsrael by the hand of ³Malachi.

²“I have ^aloved you,” says Yahweh. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares Yahweh. “Yet I ^bhave loved Jacob;

³but I have hated Esau, and I have ^aset his mountains to be a desolation and his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”

⁴Though Edom says, “We have been ^ademolished, but we will ^1breturn and build up the waste places”; thus says Yahweh of hosts, “They may ^cbuild, but I will pull down; and men will call them a ²territory of wickedness, and the people ³toward whom Yahweh is indignant ^dforever.”

⁵And your eyes will see this, and you will say, “^aYahweh ¹be magnified beyond the ²territory of Israel!”

The Priests Defile Yahweh

⁶“‘A son ^ahonors his father, and a slave his master. Then if I am a ^bfather, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is the fear of Me?’ says Yahweh of hosts to you, O ^cpriests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

⁷“You are presenting ^adefiled ^1bfood upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The ^ctable of Yahweh is to be despised.’

⁸“But when you present the ^ablind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Please, bring it near to your ^bgovernor! Would he accept you? Or would he lift up your face?” says Yahweh of hosts.

⁹“But now, ^1aentreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us! With this thing which is from your hand, will He ^blift up any of your faces?” says Yahweh of hosts.

¹⁰“Oh that there were one among you who would ^ashut the ¹gates, that you might not light a fire on My altar in vain! I have no delight in you,” says Yahweh of hosts, “^bnor will I accept an offering from your hand.

¹¹“For from the ^arising of the sun even to its setting, ^bMy name will be ^cgreat among the nations, and in every place ^dincense is going to be presented to My name, as well as a grain offering that is clean; for My name will be ^egreat among the nations,” says Yahweh of hosts.

¹²“But you are ^aprofaning it, in that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’

¹³“You also say, ‘Behold, how ^atiresome it is!’ And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and you bring what was taken by ^brobbery and what is ^clame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I ^daccept that from your hand?” says Yahweh.

¹⁴“But cursed be the ^aswindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a ^1bblemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great ^cKing,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and My name is ^2dfeared among the ³nations.”

CHAPTER 2

I Will Curse Your Blessings

¹“And now this commandment is for you, O priests.

²“If you do ^anot listen, and if you do not set it upon your heart to give ¹honor to My name,” says Yahweh of hosts, “then I will send the ^bcurse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have ^ccursed them already because you are not setting it upon your heart.

³“Behold, I am going to ^arebuke your seed, and I will ^bspread ¹refuse on your faces, the ²refuse of your ^cfeasts; and you will be taken away ³with it.

⁴“Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, ¹that My ^acovenant may ²continue with Levi,” says Yahweh of hosts.

⁵“My covenant with him was one of life and ^apeace, and I gave them to him as something to be ¹feared; so he ^bfeared Me and stood in ²awe of My name.

⁶“^1aInstruction of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked ^bwith Me in peace and uprightness, and he ^cturned many back from iniquity.

⁷“For the lips of a priest should keep ^aknowledge, and ¹men should ^bseek ²instruction from his mouth; for he is the ^cmessenger of Yahweh of hosts.

⁸“But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to ^astumble ¹by the instruction; you have ^2bcorrupted the covenant of Levi,” says Yahweh of hosts.

⁹“So ^aI also have made you despised and ^blow ¹before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing ^cpartiality in the ²instruction.

Judah Profaned Yahweh’s Sanctuary

¹⁰“Do we not all have ^aone father? ^bHas not one God created us? Why do we deal ^ctreacherously each against his brother so as to profane the ^dcovenant of our fathers?

¹¹“Judah has dealt ^atreacherously, and an abomination has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has ^bprofaned the sanctuary of Yahweh ¹which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god.

¹²“As for the man who does this, may ^aYahweh cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers or who ^bpresents ¹an offering to Yahweh of hosts.

¹³“And this is a second thing you do: you cover the altar of Yahweh with tears, with weeping, and with groaning because He ^ano longer regards the ¹offering or receives it as acceptable from your hand.

¹⁴“But you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because Yahweh has been a witness between you and the ^awife of your youth, against whom you have dealt ^btreacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

¹⁵“¹But not one has ^adone so, even one who has a remnant of the Spirit. And ²what did that one do while he was seeking a ^bgodly seed? Be careful then to keep your spirit, and let no one deal ^ctreacherously against the wife of your youth.

¹⁶“For ¹I hate ^2adivorce,” says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “and ³him who covers his garment with ^4bwrong,” says Yahweh of hosts. “Be careful then to keep your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

¹⁷You have ^awearied Yahweh with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “^bEveryone who does evil is good in the sight of Yahweh, and He ^cdelights in them,” or, “^dWhere is the God of ^ejustice?”

CHAPTER 3

The Messenger and the Lord

¹“^aBehold, I am going to send ^bMy ¹messenger, and he will ^2cprepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; ³and the ^4dmessenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says Yahweh of hosts.

²“But who can ^aendure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a ^bsmelter’s fire and like ¹fullers’ soap.

³“And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will ^apurify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may ^bpresent to Yahweh ¹offerings in righteousness.

⁴“Then the ¹offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be ^apleasing to Yahweh as in the ^bancient days and as in former years.

⁵“Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the ^asorcerers and against the ^badulterers and against those who ^cswear falsely and against those who oppress the ^dwage earner in his wages, the ^ewidow and the ¹orphan, and those who turn aside the ^fsojourner and do not ²fear Me,” says Yahweh of hosts.

⁶“For ¹I, Yahweh, ^ado not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, ²are not consumed.

You Have Robbed God

⁷“From the ^adays of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. ^bReturn to Me, and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

⁸“Will a man ¹rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In ^atithes and ²contributions.

⁹“You are ^acursed with a curse, for you are ¹robbing Me, the whole nation of you!

¹⁰“^aBring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be ¹food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says Yahweh of hosts, “if I will not ^bopen for you the windows of heaven and ^cempty out for you a blessing until ^2dit is beyond enough.

¹¹“Then I will rebuke the ^adevourer for you so that it will not corrupt the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field ¹fail to bear,” says Yahweh of hosts.

¹²“^aSo all the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a ^bdelightful land,” says Yahweh of hosts.

Arrogant Words

¹³“Your words have been strong against Me,” says Yahweh. “But you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’

¹⁴“You have said, ‘It is ^aworthless to serve God; and what ^bgain is it that we have kept His charge and that we have walked in mourning before Yahweh of hosts?

¹⁵‘So now we ^acall the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up, but they also test God and ^bescape.’”

The Book of Remembrance

¹⁶Then those who ¹feared Yahweh spoke to one another, and Yahweh ^agave heed and heard it, and a ^bbook of remembrance was written before Him for those who ²fear Yahweh and who think upon His name.

¹⁷“And they will be ^aMine,” says Yahweh of hosts, “on the ^bday that I ¹prepare My ^2cown treasured possession, and I will ³spare them as a man ^4dspares his own son who serves him.”

¹⁸So you will return and ^asee the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

CHAPTER 4

The Great Day of Yahweh

¹“¹For behold, the day is coming, ^aburning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every worker of wickedness will be ^bchaff; and the day that is coming will ^cset them aflame,” says Yahweh of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”

²“But for you who ¹fear My name, the ^asun of righteousness will rise with ^bhealing in its wings; and you will go forth and ^cskip about like calves from the stall.

³“And you will ^atread down the wicked, for they will be ^bashes under the soles of your feet ^con the day ¹which I am preparing,” says Yahweh of hosts.

⁴“^1aRemember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and judgments which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.

⁵“Behold, I am going to send you ^aElijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh.

⁶“And he will ^aturn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and ^bstrike the land, ¹devoting it to destruction.”