“By holding back your offerings. You also steal from me when you do not bring me a tenth of everything you produce. ⁹So you are under my curse. In fact, your whole nation is under it. That is because you are robbing me.

¹⁰“Bring the entire tenth to the storerooms in my temple. Then there will be plenty of food. Put me to the test,” says the Lord. “Then you will see that I will throw open the windows of heaven. I will pour out so many blessings that you will not have enough room for them. ¹¹I will keep bugs from eating up your crops. And your grapes will not drop from the vines before they are ripe,” says the Lord.

¹²“Then all of the nations will call you blessed. Your land will be delightful,” says the Lord who rules over all.

¹³“You have spoken bad things against me,” says the Lord.

“But you ask, ‘What have we spoken against you?’

¹⁴“You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. What did we gain by obeying his laws? And what did we get by pretending to be sad in front of the Lord? ¹⁵But now we call proud people blessed. Things go well with those who do what is evil. And God doesn’t even punish those who argue with him.’ ”

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