III. aBehold, I will send bmy messenger, and che shall prepare the way before me:

And the Lord, dwhom ye seek, eshall suddenly come to his temple,

Even fthe messenger of the covenant, dwhom ye delight in:

Behold, ehe shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

2  But gwho may abide hthe day of his coming?

And iwho shall stand when he appeareth?

For khe is like la refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ msope:

3  And he shall sit as la refiner and purifier of silver:

And he shall purify nthe sons of Levi, and opurge them as gold and silver,

That they may poffer unto the Lord an offering qin righteousness.

4  Then shall rthe offering of Judah and Jerusalem sbe pleasant unto the Lord,

As in the days of old, and as in * former years.

5  And I will come near to you to judgment;

And tI will be a swift uwitness

Against vthe sorcerers, and against twthe adulterers, and against xfalse swearers,

And against ythose that * zoppress the hireling in his wages,

aThe widow, and athe fatherless,

And bthat turn aside acthe stranger from his right, and fear not me,

Saith the Lord of hosts.

6  For I am the Lord, dI change not;

eTherefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

7  fEven from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them.

gReturn unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.

hBut ye said, Wherein shall we return?

8  Will a man irob God? Yet ye have irobbed me.

hBut ye say, Wherein have we irobbed thee?

In ktithes and lofferings.

9  Ye are cursed with ma curse: for ye have irobbed me,

Even this whole nation.

10  nBring ye all the tithes into pthe storehouse,

That there may be qmeat in mine house,

And rprove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts,

If I will not sopen you the windows of heaven,

And * pour you out ta blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

11  And I will rebuke uthe devourer for your sakes,

And he shall not * destroy the fruits of your ground;

Neither vshall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

12  And wall nations shall call you blessed:

For ye shall be xa delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

13  yYour words have been stout against me, saith the Lord.

hYet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?

14  yzYe have said, aIt is vain to serve God:

And awhat profit is it that we have bkept * his ordinance,

And that we have walked * mournfully before the Lord of hosts?

15  cAnd now we dcall ethe proud happy;

cYea, ethey that work wickedness * are set up;

cYea, they that ftempt God are even delivered.

16  Then gthey that feared the Lord hspake often one to another:

And the Lord hearkened, and heard it,

And ia book of remembrance was written before him

For gthem that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

17  And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts,

kIn that day when lI make up my * mjewels;

And nI will spare them, oas a man spareth his own son pthat serveth him.

18  Then shall ye return, and qdiscern between the righteous and the wicked,

qBetween him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.