1 B ehold, I send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, Whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; the Messenger or Angel of the covenant, Whom you desire, behold, He shall come, says the Lord of hosts.

Lo, I am sending My messenger, And he hath prepared a way before Me, And suddenly come in unto his temple Doth the Lord whom ye are seeking, Even the messenger of the covenant, Whom ye are desiring, Lo, he is coming, said Jehovah of Hosts.

2 B ut who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap;

And who is bearing the day of his coming? And who is standing in his appearing? For he as fire of a refiner, And as soap of a fuller.

3 H e will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the priests, the sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord offerings in righteousness.

And he hath sat, a refiner and purifier of silver, And he hath purified the sons of Levi, And hath refined them as gold and as silver, And they have been to Jehovah bringing nigh a present in righteousness.

4 T hen will the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in ancient years.

And sweet to Jehovah hath been the present of Judah and Jerusalem, As in days of old, and as in former years.

5 T hen I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against the false swearers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and who turn aside the temporary resident from his right and fear not Me, says the Lord of hosts.

And I have drawn near to you for judgment, And I have been a witness, Making haste against sorcerers, And against adulterers, And against swearers to a falsehood, And against oppressors of the hire of an hireling, Of a widow, and of a fatherless one, And those turning aside a sojourner, And who fear Me not, said Jehovah of Hosts.

6 F or I am the Lord, I do not change; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

For I Jehovah, I have not changed, And ye, the sons of Jacob, Ye have not been consumed.

7 E ven from the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, How shall we return?

Even from the days of your fathers Ye have turned aside from My statutes, And ye have not taken heed. Turn back unto Me, and I turn back to you, Said Jehovah of Hosts. And ye have said, `In what do we turn back?'

8 W ill a man rob or defraud God? Yet you rob and defraud Me. But you say, In what way do we rob or defraud You? tithes and offerings.

Doth man deceive God? but ye are deceiving Me, And ye have said: `In what have we deceived Thee?' The tithe and the heave-offering!

9 Y ou are cursed with the curse, for you are robbing Me, even this whole nation.

With a curse ye are cursed! And Me ye are deceiving -- this nation -- all of it.

10 B ring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Bring in all the tithe unto the treasure-house, And there is food in My house; When ye have tried Me, now, with this, Said Jehovah of Hosts, Do not I open to you the windows of heaven? Yea, I have emptied on you a blessing till there is no space.

11 A nd I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts.

And I have pushed for you against the consumer, And He doth not destroy to you the fruit of the ground, Nor miscarry to you doth the vine in the field, Said Jehovah of Hosts.

12 A nd all nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

And declared you happy have all the nations, For ye are a delightful land, said Jehovah of Hosts.

13 Y our words have been strong and hard against Me, says the Lord. Yet you say, What have we spoken against You?

Hard against Me have been your words, Said Jehovah, and ye have said: `What have we spoken against Thee?'

14 Y ou have said, It is useless to serve God, and what profit is it if we keep His ordinances and walk gloomily and as if in mourning apparel before the Lord of hosts?

Ye have said, `A vain thing to serve God! And what gain when we kept His charge? And when we have gone in black, Because of Jehovah of Hosts?

15 A nd now we consider the proud and arrogant to be happy and favored; evildoers are exalted and prosper; yes, and when they test God, they escape.

And now, we are declaring the proud happy, Yea, built up have been those doing wickedness, Yea they have tempted God, and escape.'

16 T hen those who feared the Lord talked often one to another; and the Lord listened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who reverenced and worshipfully feared the Lord and who thought on His name.

Then have those fearing Jehovah spoken one to another, And Jehovah doth attend and hear, And written is a book of memorial before Him Of those fearing Jehovah, And of those esteeming His name.

17 A nd they shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I publicly recognize and openly declare them to be My jewels (My special possession, My peculiar treasure). And I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.

And they have been to Me, said Jehovah of Hosts, In the day that I am appointing -- a peculiar treasure, And I have had pity on them, As one hath pity on his son who is serving him.

18 T hen shall you return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who does not serve Him.

And ye have turned back and considered, Between the righteous and the wicked, Between the servant of God and him who is not His servant.