1 ¶ Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.

“See, I am going to send one with news, and he will make the way ready before Me. Then all at once the Lord you are looking for will come to His house. The one with the news of the agreement, whom you desire, is coming,” says the Lord of All.

2 B ut who may abide the time of his coming? and who shall stand when he appears? for he shall be like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap:

“But who can live through the day of His coming? Who can stand when He shows Himself? For He is like a fire for making gold pure, and like a strong cleaner.

3 A nd he shall sit to refine and to purify the silver: for he shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

He will sit as one who melts silver and makes it pure. He will make the sons of Levi pure. He will make them pure like gold and silver, so that they may bring the right gifts to the Lord.

4 T hen the offering of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasant unto the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.

Then the gifts of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as they were in the past.

5 A nd I will come near unto you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against false swearers and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and do not fear me, said the LORD of the hosts.

Then I will come to judge you. I will be quick to speak against those who use witchcraft, and those who do sex sins, and those who make false promises. I will speak against those who do not pay a man what he has earned, and who make it hard for the woman whose husband has died and for children who have no parents. And I will speak against those who turn away the stranger and do not fear Me,” says the Lord of All.

6 F or I am the LORD, I have not changed; therefore, ye sons of Jacob have not been consumed.

“For I, the Lord, do not change. So you, O children of Jacob, are not destroyed. Giving to God a Tenth Part

7 ¶ Even from the days of your fathers, ye had departed from my ordinances and had never kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, said the LORD of the hosts. But ye said, In what shall we return?

“From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My Laws and have not obeyed them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of All. “But you say, ‘How are we to return?’

8 W ill a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, In what have we robbed thee? In the tithes and the offerings.

Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ You have not given Me the tenth part of what you receive and your gifts.

9 Y e are cursed with a curse: for ye, even this whole nation, have robbed me.

You are cursed, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!

10 B ring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, and there shall be food in my house, and prove me now in this, said the LORD of the hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Bring the tenth part into the store-house, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the Lord of All. “See if I will not then open the windows of heaven and pour out good things for you until there is no more need.

11 A nd I will reprehend the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of the ground; neither shall the vine in the field abort, said the LORD of the hosts.

I will speak sharp words to the destroyer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground. And your vine in the field will be sure to give its grapes,” says the Lord of All.

12 A nd all the Gentiles shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, said the LORD of the hosts.

“All the nations will say that much good has come to you, for you will be a happy land,” says the Lord of All. The People Complain

13 ¶ Your words have prevailed against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken against thee?

“Your words have been spoken in pride against Me,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘What have we said against You?’

14 Y e have said, It is vain to serve God, and what profit is it that we have kept his law and that we walk mournfully before the LORD of the hosts?

You have said, ‘It is of no worth to serve God. What do we get by doing what He says, or by walking in sorrow before the Lord of All?

15 W e say, therefore, now, that blessed are the proud and even that those that work wickedness are prospered; those that tempted God have escaped.

So now we say that it is good to be proud. Not only are sinners doing well, but they put God to the test and get away with it.’” The Book to Be Remembered

16 T hen those that feared the LORD spoke one to another, and the LORD hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for those that feared the LORD and for those that think in his name.

Then those who feared the Lord spoke often to one another, and the Lord listened to them. And the names of those who worshiped the Lord and honored Him were written down before Him in a Book to be remembered.

17 A nd they shall be mine, said the LORD of the hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serves him.

“They will be Mine says the Lord of All, “on that day that I gather My special people. I will have loving-pity on them as a man has loving-pity on his own son who serves him.”

18 T herefore become ye converted, and ye shall make a difference between the just and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that did not serve him.

Then you will again see the difference between those who are right and good, and those who are sinful. You will see the difference between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.