1 L o, 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.

¶ 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.

2 A nd 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.

But 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:

3 A nd 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.

And 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.

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

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

5 A nd 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.

And 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.

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

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

7 E ven 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?'

¶ 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?

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

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

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

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

10 B ring 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.

Bring 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.

11 A nd 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.

And 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.

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

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

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

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

14 Y e 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?

Ye 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?

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

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

16 T hen 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.

Then 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.

17 A nd 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.

And 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.

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

Therefore 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.