Mal'akhi (Mal) 3
3
1“Look! I am sending my messenger
to clear the way before me;
and the Lord, whom you seek,
will suddenly come to his temple.
Yes, the messenger of the covenant,
in whom you take such delight —
look! Here he comes,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
2But who can endure the day when he comes?
Who can stand when he appears?
For he will be like a refiner’s fire,
like the soapmaker’s lye.
3He will sit, testing and purifying the silver;
he will purify the sons of Levi,
refining them like gold and silver,
so that they can bring offerings to Adonai uprightly.
4Then the offering of Y’hudah and Yerushalayim
will be pleasing to Adonai,
as it was in the days of old,
as in years gone by.
5“Then I will approach you for judgment;
and I will be quick to witness
against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers;
against those who take advantage
of wage-earners, widows and orphans;
against those who rob the foreigner of his rights
and don’t fear me,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
6“But because I, Adonai, do not change,
you sons of Ya‘akov will not be destroyed.
7Since the days of your forefathers
you have turned from my laws and have not kept them.
Return to me, and I will return to you,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
“But you ask, ‘In respect to what
are we supposed to return?’
8Can a person rob God?
Yet you rob me.
But you ask, ‘How have we robbed you?’
In tenths and voluntary contributions.
9A curse is on you, on your whole nation,
because you rob me.
10Bring the whole tenth into the storehouse,
so that there will be food in my house,
and put me to the test,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
“See if I won’t open for you
the floodgates of heaven
and pour out for you a blessing
far beyond your needs.
11For your sakes I will forbid the devourer
to destroy the yield from your soil;
and your vine will not lose its fruit
before harvest-time,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
12“All nations will call you happy,
for you will be a land of delights,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
13“You have spoken strongly against me,” says Adonai.
“Yet you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’
14By saying, ‘There is no point in serving God.
What good is it to obey his orders
or to walk about as mourners
before Adonai-Tzva’ot?
15We consider the arrogant happy;
also evildoers prosper;
they put God to the test;
nevertheless, they escape.’”
16Then those who feared Adonai spoke together;
and Adonai listened and heard.
A record book was written in his presence
for those who feared Adonai
and had respect for his name.
17“They will be mine,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot,
“on the day when I compose my own special treasure.
I will spare them as a man spares
his own son who serves him.
18Then once again you will see the difference
between the righteous and the wicked,
between the person who serves God
and one that doesn’t serve him.
19For the day is coming, burning like a furnace,
when all the proud and evildoers will be stubble;
the day that is coming will set them ablaze,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot,
“and leave them neither root nor branch.
20But to you who fear my name,
the sun of righteousness will rise
with healing in its wings;
and you will break out leaping,
like calves released from the stall.
21You will trample the wicked,
they will be ashes under the soles of your feet
on the day when I take action,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
22“Remember the Torah of Moshe my servant,
which I enjoined on him at Horev,
laws and rulings for all Isra’el.
23Look, I will send to you
Eliyahu the prophet
before the coming of the great
and terrible Day of Adonai.
24He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children
and the hearts of the children to their fathers;
otherwise I will come and strike the land
with complete destruction.”
[Look, I will send to you
Eliyahu the prophet
before the coming of the great
and terrible Day of Adonai.]
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Mal'akhi (Mal) 3: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleMalachi 3
3
1 #
Mt 11.10; Mk 1.2; Lk 1.76; 7.27 The LORD Almighty answers, “I will send my messenger to prepare the way for me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger you long to see will come and proclaim my covenant.”
2 #
Joel 2.11; Rev 6.17 But who will be able to endure the day when he comes? Who will be able to survive when he appears? He will be like strong soap, like a fire that refines metal. 3He will come to judge like one who refines and purifies silver. As a metalworker refines silver and gold, so the LORD's messenger will purify the priests, so that they will bring to the LORD the right kind of offerings. 4Then the offerings which the people of Judah and Jerusalem bring to the LORD will be pleasing to him, as they used to be in the past.
5The LORD Almighty says, “I will appear among you to judge, and I will testify at once against those who practise magic, against adulterers, against those who give false testimony, those who cheat employees out of their wages, and those who take advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners — against all who do not respect me.
The Payment of Tithes
6“I am the LORD, and I do not change. And so you, the descendants of Jacob, are not yet completely lost. 7You, like your ancestors before you, have turned away from my laws and have not kept them. Turn back to me, and I will turn to you. But you ask, ‘What must we do to turn back to you?’ 8I ask you, is it right for a person to cheat God? Of course not, yet you are cheating me. ‘How?’ you ask. In the matter of tithes and offerings. 9A curse is on all of you because the whole nation is cheating me. 10#Lev 27.30; Num 18.21–24; Deut 12.6; 14.22–29; Neh 13.12Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple, so that there will be plenty of food there. Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things. 11I will not let insects destroy your crops, and your grapevines will be loaded with grapes. 12Then the people of all nations will call you happy, because your land will be a good place to live in.
God's Promise of Mercy
13“You have said terrible things about me,” says the LORD. “But you ask, ‘What have we said about you?’ 14You have said, ‘It's useless to serve God. What's the use of doing what he says or of trying to show the LORD Almighty that we are sorry for what we have done? 15As we see it, proud people are the ones who are happy. Evil people not only prosper, but they test God's patience with their evil deeds and get away with it.’ ”
16Then the people who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard what they said. In his presence, there was written down in a book a record of those who feared the LORD and respected him. 17“They will be my people,” says the LORD Almighty. “On the day when I act, they will be my very own. I will be merciful to them, as a father is merciful to the son who serves him. 18Once again my people will see the difference between what happens to the righteous and to the wicked, to the person who serves me and the one who does not.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.