Malachi 3
3
V. The Messenger of the Covenant
1#Ex 23:20–22; Is 40:3; Mt 11:10; Mk 1:2; Lk 1:17; 7:27. Now I am sending my messenger—
he will prepare the way before me;#My messenger…before me: Mt 11:10 applies these words to John the Baptist; Mt 11:14 further identifies John as Elijah (see Mal 3:23). Some take God’s messenger in v. 1a to be a person distinct from “the lord” and “the messenger of the covenant” in v. 1b; others hold that they are one and the same person. Some consider “the lord” and “the messenger of the covenant” to be divine, while others hold that in the text’s literal sense he is a messianic earthly ruler.
And the lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple;
The messenger of the covenant whom you desire—
see, he is coming! says the Lord of hosts.
2But who can endure the day of his coming?
Who can stand firm when he appears?
For he will be like a refiner’s fire,
like fullers’ lye.
3#Is 1:25; Zec 13:9. He will sit refining and purifying silver,
and he will purify the Levites,
Refining them like gold or silver,
that they may bring offerings to the Lord in righteousness.
4Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
will please the Lord,
as in ancient days, as in years gone by.
5I will draw near to you for judgment,
and I will be swift to bear witness
Against sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers,
those who deprive a laborer of wages,
Oppress a widow or an orphan,
or turn aside a resident alien,
without fearing me, says the Lord of hosts.
VI. Gifts for God, Blessings for the People
6For I, the Lord, do not change,#Not change: God remains faithful to the covenant even when the human partners break it.
and you, sons of Jacob, do not cease to be.
7#Zec 1:3–4; Acts 7:51. Since the days of your ancestors you have turned aside
from my statutes and have not kept them.
Return to me, that I may return to you,
says the Lord of hosts.
But you say, “Why should we return?”
8#Neh 13:10–14. Can anyone rob God? But you are robbing me!
And you say, “How have we robbed you?”
Of tithes and contributions!
9You are indeed accursed,
for you, the whole nation, rob me.
10#Dt 28:2, 12; 2 Chr 31:10–11; Neh 10:38; 13:12; Prv 3:9–10. Bring the whole tithe
into the storehouse,#Storehouse: the temple treasury.
That there may be food in my house.
Put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts,
And see if I do not open the floodgates of heaven for you,
and pour down upon you blessing without measure!
11I will rebuke the locust for you
so that it will not destroy your crops,
And the vine in the field will not be barren,
says the Lord of hosts.
12#Dt 28:10; Is 61:9. All the nations will call you blessed,
for you will be a delightful land,
says the Lord of hosts.
The Need to Serve God
13Your words are too much for me, says the Lord.
You ask, “What have we spoken against you?”
14#Jb 21:14–15; 22:17; Ps 73:11–12; Is 58:3; Zec 7:2–7. You have said, “It is useless to serve God;
what do we gain by observing God’s requirements,
And by going about as mourners#As mourners: the adverb translated “as mourners” means something like “with a long face.”
before the Lord of hosts?
15But we call the arrogant blessed;
for evildoers not only prosper
but even test God and escape.”
16#Rev 20:12. Then those who fear the Lord spoke with one another,
and the Lord listened attentively;
A record book#Record book: see note on Ex 32:32. was written before him
of those who fear the Lord and esteem his name.
17#Ex 19:5; Dt 7:6; Ps 103:13; 135:4. They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts,
my own special possession, on the day when I take action.
And I will have compassion on them,
as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.
18Then you will again distinguish
between the just and the wicked,
Between the person who serves God,
and the one who does not.
19#Is 13:9; 34:8; Jl 3:3; Zep 1:18; 2 Pt 3:7. For the day is coming, blazing like an oven,
when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble,
And the day that is coming will set them on fire,
leaving them neither root nor branch,
says the Lord of hosts.
20#Lk 1:78–79. But for you who fear my name, the sun of justice
will arise with healing in its wings;#Wings: a common symbol of the manifestation of a god in the ancient Near East is the winged sun disk found, for example, on premonarchic jar handles. Cf. Nm 6:25; Ps 4:7; 31:17; 34:6; 84:12.
And you will go out leaping like calves from the stall
21and tread down the wicked;
They will become dust under the soles of your feet,
on the day when I take action, says the Lord of hosts.
VIII. Moses and Elijah
22#Ex 20; Lv 26; Dt 4:1, 5–6. Remember the law of Moses my servant,
whom I charged at Horeb
With statutes and ordinances
for all Israel.
23#2 Kgs 2:10–12; Sir 48:10; Mt 11:13–14; 17:10–13; Mk 9:9–13; Lk 1:17. Now I am sending to you
Elijah#Elijah: taken up in a whirlwind, according to 2 Kgs 2:11. Here his return seems to be foretold. A Jewish tradition interpreted this literally; the gospels saw Elijah in the person of John the Baptist (Mt 11:13–14; 17:10–13; Mk 9:9–13). the prophet,
Before the day of the Lord comes,
the great and terrible day;
24He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons,
and the heart of sons to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
the land with utter destruction.
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Malachi 3: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Malachi 3
3
The Coming Day of Judgment
1“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
2“But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. 3He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. 4Then once more the Lord will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did in the past.
5“At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
A Call to Repentance
6“I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. 7Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’
8“Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!
“But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’
“You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 10Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! 11Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease.#3:11 Hebrew from the devourer. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 12“Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
13“You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord.
“But you say, ‘What do you mean? What have we said against you?’
14“You have said, ‘What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the Lord of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins? 15From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.’”
The Lord’s Promise of Mercy
16Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.
17“They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. 18Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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