Malachi 3
1 aMat. 11. 10.
Behold, I send forth my messenger, and he shall survey the way before me: and
the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come into his temple, even the angel of
the covenant, whom ye take pleasure in: behold, he is coming, saith the Lord
Almighty. 2 And who will
bOr, wait for.abide the day of his coming? or who will withstand at his appearing? for he
is coming in as the fire of a furnace and as the herb of
cGr. them that wash.fullers. 3 He shall sit to melt and
purify as it were silver, and as it were gold: and he shall purify the sons of
Levi, and
dGr. pour.refine them as gold and silver, and they shall offer to the Lord an offering
in righteousness.
4 And the sacrifice of Juda and
Jerusalem shall be pleasing to the Lord, according to the former days, and
according to the former years. 5 And I
will draw near to you in judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the
witches, and against the adulteresses, and against them that swear falsely by
my name, and against them that keep back the hireling's wages, and them that
oppress the widow, and
eGr. beat with the fist.afflict orphans, and that wrest the judgment of the stranger, and fear not
me, saith the Lord Almighty. 6 For I
am the Lord your God, and I am not changed:
7 but ye, the sons of Jacob, have not
refrained from the iniquities of your fathers: ye have perverted my statutes,
and have not kept them.
Return to me, and I will return to you, saith the Lord Almighty. But ye said,
Wherein shall we return?
8 Will a man insult God? for ye insult
me. But ye say, Wherein have we insulted thee? In that the tithes and
first-fruits are with you still.
9 And ye do surely look off from me,
and ye insult me.
10 The year is completed, and ye have
brought all the produce into the storehouses; but there shall be the plunder
thereof in its house: return now on this behalf, saith the Lord Almighty,
see if I will not open to you the
fOr, windows, see Gen 7. 11, there rendered 'flood-gates.'torrents of heaven, and pour out my blessing upon you, until ye are
satisfied. 11 And I will
gOr, give a charge for you to be fed. Alex.appoint food for you, and I will not destroy the fruit of your land; and your
vine in the field shall not fail, saith the Lord Almighty.
12 And all nations shall call you
blessed: for ye shall be a desirable land, saith the Lord Almighty.
13 Ye have spoken grievous words
against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye said, Wherein have we spoken against thee?
14 Ye said, He that serves God
hGr. is vain.labours in vain: and what have we gained in that we have kept his ordinances,
and in that we have walked as suppliants before the face of the Lord Almighty?
15 And now we pronounce strangers
blessed; and all they who act unlawfully are built up; and they have resisted
God, and yet have been delivered.
16 Thus spoke they that feared the
Lord, every one to his neighbour: and the Lord gave heed, and hearkened, and
he wrote a book of remembrance before him for them that feared the Lord and
reverenced his name. 17 And they
shall be
iGr. for me.mine, saith the Lord Almighty, in the day which I appoint for a peculiar
possession; and I will make choice of them, as a man makes choice of his son
that serves him. 18 Then shall ye
return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, and between him that
serves God, and him that serves him not.
19 For, behold, a day comes burning
as an oven, and it shall consume them; and all the aliens, and all that do
wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that is coming shall set them on fire,
saith the Lord Almighty, and there shall not be left of them root or branch.
20 But to you that fear my name shall
the Sun of righteousness arise, and healing
shall be in his wings: and ye shall go forth, and
bound as young calves let loose from bonds.
21 And ye shall trample the wicked;
for they shall be ashes underneath your feet in the day which I appoint, saith
the Lord Almighty. 22 And, behold, I
will send to you Elias the Thesbite, before the great and glorious day of the
Lord comes; 23 jLuke 1. 17.
who shall turn again the heart of the father to the son, and the heart of a
man to his neighbour, lest I come and smite the earth grievously.
24 Remember the law of my servant
Moses, accordingly as I charged him with it in Choreb
for all Israel, even the commandments and ordinances.