1
Behold, I will send My Angel, and He shall sweep* the way before Me; and the Lord, whom you◦ seek, shall suddenly come to▵ His temple, even the Angel of the covenant, in· whom you◦ ·delight; behold, He shall come, says Jehovah of Armies.
2
But who will sustain the day of His coming? And who will stand when He is seen? For He◦ is as a refiner’s fire, and as fullers’ soap.
3
And He shall sit as one refining and cleansing silver; and He shall cleanse the sons of Levi, and purify them as gold and as silver, that they may present to Jehovah a gift··offering in justice.
4
And the gift··offering of Judah and Jerusalem shall be··agreeable to Jehovah, as in the days of eternity, and as in ancient years.
5
And I will come··near to▵ you for judgment; and I will be a witness hastening against◦ the sorcerers, and against◦ the adulterers, and against◦ false promisers, and against those who oppress the hireling, the widow, and the orphan in their wages, and who turn··away◦ the sojourner, and fear Me not, says Jehovah of Armies.
6
For I◦ am Jehovah, I change◦* not; and so you◦ sons of Jacob are not all··consumed.
7
Since the days of your fathers you have turned··aside from My statutes, and have not kept them. Return to▵ Me, and I will Return to▵ you, says Jehovah of Armies. But you said, In what way shall we Return?
8
Will man give··the··dregs··to God? For you◦ have given··the··dregs··to Me. But you say, In what have we given··the··dregs··to Thee? In the tithes and upliftings◦.
9
With a curse you◦ are cursed; and you◦ are giving··the··dregs··to Me, even all the nation.
10
Bring ye all the tithes to▵ the house of treasure, and there will be prey* in My house, and test Me now◦ with this, says Jehovah of Armies, if I will not open for you the floodgates of the heavens, and empty out for you a blessing, until there shall not▵ be room enough.
11
And I will rebuke the devourer for you, and he shall not destroy for you the fruit of the ground; neither shall the vine be bereaved for you in the field, says Jehovah of Armies.
12
And all nations shall call· you ·happy; for you◦ shall be a land of delight, says Jehovah of Armies.
13
Your words have been firmly··held against Me, says Jehovah. And you say, What have we spoken against Thee?
14
You have said, It is vain to serve God; and what gain is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in··black before Jehovah of Armies?
15
And now we◦ call· the presumptuous ·happy; even those who do wickedness are built up; they have even tested God and have escaped.
16
Then those who feared Jehovah spoke, a man◦ with◦ his companion; and Jehovah was··attentive, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared Jehovah, and who thought upon His name.
17
And they shall be Mine, says Jehovah of Armies, in the day that I◦ am making them into* a special possession*; and I will have··pity on them, as a man◦ has··pity on his own son who serves him.
18
And you shall return, and discern* between the just and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who serves Him not.
