3:1 Now I am sending my messenger— he will prepare the way before me; 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.
3:2 But 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.
3:3 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.
3:4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord, as in ancient days, as in years gone by.
3:5 I 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.
3:6 For I, the Lord, do not change, and you, sons of Jacob, do not cease to be.
3:7 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?”
3:8 Can anyone rob God? But you are robbing me! And you say, “How have we robbed you?” Of tithes and contributions!
3:9 You are indeed accursed, for you, the whole nation, rob me.
3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, 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!
3:11 I 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.
3:12 All the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land, says the Lord of hosts.
3:13 Your words are too much for me, says the Lord. You ask, “What have we spoken against you?”
3:14 You have said, “It is useless to serve God; what do we gain by observing God’s requirements, And by going about as mourners before the Lord of hosts?
3:15 But we call the arrogant blessed; for evildoers not only prosper but even test God and escape.”
3:16 Then those who fear the Lord spoke with one another, and the Lord listened attentively; A record book was written before him of those who fear the Lord and esteem his name.
3:17 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.
3:18 Then you will again distinguish between the just and the wicked, Between the person who serves God, and the one who does not.
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