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^1 (a)"Behold, I send ^(b)my messenger, and ^(c)he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord ^(d)whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and ^(e)the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. ² But ^(f)who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For ^(g)he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. ³ He will sit ^(h)as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring ⁽ⁱ⁾offerings in righteousness to the Lord.^{[a] 4 (j)}Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

⁵ "Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be ^(k)a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those ^(l)who oppress the hired worker in his wages, ^(m)the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Robbing God

⁶ "For ⁽ⁿ⁾I the Lord do not change; ^(o)therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. ^7 (p)From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. ^(q)Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. ^(r)But you say, ‘How shall we return?' ⁸ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. ^(s)But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?' ^(t)In your tithes and contributions. ^9 (u)You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. ^10 (v)Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby ^(w)put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open ^(x)the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. ¹¹ I will rebuke ^(y)the devourer^[b] for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. ¹² Then ^(z)all nations will call you blessed, for you will be ^(aa)a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

^13 (ab)"Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. ^(ac)But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?' ¹⁴ You have said, ^(ad)‘It is vain to serve God. ^(ae)What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? ¹⁵ And now we call ^(af)the arrogant blessed. ^(ag)Evildoers not only prosper but ^(ah)they put God to the test and they escape.'"

The Book of Remembrance

¹⁶ Then those who feared the Lord ^(ai)spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and ^(aj)a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. ¹⁷ "They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, ^(ak)in the day when I make up ^(al)my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. ¹⁸ Then once more you shall ^(am)see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.