Malachi 3

1See, I am sending my messenger, and he will clear the way ahead of me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, is coming, says the LORD of Armies. 2But who can bear the day of his coming? Who can hold their ground when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire and like the soap of those who wash clothes. 3He will sit like one who refines and purifies silver; he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they will belong to the LORD and bring offerings in righteousness. 4Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD, as it was in days gone by, in years long past. 5I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers and adulterers and those who swear falsely, against those who cheat hired workers of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans and deny justice to foreigners, and who do not fear me, says the LORD of Armies. 6I am the LORD, and I do not change; that is why you, descendants of Jacob, have not been destroyed. 7Ever since the days of your ancestors you have strayed from my statutes and failed to keep them. Return to me, and I will turn to you again, says the LORD of Armies. Yet you ask, “In what way shall we return?” 8Will a mortal rob God? But you are robbing me. Yet you ask, “In what way do we rob you?” In tithes and offerings. 9You are under a curse, because you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there will be food in my house. Put me to the test in this, says the LORD of Armies, and see if I do not open the windows of heaven for you and pour out on you a blessing until you have more than enough. 11I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, so that it will not destroy the crops of your land, and your vines in the field will not fail to bear fruit, says the LORD of Armies. 12Then all the nations will call you blessed, because you will be a delightful land, says the LORD of Armies.

13You have said harsh things against me, says the LORD. Yet you ask, “What have we said against you?” 14You have said, “It is useless to serve God. What do we gain by keeping his requirements and walking around like mourners before the LORD of Armies? 15So now we count the arrogant as blessed. Evildoers not only prosper; they put God to the test and get away with it.” 16Then those who feared the LORD talked with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. A book of remembrance was written in his presence about those who feared the LORD and honored his name. 17They will be mine, says the LORD of Armies, my special treasure on the day when I act. I will spare them as a father spares the son who serves him. 18Then once more you will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve him.