1 gCited Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27; [ch. 4:5; Luke 1:76] “Behold, I sendhSee ch. 2:7 my messenger andiSee Isa. 40:3 he will prepare the way before me. And the Lordj[ch. 2:17] whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; andk[ch. 4:5] the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 ButlJoel 2:11 who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? FormIsa. 4:4 he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 He will sitnIsa. 1:25; Zech. 13:9 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 bringo[ch. 1:7] offerings in righteousness to the Lord.1Or and they will belong to the Lord, bringers of an offering in righteousness 4 pEzek. 20:40 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 beqch. 2:14; Jer. 29:23 a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against thoserSee Lev. 19:13 who oppress the hired worker in his wages,sSee Deut. 24:17 the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
6 FortPs. 102:27; See Num. 23:19 I the Lord do not change;uLam. 3:22 therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 vActs 7:51 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them.wSee Zech. 1:3 Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.x[ch. 1:2] But you say, ‘How shall we return? ’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me.x[See ver. 7 above] But you say, ‘How have we robbed you? ’y[Neh. 13:10] In your tithes and contributions. 9 z[ch. 2:2] You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 a[Prov. 3:9, 10] Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And therebybSee 2 Cor. 9:6-8 put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not opencSee Gen. 7:11 the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuked[Joel 1:4] the devourer 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 TheneZeph. 3:19 all nations will call you blessed, for you will bef[Isa. 62:4] a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
13 g[ch. 2:17] Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord.h[ch. 1:2] But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you? ’ 14 You have said,i[Zeph. 1:12] ‘It is vain to serve God.j[Job 21:15] What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we callk[ch. 4:1] the arrogant blessed.k[ch. 4:1] Evildoers not only prosper butl[Ps. 95:9] they put God to the test and they escape. ’ ”
16 Then those who feared the Lordm[Deut. 6:6, 7] spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, andnSee Ex. 32:32 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,o[ch. 4:3; Acts 17:31] in the day when I make uppEx. 19:5; 1 Pet. 2:9 my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shallq[ch. 4:1] see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.