Malachi 3

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

The LORD of Hosts announces that He will send a messenger to prepare the way before the Lord of the covenant suddenly comes to His temple as a refiner and purifier of silver. He declares that He will draw near for judgment against various wrongdoers, while reminding the descendants of Jacob of their history of turning away from His statutes. The LORD accuses the nation of robbing Him in tithes and offerings, commanding them to bring the full tithe into the storehouse in exchange for poured-out blessings and protection for their land. After noting the people's harsh words regarding the apparent futility of serving God, the text records that those who feared the LORD spoke together, prompting Him to have a scroll of remembrance written before Him. Finally, the LORD states that those who fear Him will be His treasured possession on the day He prepares, allowing a distinction to be made between the righteous and the wicked.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts. ²But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. ³And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. ⁴Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old and years gone by. ⁵“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts. ⁶“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed. ⁷Yet from the days of your fathers, you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts. “But you ask, ‘How can we return?’ ⁸Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings. ⁹You are cursed with a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me. ¹⁰Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure. ¹¹I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts. ¹²“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts. ¹³“Your words against Me have been harsh,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ ¹⁴You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts? ¹⁵So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only do evildoers prosper, they even test God and escape.’” ¹⁶At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD and honored His name. ¹⁷“They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. ¹⁸So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”