Malachi 3

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.	1 Behold, I send my angel, and he will prepare the way before my face. And presently the Sovereign, whom you seek, and the angel of testimony, whom you desire, will arrive at his temple. Behold, he approaches, says the Lord of hosts.
2 But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner's fire, or like the fuller's lye.	2 And who will be able to consider the day of his advent, and who will stand firm in order to see him? For he is like a refining fire, and like the fuller’s herb.
3 He will sit refining and purifying (silver), and he will purify the sons of Levi, Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.	3 And he will sit refining and cleansing the silver, and he will purge the sons of Levi, and he will gather them like gold and like silver, and they will offer sacrifices to the Lord in justice.
4 Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old, as in years gone by.	4 And the sacrifice of Judah and of Jerusalem will please the Lord, just as in the days of past generations, and as in the ancient years.
5 I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be swift to bear witness Against the sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers, those who defraud the hired man of his wages, Against those who defraud widows and orphans; those who turn aside the stranger, and those who do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.	5 And I will approach you in judgment, and I will be a swift witness against evil-doers, and adulterers, and perjurers, and those who cheat the hired hand in his wages, the widows and the orphans, and who oppress the traveler, and who have not feared me, says the Lord of hosts.
6 Surely I, the LORD, do not change, nor do you cease to be sons of Jacob.	6 For I am the Lord, and I do not change. And you, the sons of Jacob, have not been consumed.
7 Since the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. Yet you say, "How must we return?"	7 For, from the days of your fathers, you have withdrawn from my ordinances and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. And you have said, “In what way, shall we return?”
8 Dare a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say, "How do we rob you?" In tithes and in offerings!	8 If a man will afflict God, then you greatly afflict me. And you have said, “In what way, do we afflict you?” In tithes and in first-fruits.
9 You are indeed accursed, for you, the whole nation, rob me.	9 And you have been cursed with privation, and you greatly afflict me, even your entire people.
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, That there may be food in my house, and try me in this, says the LORD of hosts: Shall I not open for you the floodgates of heaven, to pour down blessing upon you without measure?	10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, and let there be food in my house. And test me about this, says the Lord, as to whether I will not open to you the floodgates of heaven, and pour out to you a blessing, all the way to abundance.
11 For your sake I will forbid the locust to destroy your crops; And the vine in the field will not be barren, says the LORD of hosts.	11 And I will rebuke for your sakes the devourer, and he will not corrupt the fruit of your land. Neither will the vine in the field be barren, says the Lord of hosts.
12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land, says the LORD of hosts.	12 And all nations will call you blessed. For you will be a desirable land, says the Lord of hosts.
13 You have defied me in word, says the LORD, yet you ask, "What have we spoken against you?"	13 Your words have gathered strength over me, says the Lord.
14 You have said, "It is vain to serve God, and what do we profit by keeping his command, And going about in penitential dress in awe of the LORD of hosts?	14 And you have said, “What have we spoken against you?” You have said, “He labors in vain who serves God,” and, “What advantage is it that we have kept his precepts, and that we have walked sorrowfully in the sight of the Lord of hosts?
15 Rather must we call the proud blessed; for indeed evildoers prosper, and even tempt God with impunity."	15 Therefore, we now call the arrogant blessed, as if those who work impiety have been built up, and as if they have tempted God and been saved.”
16 Then they who fear the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened attentively; And a record book was written before him of those who fear the LORD and trust in his name.	16 Then those who fear the Lord spoke, each one with his neighbor. And the Lord paid attention and heeded. And a book of remembrance was written in his sight, for those who fear the Lord and for those who consider his name.
17 And they shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, my own special possession, on the day I take action. And I will have compassion on them, as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.	17 And they will be my special possession, says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I act. And I will spare them, just as a man spares his son who serves him.
18 Then you will again see the distinction between the just and the wicked; Between him who serves God, and him who does not serve him.	18 And you shall be converted, and you will see the difference between the just and the impious, and between those who serve God and those who do not serve him.
19 For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, And the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of hosts.
20 But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays; And you will gambol like calves out of the stall
21 1)and tread down the wicked; They will become ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day I take action, says the LORD of hosts.
22 Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I enjoined him on Horeb, The statutes and ordinances for all Israel.
23 Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day,
24 To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the land with doom.