Malachi 3

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 'Look, I shal send my messenger to clear a way before me. And suddenly the Lord whom you seek wilcome to his Temple; yes, the angel of the covenant, for whom you long, is on his way, says Yahweh Sabaoth.	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 Who will be able to resist the day of his coming? Who wil remain standing when he appears? For hewil be like a refiner's fire, like ful ers' alkali.	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 wil take his seat as refiner and purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold andsilver, so that they can make the offering to Yahweh with uprightness.	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 The offering of Judah and Jerusalem wil then be acceptable to Yahweh as in former days, as in theyears of old.	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 am coming to put you on trial and I shal be a ready witness against sorcerers, adulterers, perjurers,and against those who oppress the wage-earner, the widow and the orphan, and who rob the foreigner of hisrights and do not respect me, says Yahweh Sabaoth.	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 'No; I, Yahweh, do not change; and you have not ceased to be children of Jacob!	6 For I am the Lord, and I do not change. And you, the sons of Jacob, have not been consumed.
7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have evaded my statutes and not observed them. Return tome and I will return to you, says Yahweh Sabaoth. You ask, "How are we to return?	7 For, from the days of your fathers, you have withdrawn from my ordinances and have not kept them.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 Can a human being cheat God?" Yet you try to cheat me! You ask, "How do we try to cheat you?" Overtithes and contributions.	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 A curse lies on you because you, this whole nation, try to cheat me.	9 And you have been cursed with privation, and you greatly afflict me, even your entire people.
10 Bring the tithes in ful to the treasury, so that there is food in my house; put me to the test now like this,says Yahweh Sabaoth, and see if I do not open the floodgates of heaven for you and pour out an abundantblessing for you.	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 sakes, I shal forbid the locust to destroy the produce of your soil or prevent the vine frombearing fruit in your field, says Yahweh Sabaoth,	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 and all the nations wil cal you blessed, for you wil be a land of delights, says Yahweh Sabaoth.	12 And all nations will call you blessed. For you will be a desirable land, says the Lord of hosts.
13 'You have said harsh things about me, says Yahweh. And yet you say, "What have we said againstyou?"	13 Your words have gathered strength over me, says the Lord.
14 You have said, "It is useless to serve God; what is the good of keeping his commands or of walkingmournful y before Yahweh Sabaoth?	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 In fact, we now cal the proud the happy ones; the evil-doers are the ones who prosper; they put Godto the test, yet come to no harm!" '	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 those who feared Yahweh talked to one another about this, and Yahweh took note and listened;and a book of remembrance was written in his presence recording those who feared him and kept his name inmind.	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 'On the day when I act, says Yahweh Sabaoth, they will be my most prized possession, and I shalspare them in the way a man spares the 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 once again you wil see the difference between the upright person and the wicked one, betweenthe one who serves God and the one 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 look, the Day is coming, glowing like a furnace. Al the proud and al the evil-doers wil be thestubble, and the Day, when it comes, wil set them ablaze, says Yahweh Sabaoth, leaving them neither root norbranch.
20 But for you who fear my name, the Sun of justice wil rise with healing in his rays, and you wil comeout leaping like calves from the stal ,
21 and trample on the wicked, who will be like ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,says Yahweh Sabaoth.
22 'Remember the Law of my servant Moses to whom at Horeb I prescribed decrees and rulings for alIsrael.
23 'Look, I shal send you the prophet Elijah before the great and awesome Day of Yahweh comes.
24 He will reconcile parents to their children and children to their parents, to forestal my putting thecountry under the curse of destruction.'