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1"Behold, I send 2my messenger, and 3he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord 4whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and 5the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
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But 6who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For 7he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap.
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He will sit 8as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring 9offerings in righteousness to the LORD.a
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10Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.
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"Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be 11a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those 12who oppress the hired worker in his wages, 13the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.
Robbing God
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16From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. 17Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. 18But you say, 'How shall we return?'
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Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. 19But you say, 'How have we robbed you?'20In your tithes and contributions.
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21You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.
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22Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby 23put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open 24the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
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I will rebuke 25the devourerb 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.
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Then 26all nations will call you blessed, for you will be 27a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts.
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28"Your words have been hard against me, says the LORD. 29But you say, 'How have we spoken against you?'
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You have said, 30'It is vain to serve God. 31What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts?
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And now we call 32the arrogant blessed. 33Evildoers not only prosper but 34they put God to the test and they escape.'"
The Book of Remembrance
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Then those who feared the LORD 35 spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and 36a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.
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"They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, 37in the day when I make up 38my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.
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Then once more you shall 39see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)