1
"Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the Lord of hosts.
2
"But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire And like launderer's soap.
3
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the Lord An offering in righteousness.
4
"Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem Will be pleasant to the Lord, As in the days of old, As in former years.
5
And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien-- Because they do not fear Me," Says the Lord of hosts.
6
"For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
7
Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," Says the Lord of hosts. "But you said, 'In what way shall we return?'
8
"Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings.
9
You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.