Malachi 2-3 - LSB - Legacy Standard Bible

Malachi 2-3

I Will Curse Your Blessings

“And now this commandment is for you, O priests. 2 If you do ^anot listen, and if you do not set it upon your heart to give ¹honor to My name,” says Yahweh of hosts, “then I will send the ^bcurse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have ^ccursed them already because you are not setting it upon your heart. 3 Behold, I am going to ^arebuke your seed, and I will ^bspread ¹refuse on your faces, the ¹refuse of your ^cfeasts; and you will be taken away ²with it. 4 Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, ¹that My ^acovenant may ²continue with Levi,” says Yahweh of hosts. 5 “My covenant with him was one of life and ^apeace, and I gave them to him as something to be ¹feared; so he ^bfeared Me and stood in ²awe of My name. 6 ¹^aInstruction of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked ^bwith Me in peace and uprightness, and he ^cturned many back from iniquity. 7 For the lips of a priest should keep ^aknowledge, and ¹men should ^bseek ²instruction from his mouth; for he is the ^cmessenger of Yahweh of hosts. 8 But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to ^astumble ¹by the instruction; you have ²^bcorrupted the covenant of Levi,” says Yahweh of hosts. 9 “So ^aI also have made you despised and ^blow ¹before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing ^cpartiality in the ²instruction.

Judah Profaned Yahweh’s Sanctuary

10 “Do we not all have ^aone father? ^bHas not one God created us? Why do we deal ^ctreacherously each against his brother so as to profane the ^dcovenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has dealt ^atreacherously, and an abomination has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has ^bprofaned the sanctuary of Yahweh ¹which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 As for the man who does this, may ^aYahweh cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers or who ^bpresents ¹an offering to Yahweh of hosts.
13 “And this is a second thing you do: you cover the altar of Yahweh with tears, with weeping, and with groaning because He ^ano longer regards the ¹offering or receives it as acceptable from your hand. 14 But you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because Yahweh has been a witness between you and the ^awife of your youth, against whom you have dealt ^btreacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 ¹But not one has ^adone so, even one who has a remnant of the Spirit. And ²what did that one do while he was seeking a ^bgodly seed? Be careful then to keep your spirit, and let no one deal ^ctreacherously against the wife of your youth. 16 For ¹I hate ²^adivorce,” says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “and ³him who covers his garment with ⁴^bwrong,” says Yahweh of hosts. “Be careful then to keep your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”
17 You have ^awearied Yahweh with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “^bEveryone who does evil is good in the sight of Yahweh, and He ^cdelights in them,” or, “^dWhere is the God of ^ejustice?”

The Messenger and the Lord

“^aBehold, I am going to send ^bMy ¹messenger, and he will ²^cprepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; ³and the ¹^dmessenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says Yahweh of hosts. 2 “But who can ^aendure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a ^bsmelter’s fire and like ¹fullers’ soap. 3 And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will ^apurify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may ^bpresent to Yahweh ¹offerings in righteousness. 4 Then the ¹offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be ^apleasing to Yahweh as in the ^bancient days and as in former years.
5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the ^asorcerers and against the ^badulterers and against those who ^cswear falsely and against those who oppress the ^dwage earner in his wages, the ^ewidow and the ¹orphan, and those who turn aside the ^fsojourner and do not ²fear Me,” says Yahweh of hosts. 6 “For ¹I, Yahweh, ^ado not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, ²are not consumed.

You Have Robbed God

7 “From the ^adays of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. ^bReturn to Me, and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’
8 “Will a man ¹rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In ^atithes and ²contributions. 9 You are ^acursed with a curse, for you are ¹robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10 ^aBring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be ¹food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says Yahweh of hosts, “if I will not ^bopen for you the windows of heaven and ^cempty out for you a blessing until ²^dit is beyond enough. 11 Then I will rebuke the ^adevourer for you so that it will not corrupt the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field ¹fail to bear,” says Yahweh of hosts. 12 “^aSo all the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a ^bdelightful land,” says Yahweh of hosts.

Arrogant Words

13 “Your words have been strong against Me,” says Yahweh. “But you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is ^aworthless to serve God; and what ^bgain is it that we have kept His charge and that we have walked in mourning before Yahweh of hosts? 15 So now we ^acall the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up, but they also test God and ^bescape.’”

The Book of Remembrance

16 Then those who ¹feared Yahweh spoke to one another, and Yahweh ^agave heed and heard it, and a ^bbook of remembrance was written before Him for those who ¹fear Yahweh and who think upon His name. 17 “And they will be ^aMine,” says Yahweh of hosts, “on the ^bday that I ¹prepare My ²^cown treasured possession, and I will ³spare them as a man ⁴^dspares his own son who serves him.” 18 So you will return and ^asee the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.