Study Desk

"^(a)Behold, I am going to send ^(b)My ^[a]messenger, and he will ^[b](c)clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; ^[c]and the ^[d](d)messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the Lord of hosts.

"But who can ^(e)endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a ^(f)refiner's fire and like ^[e]fullers' soap.

He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will ^(g)purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may ^(h)present to the Lord ^[f]offerings in righteousness.

Then the ^[g]offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be ⁽ⁱ⁾pleasing to the Lord as in the ^(j)days of old and as in former years.

"Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the ^(k)sorcerers and against the ^(l)adulterers and against those who ^(m)swear falsely, and against those who oppress the ⁽ⁿ⁾wage earner in his wages, the ^(o)widow and the ^[h]orphan, and those who turn aside the ^[i](p)alien and do not ^[j]fear Me," says the Lord of hosts.

"For ^[k]I, the Lord , ^(q)do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, ^[l]are not consumed.

"From the ^(r)days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. ^(s)Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the Lord of hosts. "But you say, ‘How shall we return?'

"Will a man ^[m]rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?' In ^(t)tithes and ^[n]offerings.

You are ^(u)cursed with a curse, for you are ^[o]robbing Me, the whole nation of you!

^(v)Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be ^[p]food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not ^(w)open for you the windows of heaven and ^(x)pour out for you a blessing until ^[q](y)it overflows.

Then I will rebuke the ^(z)devourer for you, so that it will not ^[r]destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes," says the Lord of hosts.

"^(aa)All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a ^(ab)delightful land," says the Lord of hosts.

"Your words have been ^[s]arrogant against Me," says the Lord . "Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?'

You have said, ‘It is ^(ac)vain to serve God; and what ^(ad)profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of hosts?

So now we ^(ae)call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up but they also test God and ^(af)escape.'"

Then those who ^[t]feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord ^(ag)gave attention and heard it, and a ^(ah)book of remembrance was written before Him for those who ^[u]fear the Lord and who esteem His name.

"They will be ^(ai)Mine," says the Lord of hosts, "on the ^(aj)day that I ^[v]prepare My ^[w](ak)own possession, and I will ^[x]spare them as a man ^[y](al)spares his own son who serves him."

So you will again ^(am)distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

"^[a]For behold, the day is coming, ^(a)burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be ^(b)chaff; and the day that is coming will ^(c)set them ablaze," says the Lord of hosts, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch."

"But for you who ^[b]fear My name, the ^(d)sun of righteousness will rise with ^(e)healing in its wings; and you will go forth and ^(f)skip about like calves from the stall.

You will ^(g)tread down the wicked, for they will be ^(h)ashes under the soles of your feet ⁽ⁱ⁾on the day ^[c]which I am preparing," says the Lord of hosts.

"^[d](j)Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.

"Behold, I am going to send you ^(k)Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord .

He will ^[e](l)restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and ^(m)smite the land with a ^[f]curse."