Malachi 3

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

1God says: Look, I will send my messenger. He will get the road ready before me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to his temple. He is the messenger of the promise, the one you say you are glad about. Look, he is coming, says the LORD, the God who leads heaven's armies.

2But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:

2But who can stand the day he comes? Who can keep standing when he shows up? He is like a fire so hot it melts metal clean. He is like strong soap that scrubs cloth white.

Note"Fullers' soap" was the strong soap workers used to scrub wool cloth clean.

3And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

3He will sit down like a worker who melts silver to make it pure. He will make the sons of Levi clean, like gold and silver. The family of Levi were the priests, the men who served God at the temple. Then they will bring gifts to the LORD in the right way.

4Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

4Then the gifts from Judah and Jerusalem will make the LORD glad. They will be like the gifts people brought long ago.

5And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

5God says: I will come close to you to judge you. I will speak against wrongdoers right away, with no waiting. I will speak against people who do magic. I will speak against people who break their marriage promise. I will speak against people who lie after promising to tell the truth. I will speak against people who cheat workers out of their pay. I will speak against people who hurt widows and children with no father. I will speak against people who are unfair to visitors from other lands. All of them refuse to respect me, says the LORD of heaven's armies.

6For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

6I am the LORD, and I never change. That is why you children of Jacob have not been wiped out.

7Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

7All the way back from your grandfathers' days, you have turned away from my rules. You have not kept them. Come back to me, and I will come back to you, says the LORD of heaven's armies. But you ask, "How are we supposed to come back?"

8Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

8Would anyone steal from God? But you have stolen from me. You ask, "How did we steal from you?" You kept back your tithes and your gifts.

NoteA tithe means one tenth. People gave God one tenth of the food they grew or the money they earned.

9Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

9A curse is on you, because you have stolen from me. Your whole nation has done it.

10Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

10Bring the whole tenth into the storehouse. Then there will be food in my house. Test me and see, says the LORD of heaven's armies. See if I do not open the windows of the sky for you. I will pour out so much good that you will not have room for it all.

11And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

11I will stop the bugs that eat your crops, to help you. They will not ruin the food growing in your ground. Your grapevines will keep their fruit until it is ripe, says the LORD of heaven's armies.

NoteThe KJV word is "devourer," which means "the eater." It most likely means locusts or other insects that ate up crops.

12And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

12Then people in every nation will say you are blessed. Your land will be a happy, pleasant place, says the LORD of heaven's armies.

13Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?

13You have said hard things against me, says the LORD. Yet you ask, "What have we said against you?"

14Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?

14You have said, "Serving God is a waste of time. We kept his rules. We walked around sad and sorry to show we were sorry. What did we get for it?"

15And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

15"Now we say the proud people are the lucky ones. People who do evil things end up doing well. People who test God get away with it."

16Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

16Then the people who respected the LORD talked with each other often. The LORD listened, and he heard them. A book of remembering was written down for him. It listed the people who respected the LORD and thought about his name.

17And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

17They will be mine, says the LORD of heaven's armies. On that day I will gather them like a treasure I keep safe. I will go easy on them, the way a father goes easy on a son who helps him.

18Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

18Then you will see the difference again between good people and bad people. You will see who serves God and who does not.