1Look! I am sending my messenger, ²¹and he will prepare the way for me. The Lord you are seeking ²²will suddenly arrive at his Temple. The messenger of the agreement you say is so happy with you ²³is coming, says the Lord Almighty.

2Who can survive the day when he comes? Who can stand before him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing furnace that refines metal, or like the strong alkali that cleanses stains.

3He will sit down like a refiner who purifies silver; he will purify Levi's descendants and refine them like gold and silver so they can present pure offerings to the Lord.

4Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as they did in the old days, in the former years.

5I will come and put you on trial. I am ready to be a witness against those who: practice witchcraft commit adultery tell lies give false evidence cheat employees oppress widows and orphans abuse foreigners and do not respect me, says the Lord Almighty.

6For I am the Lord, I don't change, and you haven't stopped being descendants of Jacob. ²⁴

7From the time of your forefathers onward, you have turned away from my laws and not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty. But you ask, “How should we return?” ²⁵

8Should people defraud God? Yet you are defrauding me! ²⁶But you ask, “How have we defrauded you?” In tithes and offerings.

9You are under a curse, for you and the whole nation are defrauding me.

10Bring the full tithe into the storehouse so that there will be food in my Temple. Put me to the test in this, says the Lord Almighty, and I will open the windows of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you won't have enough room for it.

11I will prevent locusts ²⁷from destroying your crops, and your vineyards will not fail to bear fruit, says the Lord Almighty.

12All nations will call you blessed because you live in such a wonderful land, says the Lord Almighty.

13You have said hard things about me, says the Lord. But you say, “What have we said against you?”

14You have said, “What's the point of serving God? What benefit is there in keeping his commandments or going before the Lord Almighty with long faces? ²⁸

15From now on we'll say that the proud are blessed. Evil people do well, and nothing happens when they dare God to punish them.”

16Then those who truly respected the Lord spoke to each other, and the Lord heard what they said. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence of those who respected the Lord and paid attention to him. ²⁹

17They shall be mine, says the Lord Almighty, my prized possession on the day when I take action. I will treat them kindly, as a father treats an obedient son.

18Then you will once again be able to distinguish those who do right from those who do wrong, between those who serve him and those who don't.