I Will Send My Messenger
(Matthew 11:7–19; Luke 7:24–35)

1“Behold, I am sending My messenger, and he will prepare the way before My face.† And suddenly he will come to His temple—the Lord whom you⁺ are seeking, the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you⁺ delight. Behold, He is coming,” says YHWH of Hosts.

2And who will be enduring the day of His coming? And who will be standing during His appearing? For He is like the fire of a refiner, and like the soap of those laundering.

3And He will sit as One refining and purifying silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi, and He will refine them like gold and silver, and they will be unto YHWH ones bringing forward an offering in righteousness.

4And the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to YHWH, as in the days of old, and as in years former.

5“And I will come near to you⁺ for the judgment, and I will be a witness making haste against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against those swearing to a lie, and against those oppressing the wage of the hireling, the widow and the fatherless, and against those stretching away a sojourner, and not they do fear me,” says YHWH of Hosts.

Robbing God

6“For I, YHWH, do not change; and you⁺, sons of Jacob, have not been consumed. 7From the days of your⁺ fathers, you⁺ have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you⁺,” says YHWH of Hosts.

“And you⁺ say, ‘In what way can we return?’

8Will a man rob God? Yet you⁺ have robbed Me.

And you⁺ say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’

In the tithe and the contribution. 9With a curse you⁺ are cursed, and you⁺ are robbing Me—the nation—all of it. 10Bring all the tithe into the house of treasure, that there may be food in My house. And test Me now in this,” says YHWH of Hosts, “If I will not open for you⁺ the windows of the heavens and pour out for you⁺ blessing until there is no space! 11And I will rebuke for you⁺ the devourer,† and it will not destroy for you⁺ the fruit of the ground, and the vine in the field will not be barren for you⁺,” says YHWH of Hosts.

12“And all the nations will call you⁺ blessed, for you⁺ will be a land of delight,” says YHWH of Hosts.

The Book of Remembrance

13“Your⁺ words have been strong against Me,” says YHWH. “And you⁺ say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’

14You⁺ have said, ‘To serve God is futile! What gain is that we have kept His charge, that we have walked as mourners before the face of YHWH of Hosts? 15And now we call blessed the arrogant. Also are raised up those doing wickedness; they even test God and escape.’”

16Then those who feared YHWH spoke, each man with his neighbor. And YHWH listened and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those fearing YHWH, and for those esteeming His name.

17“And they will be unto Me,” says YHWH of Hosts, “On the day when I am making a treasured possession; and I will have compassion on them, as when a man has compassion on his son, the one serving him. 18And you⁺ will return and see between the righteous one the wicked one, between the one serving God and between the one who does not serve Him.”