| New King James Version | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1“Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the LORD of hosts. | 1"See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in--see, he is coming," says the LORD of Armies. |
| 2“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap. | 2But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire and like launderer's bleach. |
| 3He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness. | 3He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. |
| 4“Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem Will be pleasant to the LORD, As in the days of old, As in former years. | 4And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD as in days of old and years gone by. |
| 5And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien— Because they do not fear Me,” Says the LORD of hosts. | 5"I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless; and against those who deny justice to the resident alien. They do not fear me," says the LORD of Armies. |
| 6“For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. | 6"Because I, the LORD, have not changed, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed. |
| 7Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the LORD of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’ | 7"Since the days of your fathers, you have turned from my statutes; you have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of Armies. Yet you ask, "How can we return?" |
| 8“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. | 8"Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me!" "How do we rob you?" you ask. "By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions. |
| 9You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. | 9You are suffering under a curse, yet you--the whole nation--are still robbing me. |
| 10Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. | 10Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way," says the LORD of Armies. "See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure. |
| 11“And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the LORD of hosts; | 11I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit," says the LORD of Armies. |
| 12“And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the LORD of hosts. | 12"Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land," says the LORD of Armies. |
| 13“Your words have been harsh against Me,” Says the LORD, “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ | 13"Your words against me are harsh," says the LORD. Yet you ask, "What have we spoken against you?" |
| 14You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God; What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, And that we have walked as mourners Before the LORD of hosts? | 14You have said: "It is useless to serve God. What have we gained by keeping his requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Armies? |
| 15So now we call the proud blessed, For those who do wickedness are raised up; They even tempt God and go free.’ ” | 15So now we consider the arrogant to be fortunate. Not only do those who commit wickedness prosper, they even test God and escape." |
| 16Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And who meditate on His name. | 16At that time those who feared the LORD spoke to one another. The LORD took notice and listened. So a book of remembrance was written before him for those who feared the LORD and had high regard for his name. |
| 17“They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him.” | 17"They will be mine," says the LORD of Armies, "my own possession on the day I am preparing. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. |
| 18Then you shall again discern Between the righteous and the wicked, Between one who serves God And one who does not serve Him. | 18So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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