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

1Behold me sending my messenger, and he looked upon the way before my face: and suddenly Jehovah whom ye seek shall come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in: behold him coming, said Jehovah of armies. 2And who enduring the day of his coming? and who standing in his being seen? for he is as the fire of the crucible, as the alkali of the fuller. 3And he sat melting and cleansing silver: and he cleansed the sons of Levi, and he purified them as gold and as silver, and they were to Jehovah bringing near the sacrifice in justice. 4And the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem was pleasant to Jehovah, as the days of old and as the former years.

5And I came near to you for judgment: and I was a swift witness against those practicing magic, and against those committing adultery, and against those swearing to falsehood, and against those oppressing the hire of the hireling, the widow and the orphan, and those turning aside the stranger, and they feared not me, said Jehovah of armies.

Robbing God

6For I am Jehovah, I changed not; and ye the sons of Jacob were not finished.

7For from the days of your fathers ye departed from my laws, and ye watched not. Turn back to me and I will turn back to you, said Jehovah of armies. And ye said, In what shall we turn back?

8Will man defraud God? For ye defraud me. And ye said, In what did we defraud thee? The tenths and the offerings. 9Ye are cursed with a curse: and ye defrauded me, the nation all of it. 10Bring ye all the tenths to the house of treasure, and food shall be in my house, and try me now in this, said Jehovah of armies, if I will not open to you the lattices of the heavens, and empty out to you a blessing, even is it not a sufficiency. 11And I rebuked upon the eater for you, and he shall not corrupt for you the fruit of the earth; and the vine in the field shall not be barren to you, says Jehovah of armies. 12And all nations pronounced you happy, for ye shall be a land of delight, said Jehovah of armies.

The Book of Remembrance

13Your words were strong against me, said Jehovah. And ye said, What did we speak against thee? 14Ye said, Vanity to serve God: and what profit that we watched his watches, and that we went mourning from the face of Jehovah of armies? 15And now we pronounce the proud happy; also they working injustice were built up; also they tried Jehovah and they will be delivered.

16Then they fearing Jehovah spake each to his neighbor, and Jehovah will attend and will hear, and write a book of remembrance before him for those fearing Jehovah, and for thinking upon his name. 17And they were to me, said Jehovah of armies, for the day which I make wealth; and I spared for them as a man will spare for the son serving him. 18And ye turned back and saw between the just to the unjust, and between him serving God and to him serving him not.