= Malachi 3 * Please see [[nsv:license|License]] for Copyright notice and Licensing information. * [ [[Malachi_2|Previous]] | [[Malachi_4|Next]] ] == Malachi 3 1 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. 2 But 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: 3 And 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. 4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. 5 And 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. 6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. 7 Even 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? 8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring 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. 11 And 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. 12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts. 13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? 14 Ye 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? 15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. 16 Then 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. 17 And 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. 18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. == Notes == Cross Reference == Commentary == Rashi Verse 1 Behold I send My angel to put the wicked away. and he will clear a way of the wicked. the Lord Whom you seek The God of justice. and the angel of the covenant who avenges the revenge of the covenant. Verse 2 Now who can abide This is synonymous with; וּמִי יָכִיל and who will stand Will be able to stand. and like fullers’ soap Like soap used by the fullers, which removes the entire stain. So will he remove all the wickedness. and like soap It is an herb which removes stains, erbe savonijere in Old French, probably soapwort. The word בֹּרִית signifies a thing that cleans and purifies, as in (Ps. 73:1), “to the pure of heart.” Verse 3 And he shall sit refining He will free himself from all his affairs to be like a refiner, who refines and purifies silver. Verse 4 Verse 5 Verse 6 For I, the Lord, have not changed Although I keep back My anger for a long time, My mind has not changed from the way it was originally, to love evil and to hate good. and you, the sons of Jacob Although you die in your evil, and I have not requited the wicked in their lifetime you have not reached the end You are not finished from before Me, for I have left over the souls to be requited in Gehinnom. And so did Jonathan render. And you of the House of Jacob, who think that whoever dies in this world, his verdict has already ended, that is to say, you think that My verdict has been nullified, that he will no longer be punished. Our Sages (Sotah 9a), however, explained it: לֹא שָׁנִיתִי - I did not strike a nation and repeat a blow to it; but as for you, I have kept you up after much punishment, and My arrows are ended, but you are not ended. Verse 7 Verse 8 Will a man rob Our Sages explained this as an expression of robbery, and it is an Aramaism. With tithes and with the terumah levy The tithes and the terumah - levy that you steal from the priests and the Levites is tantamount to robbing Me. Verse 9 You are cursed with a curse because of this iniquity, for which I send a curse into the work of your hands; but nevertheless, you rob Me. Verse 10 so that there may be nourishment in My House There shall be food accessible for My servants. Verse 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake The finishing locusts and the shearing locusts, which devour the grain of your field and your vines. Verse 12 a desirable land A land that I desire. Verse 13 Verse 14 “It is futile to serve God” We worship Him for nothing, for we will receive no reward. in anxious worry with low spirits. Verse 15 And now we praise the bold transgressors, etc. We worshipped Him and kept His charge, but now we see that the wicked are prospering - to the extent that we praise them for the wicked deeds. Yea, they tempt God, saying, “Let us see what He will be able to do to us.” and they have, nevertheless, escaped harm, and they have not stumbled. Verse 16 Then the God-fearing men spoke, etc. I retort upon your words then, when the wicked commit evil and the good go about in anxious worry because of Me. The God-fearing men spoke to one another not to adopt their evil deeds; and, as for Me, their words are not forgotten to Me. And although I do not hasten to visit retribution, I have hearkened and heard, and I have commanded that a book of remembrance be written for them. Their words shall be preserved for Me. Verse 17 for that day when I make a treasure that I have stored and put away, with which to pay My reward. There I will show you what the difference is between a righteous man and a wicked man. a treasure a treasure; estouj, estui in Old French.