3:2 Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, 4 like a launderer’s soap. 3:3 He will act like a refiner and purifier of silver and will cleanse the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will offer the Lord a proper offering. 3:4 The offerings 5 of Judah and Jerusalem 6 will be pleasing to the Lord as in former times and years past.
3:5 “I 7 will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, 8 and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, 9 who refuse to help 10 the immigrant 11 and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.
3:6 “Since, I, the Lord, do not go back on my promises, 12 you, sons of Jacob, have not perished. 3:7 From the days of your ancestors you have ignored 13 my commandments 14 and have not kept them! Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord who rules over all. “But you say, ‘How should we return?’ 3:8 Can a person rob 15 God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions! 16
1 tn In Hebrew the phrase “my messenger” is מַלְאָכִי (mal’akhi), the same form as the prophet’s name (see note on the name “Malachi” in 1:1). However, here the messenger appears to be an eschatological figure who is about to appear, as the following context suggests. According to 4:5, this messenger is “Elijah the prophet,” whom the NT identifies as John the Baptist (Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2) because he came in the “spirit and power” of Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:11-12; Lk 1:17).
2 tn Here the Hebrew term הָאָדוֹן (ha’adon) is used, not יְהוָה (yÿhvah, typically rendered
3 sn This messenger of the covenant may be equated with my messenger (that is, Elijah) mentioned earlier in the verse, or with the Lord himself. In either case the messenger functions as an enforcer of the covenant. Note the following verses, which depict purifying judgment on a people that has violated the Lord’s covenant.
4 sn The refiner’s fire was used to purify metal and refine it by melting it and allowing the dross, which floated to the top, to be scooped off.
7 tn Or “gift.”
8 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
10 tn The first person pronoun (a reference to the
11 tn Heb “those who swear [oaths] falsely.” Cf. NIV “perjurers”; TEV “those who give false testimony”; NLT “liars.”
12 tn Heb “and against the oppressors of the worker for a wage, [the] widow and orphan.”
13 tn Heb “those who turn aside.”
14 tn Or “resident foreigner”; NIV “aliens”; NRSV “the alien.”
13 tn Heb “do not change.” This refers to God’s ongoing commitment to his covenant promises to Israel.
16 tn Heb “turned aside from.”
17 tn Or “statutes” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “decrees”; NLT “laws.”
19 tc The LXX presupposes an underlying Hebrew text of עָקַב (’aqav, “deceive”), a metathesis of קָבַע (qava’, “rob”), in all four uses of the verb here (vv. 8-9). The intent probably is to soften the impact of “robbing” God, but the language of the passage is intentionally bold and there is no reason to go against the reading of the MT (which is followed here by most English versions).
20 sn The tithes and contributions mentioned here are probably those used to sustain the Levites (see Num 18:8, 11, 19, 21-24).