3:5 “I 1 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, 2 and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, 3 who refuse to help 4 the immigrant 5 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, 6 you, sons of Jacob, have not perished. 3:7 From the days of your ancestors you have ignored 7 my commandments 8 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 9 God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions! 10 3:9 You are bound for judgment 11 because you are robbing me – this whole nation is guilty. 12
3:10 “Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse 13 so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord who rules over all, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until there is no room for it all. 3:11 Then I will stop the plague 14 from ruining your crops, 15 and the vine will not lose its fruit before harvest,” says the Lord who rules over all. 3:12 “All nations will call you happy, for you indeed will live in 16 a delightful land,” says the Lord who rules over all.
3:13 “You have criticized me sharply,” 17 says the Lord, “but you ask, ‘How have we criticized you?’ 3:14 You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped 18 by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord who rules over all? 19 3:15 So now we consider the arrogant to be happy; indeed, those who practice evil are successful. 20 In fact, those who challenge 21 God escape!’”
3:16 Then those who respected 22 the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice. 23 A scroll 24 was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected the Lord and honored his name. 3:17 “They will belong to me,” says the Lord who rules over all, “in the day when I prepare my own special property. 25 I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 3:18 Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between 26 the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.
1 tn The first person pronoun (a reference to the
2 tn Heb “those who swear [oaths] falsely.” Cf. NIV “perjurers”; TEV “those who give false testimony”; NLT “liars.”
3 tn Heb “and against the oppressors of the worker for a wage, [the] widow and orphan.”
4 tn Heb “those who turn aside.”
5 tn Or “resident foreigner”; NIV “aliens”; NRSV “the alien.”
6 tn Heb “do not change.” This refers to God’s ongoing commitment to his covenant promises to Israel.
7 tn Heb “turned aside from.”
8 tn Or “statutes” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “decrees”; NLT “laws.”
9 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).
10 sn The tithes and contributions mentioned here are probably those used to sustain the Levites (see Num 18:8, 11, 19, 21-24).
11 tn Heb “cursed with a curse” that is, “under a curse” (so NIV, NLT, CEV).
12 tn The phrase “is guilty” is not present in the Hebrew text but is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
13 tn The Hebrew phrase בֵּית הָאוֹצָר (bet ha’otsar, here translated “storehouse”) refers to a kind of temple warehouse described more fully in Nehemiah (where the term לִשְׁכָּה גְדוֹלָה [lishkah gÿdolah, “great chamber”] is used) as a place for storing grain, frankincense, temple vessels, wine, and oil (Neh 13:5). Cf. TEV “to the Temple.”
14 tn Heb “the eater” (אֹכֵל, ’okhel), a general term for any kind of threat to crops and livelihood. This is understood as a reference to a locust plague by a number of English versions: NAB, NRSV “the locust”; NIV “pests”; NCV, TEV “insects.”
15 tn Heb “and I will rebuke for you the eater and it will not ruin for you the fruit of the ground.”
16 tn Heb “will be” (so NAB, NRSV); TEV “your land will be a good place to live in.”
17 tn Heb “your words are hard [or “strong”] against me”; cf. NIV “said harsh things against me”; TEV, NLT “said terrible things about me.”
18 tn Heb “What [is the] profit”; NIV “What did we gain.”
19 sn The people’s public display of self-effacing piety has gone unrewarded by the
20 tn Heb “built up” (so NASB); NIV, NRSV “prosper”; NLT “get rich.”
21 tn Or “test”; NRSV, CEV “put God to the test.”
22 tn Or “fear” (so NAB); NRSV “revered”; NCV “honored.”
23 tn Heb “heard and listened”; NAB “listened attentively.”
24 sn The scroll mentioned here is a “memory book” (סֵפֶר זִכָּרוֹן, sefer zikkaron) in which the
25 sn The Hebrew word סְגֻלָּה (sÿgullah, “special property”) is a technical term referring to all the recipients of God’s redemptive grace, especially Israel (Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18). The
26 tn Heb “you will see between.” Cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “see the difference.”