Malachi 3:9

3:9 You are bound for judgment ¹  because you are robbing me – this whole nation is guilty. ² 

Malachi 3:8

3:8 Can a person rob ³  God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions! ⁴ 

Malachi 3:12

3:12 “All nations will call you happy, for you indeed will live in ⁵  a delightful land,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Malachi 3:1

3:1 “I am about to send my messenger, ⁶  who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord ⁷  you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger ⁸  of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Malachi 3:3

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.

Malachi 4:1

4:1 (3:19) ⁹  “For indeed the day ¹⁰  is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant evildoers will be chaff. The coming day will burn them up,” says the Lord who rules over all. “It ¹¹  will not leave even a root or branch.

[3:9]  ¹ tn Heb “cursed with a curse” that is, “under a curse” (so NIV, NLT, CEV).

[3:9]  ² 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.

[3:8]  ³ 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).

[3:8]  ⁴ sn The tithes and contributions mentioned here are probably those used to sustain the Levites (see Num 18:8, 11, 19, 21-24).

[3:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “will be” (so NAB, NRSV); TEV “your land will be a good place to live in.”

[3:1]  ⁷ 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).

[3:1]  ⁸ tn Here the Hebrew term הָאָדוֹן (ha’adon) is used, not יְהוָה (yÿhvah, typically rendered Lord). Thus the focus is not on the Lord as the covenant God, but on his role as master.

[3:1]  ⁹ 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.

[4:1]  ⁹ sn Beginning with 4:1, the verse numbers through 4:6 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:1 ET = 3:19 HT, 4:2 ET = 3:20 HT, etc., through 4:6 ET = 3:24 HT. Thus the book of Malachi in the Hebrew Bible has only three chapters, with 24 verses in ch. 3.

[4:1]  ¹⁰ sn This day is the well-known “day of the Lord” so pervasive in OT eschatological texts (see Joel 2:30-31; Amos 5:18; Obad 15). For the believer it is a day of grace and salvation; for the sinner, a day of judgment and destruction.

[4:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “so that it” (so NASB, NRSV). For stylistic reasons a new sentence was begun here in the translation.