I Will Send My Messenger (Matthew 11:7–19; Luke 7:24–35)
1 ULT “Behold me, sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way to my face. Then suddenly he will come to his temple, the Lord whom you{ are} seeking. And the messenger of the covenant, whom you{ are} desiring, behold,{ he is} coming,” says Yahweh of Armies. BSB BSB: “Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts. 2 ULT “But who{ will be} enduring the day of his coming? And who{ will be} the one standing in his appearing? For he{ will be} like the fire of a refiner and like the soap of launderers. BSB BSB: But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
3 ULT And he will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and like silver. And they will be to Yahweh bringers of an offering in righteousness. BSB BSB: And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.
4 ULT Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Yahweh, as{ in} the days of old and as{ in} former years. BSB BSB: Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old and years gone by.
5 ULT And I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the ones swearing to a lie, and against the ones oppressing the wage of the hired worker, the widow, and the orphan, and the ones turning aside the foreigner, and they do not fear me,” says Yahweh of Armies. BSB BSB: “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Robbing God 6 ULT “For I, Yahweh, do not change, so you, sons of Jacob, have not come to an end. BSB BSB: “Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
7 ULT From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept{ them}. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of Armies.“But you say,‘In what shall we return?’ BSB BSB: Yet from the days of your fathers, you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts. “But you ask, ‘How can we return?’
8 ULT Will a human rob God? Yet you{ are} robbing me. But you say,‘In what have we robbed you?’{ In} the tithe and the contribution. BSB BSB: Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings.
9 ULT With a curse you{ are} cursed, for you{ are} robbing me, the nation, all of it. BSB BSB: You are cursed with a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me.
10 ULT Bring all of the tithe to the house of treasure, and let there be food in my house. And test me now in this,” says Yahweh of Armies,“if I will not open for you the windows of the heavens and pour out for you a blessing until there is no sufficiency. BSB BSB: Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.
11 ULT And I will rebuke the devourer for you, and it will not corrupt for you the fruit of the ground. And the vine in the field will not be barren for you,” says Yahweh of Armies. BSB BSB: I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts.
12 ULT “And all of the nations will bless you, for you will be a land of delight,” says Yahweh of Armies. BSB BSB: “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts.
The Book of Remembrance 13 ULT “Your words have been strong against me,” says Yahweh.“But you say,‘What have we spoken{ among ourselves} against you?’ BSB BSB: “Your words against Me have been harsh,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against You?’
14 ULT You have said,‘Serving God{ is} worthless. And what profit, that we have kept his charge and that we have walked mournfully to the face of Yahweh of Armies? BSB BSB: You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?
15 ULT So now we ourselves{ are} blessing the arrogant. Even doers of wickedness are built up; they even test God and escape.’” BSB BSB: So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only do evildoers prosper, they even test God and escape.’”
16 ULT Then the ones fearing Yahweh spoke{ among themselves}, a man with his neighbor. And Yahweh paid attention and heard. And a book of remembrance was written to his face for the ones fearing Yahweh and for the ones esteeming his name. BSB BSB: At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD and honored His name.
17 ULT “And they will be to me,” says Yahweh of Armies,“a special possession on the day that I{ am} preparing. And I will have compassion on them just as a man has compassion on his son, the one serving him. BSB BSB: “They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.
18 ULT And you will return and see between the righteous and to the wicked, between the one serving God and to{ one} who does not serve him. BSB BSB: So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”