13 ⁱ“On that day there shall be ^ja fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

Idolatry Cut Off

2 “And ⁱon that day, declares the Lord of hosts, ^kI will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that ^lthey shall be remembered no more. And also ^mI will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ⁿ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.

4 “On that day ^oevery prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ^p‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’¹ 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’² he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck

The Coming Day of the Lord

14 Behold, ^xa day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For ^yI will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and ^zthe city shall be taken ^aand the houses plundered ^band the women raped. ^cHalf of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 ^dThen the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 ^eOn that day his feet shall stand ^fon ^gthe Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and ^gthe Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by ^ha very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from ⁱthe earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.¹

6 ^eOn that day ^jthere shall be ^jno light, cold, or frost.² 7 ^kAnd there shall be a unique³ day, ^lwhich is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but ^mat evening time there shall be light.

8 ^eOn that day ⁿliving waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to ^othe eastern sea⁴ and half of them to ^othe western sea.^{5 p}It shall continue in summer as in winter.

9 And ^qthe Lord will be king over all the earth. ^rOn that day the Lord will be ^sone and ^this name one.

10 ^uThe whole land shall be turned into a plain from ^vGeba to ^wRimmon south of Jerusalem. But ^xJerusalem shall remain aloft ^yon its site from ^zthe Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to ^athe Corner Gate, and from ^bthe Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for ^cthere shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.^{6 d}Jerusalem shall dwell in security.

12 And this shall be ^ethe plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

13 And ^fon that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that ^geach will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even ^hJudah will fight at Jerusalem.⁷ And ⁱthe wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And ^ja plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.

16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem ^kshall go up year after year to worship ^lthe King, the Lord of hosts, and ^mto keep ⁿthe Feast of Booths. 17 And if ^oany of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship ^lthe King, the Lord of hosts, ^pthere will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;⁸ there shall be ^jthe plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up ^mto keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up ^mto keep the Feast of Booths.

20 And ^qon that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, ^r“Holy to the Lord.” And the pots in the house of the Lord shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be ^rholy to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And ^sthere shall no longer be ^ta trader⁹ in the house of the Lord of hosts ^qon that day.

Malachi

1 The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.¹

The Lord’s Love for Israel

2 ^a“I have loved you,” says the Lord. ^bBut you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau ^cJacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet ^dI have loved Jacob 3 but Esau I have hated. ^eI have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” 4 If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’” 5 ^fYour own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!”

The Priests’ Polluted Offerings

6 ^g“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am ^ha father, where is my honor? And if I am ⁱa master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. ^bBut you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ 7 ^jBy offering polluted food upon my altar. ^bBut you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that ^kthe Lord’s table may be despised. 8 ^lWhen you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. 9 And now ^mentreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, ⁿwill he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts. 10 ^oOh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, ^pand I will not accept an offering from your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name ^qwill be² great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name ^qwill be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. 12 But you profane it when you say that ^rthe Lord’s table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. 13 But you say, ^s‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. ^tYou bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord. 14 Cursed be the cheat who has ^ua male in his flock, and ^vvows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For ^wI am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name ^xwill be feared among the nations.

The Lord Rebukes the Priests

2 “And now, ^yO priests, ^zthis command is for you. 2 ^aIf you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send ^bthe curse upon you and I will curse ^cyour blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. 3 Behold, ^dI will rebuke your offspring,¹ and ^espread dung on your faces, the ^fdung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.² 4 So shall you know that I have sent ^gthis command to you, that ^hmy covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. 5 My covenant with him was one of life and ⁱpeace, and I gave them to him. ^jIt was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. 6 ^kTrue instruction³ was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he ^lturned many from iniquity. 7 For ^mthe lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people⁴ should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 8 But you have turned aside from the way. ⁿYou have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted ^othe covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, 9 and so ^pI make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but ^qshow partiality in your instruction.”

Judah Profaned the Covenant

10 Have we not all ^rone Father? Has not ^sone God created us? Why then are we ^tfaithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has been ^tfaithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For ^uJudah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant⁵ of the man who does this, who ^vbrings an offering to the Lord of hosts!

13 And this second thing you do. ^wYou cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 ^xBut you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord ^ywas witness between you and the wife of your youth, ^zto whom ^tyou have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 ^aDid he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union?⁶ And what was the one God⁷ seeking?^{8 b}Godly offspring. So guard yourselves⁹ in your spirit, and let none of you be ^tfaithless to the wife of your youth. 16 “For ^cthe man who does not love his wife but divorces her,¹⁰ says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers¹¹ his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and ^tdo not be faithless.”

The Messenger of the Lord

17 ^dYou have wearied the Lord with your words. ^xBut you say, “How have we wearied him?” ^eBy saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, ^f“Where is the God of justice?”

3 ^g“Behold, I send ^hmy messenger, and ⁱhe will prepare the way before me. And the Lord ^jwhom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and ^kthe messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But ^lwho can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For ^mhe is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit ⁿas a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring ^oofferings in righteousness to the Lord.¹ 4 ^pThen the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be ^qa swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those ^rwho oppress the hired worker in his wages, ^sthe widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Robbing God

6 “For ^tI the Lord do not change; ^utherefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 ^vFrom the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. ^wReturn to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. ^xBut you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. ^xBut you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ ^yIn your tithes and contributions. 9 ^zYou are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 ^aBring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby ^bput me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open ^cthe windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke ^dthe devourer² for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then ^eall nations will call you blessed, for you will be ^fa land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

13 ^g“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. ^hBut you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ⁱ‘It is vain to serve God. ^jWhat is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we call ^kthe arrogant blessed. ^kEvildoers not only prosper but ^lthey put God to the test and they escape.’”

The Book of Remembrance

16 Then those who feared the Lord ^mspoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and ⁿa book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, ^oin the day when I make up ^pmy treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall ^qsee the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.