Israel Preferred to Edom “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How hast thou loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” says the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob
I have loved you, saith the Lord. And ye said, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob,
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, till they are called the wicked country, the people with whom the Lord is angry for ever.”
Because one will say, Idumea has been overthrown, but let us return and rebuild the desolate places; thus saith the Lord Almighty, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall be called The borders of wickedness, and, The people against whom the Lord has set himself for ever.
Corruption of the Priesthood “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. You say, ‘How have we despised thy name?’
A son honours his father, and a servant his master: if then I am a father, where is mine honour? and if I am a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord Almighty. Ye the priests are they that despise my name: yet ye said, Wherein have we despised thy name?
By offering polluted food upon my altar. And you say, ‘How have we polluted it?’ By thinking that the Lord’s table may be despised.
In that ye bring to mine altar polluted bread; and ye said, Wherein have ye polluted it? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted, and that which was set thereon ye have despised.
When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that no evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that no evil? Present that to your governor; will he be pleased with you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts.
For if ye bring a blind victim for sacrifices, is it not evil? and if ye bring the lame or the sick, is it not evil? offer it now to thy ruler, and see if he will receive thee, if he will accept thy person, saith the Lord Almighty.
‘And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us.’ With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts.
And now intreat the face of your God, and make supplication to him. These things have been done by your hands; shall I accept you? saith the Lord Almighty.
Oh, that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire upon my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.
Because even among you the doors shall be shut, and one will not kindle the fire of mine altar for nothing, I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord Almighty, and I will not accept a sacrifice at your hands.
For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.
For from the rising of the sun even to the going down thereof my name has been glorified among the Gentiles; and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering: for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord Almighty.
‘What a weariness this is,’ you say, and you sniff at me, says the Lord of hosts. You 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.
And ye said, These services are troublesome: therefore I have utterly rejected them with scorn, saith the Lord Almighty: and ye brought in torn victims, and lame, and sick: if then ye should bring an offering, shall I accept them at your hands? saith the Lord Almighty.
Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished; for I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is feared among the nations.
And cursed is the man who had the power, and possessed a male in his flock, and whose vow is upon him, and who sacrifices a corrupt thing to the Lord: for I am a great King, saith the Lord Almighty, and my name is glorious among the nations.
If you will not listen, if you will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; indeed I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.
If ye will not hearken, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, saith the Lord Almighty, then I will send forth the curse upon you, and I will bring a curse upon your blessing: yea, I will curse it, and I will scatter your blessing, and it shall not exist among you, because ye lay not this to heart.
True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.
The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked before me directing his way in peace, and he turned many from unrighteousness.
But you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts,
But ye have turned aside from the way, and caused many to fail in following the law: ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord Almighty.
The Covenant Profaned by Judah Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
Have ye not all one father? Did not one God create you? why have ye forsaken every man his brother, to profane the covenant of your fathers?
Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.
Juda has been forsaken, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Juda has profaned the holy things of the Lord, which he delighted in, and has gone after other gods.
May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob, for the man who does this, any to witness or answer, or to bring an offering to the Lord of hosts!
The Lord will utterly destroy the man that does these things, until he be even cast down from out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and from among them that offer sacrifice to the Lord Almighty.
And this again you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor at your hand.
And these things which I hated, ye did: ye covered with tears the altar of the Lord, and with weeping and groaning because of troubles: is it meet for me to have respect to your sacrifice, or to receive anything from your hands as welcome?
You ask, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord was witness to the covenant between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
Yet ye said, Wherefore? Because the Lord has borne witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, whom thou has forsaken, and yet she was thy partner, and the wife of thy covenant.
Has not the one God made and sustained for us the spirit of life? And what does he desire? Godly offspring. So take heed to yourselves, and let none be faithless to the wife of his youth.
And did he not do well? and there was the residue of his spirit. But ye said, What does God seek but a seed? But take ye heed to your spirit, and forsake not the wife of thy youth.
“For I hate divorce, says the Lord the God of Israel, and covering one’s garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So take heed to yourselves and do not be faithless.”
But if thou shouldest hate thy wife and put her away, saith the Lord God of Israel, then ungodliness shall cover thy thoughts, saith the Lord Almighty: therefore take ye heed to your spirit, and forsake them not,
You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Every one who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”
ye that have provoked God with your words. But ye said, Wherein have we provoked him? In that ye say, Every one that does evil is a pleasing object in the sight of the Lord, and he takes pleasure in such; and where is the God of justice?
The Coming Messenger “Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
Behold, I send forth my messenger, and he shall survey the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come into his temple, even the angel of the covenant, whom ye take pleasure in: behold, he is coming, saith the Lord Almighty.
But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? “For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap;
And who will abide the day of his coming? or who will withstand at his appearing? for he is coming in as the fire of a furnace and as the herb of fullers.
he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, till they present right offerings to the Lord.
He shall sit to melt and purify as it were silver, and as it were gold: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver, and they shall offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
And I will draw near to you in judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the witches, and against the adulteresses, and against them that swear falsely by my name, and against them that keep back the hireling’s wages, and them that oppress the widow, and afflict orphans, and that wrest the judgment of the stranger, and fear not me, saith the Lord Almighty.
Ⲁⲣⲉⲧⲉⲛⲣⲓⲕⲓ ⲉ̀ⲃⲟⲗ ⲛ̀ⲛⲁⲛⲟⲙⲟⲥ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲙ̀ⲡⲉⲧⲉⲛⲁⲣⲉϩ ⲉ̀ⲣⲱⲟⲩ ⲕⲉⲧ ⲑⲏⲛⲟⲩ ϩⲁⲣⲟⲓ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ϯⲛⲁⲕⲟⲧⲧ ϩⲁⲣⲱⲧⲉⲛ ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲡ⳪̅ ⲡⲓⲡⲁⲛⲧⲟⲕⲣⲁⲧⲱⲣ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲡⲉϫⲱⲧⲉⲛ ϫⲉ ϧⲉⲛ ⲟⲩ ⲧⲉⲛⲛⲁⲕⲟⲧⲧⲉⲛ ye have perverted my statutes, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, saith the Lord Almighty. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
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 the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’
but ye, the sons of Jacob, have not refrained from the iniquities of your fathers:
Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house; and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.
The year is completed, and ye have brought all the produce into the storehouses; but there shall be the plunder thereof in its house: return now on this behalf, saith the Lord Almighty, see if I will not open to you the torrents of heaven, and pour out my blessing upon you, until ye are satisfied.
I will rebuke the devourer 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.
And I will appoint food for you, and I will not destroy the fruit of your land; and your vine in the field shall not fail, saith the Lord Almighty.
Ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲡⲉϫⲱⲧⲉⲛ ϫⲉ ⲉⲧⲁⲛⲥⲁϫⲓ ⲛ̀ⲥⲱⲕ ϧⲉⲛ ⲟⲩ ⲁⲣⲉⲧⲉⲛϫⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩ ⲉ̀ⲫⲗⲏⲟⲩ ⲡⲉ ⲫⲏ ⲉⲧⲟⲓ ⲙ̀ⲃⲱⲕ ⲙ̀ⲫϯ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲟⲩ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲓϩⲟⲩⲟ ϫⲉ ⲁⲛ ⲁⲣⲉϩ ⲉ̀ⲛⲉϥϫⲓⲛⲁⲣⲉϩ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ϫⲉ ⲁⲛⲙⲟϣⲓ ⲉ̀ⲛⲧⲱⲃϩ ϧⲁϫⲉⲛ ⲡ⳪̅ ⲡⲓⲡⲁⲛⲧⲟⲕⲣⲁⲧⲱⲣ Yet ye said, Wherein have we spoken against thee?
You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the good of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?
Ye said, He that serves God labours in vain: and what have we gained in that we have kept his ordinances, and in that we have walked as suppliants before the face of the Lord Almighty?
The Reward of the Faithful Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another; the Lord heeded and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and thought on his name.
Thus spoke they that feared the Lord, every one to his neighbour:
Ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲁϥϯϩⲑⲏϥ ⲛ̀ϫⲉ ⲡ⳪̅ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲁϥⲥⲱⲧⲉⲙ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲁϥⲥϧⲁⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲩϫⲱⲙ ⲛ̀ⲉⲣⲫⲙⲉⲩⲓ ⲙ̀ⲡⲉⲙ̀ⲑⲟ ⲛ̀ⲛⲏ ⲉⲧⲉⲣϩⲟϯ ϧⲁⲧϩⲏ ⲙ̀ⲡ⳪̅ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲛⲏ ⲉⲧⲉⲣϩⲟϯ ϧⲁⲧϩⲏ ⲙ̀ⲡⲉϥⲣⲁⲛ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲉⲩⲉ̀ϣⲱⲡⲓ ⲛⲏⲓ ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲡ⳪̅ ⲡⲓⲡⲁⲛⲧⲟⲕⲣⲁⲧⲱⲣ ⲉ̀ⲡⲓⲉϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲉ̀ϯⲛⲁⲑⲁⲙⲓⲟϥ ⲁ̀ⲛⲟⲕ ⲉ̀ⲟⲩⲧⲁⲛϧⲟ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ϯⲛⲁⲥⲟⲧⲡⲟⲩ ⲙ̀ⲫⲣⲏϯ ⲛ̀ⲟⲩⲣⲱⲙⲓ ⲉ̀ϣⲁϥⲥⲱⲧⲡ ⲙ̀ⲡⲉϥϣⲏⲣⲓ ⲫⲏ ⲉⲧⲟⲓ ⲙ̀ⲃⲱⲕ ⲛⲁϥ and the Lord gave heed, and hearkened, and he wrote a book of remembrance before him for them that feared the Lord and reverenced his name.
“They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.
And they shall be mine, saith the Lord Almighty, in the day which I appoint for a peculiar possession; and I will make choice of them, as a man makes choice of his son that serves him.
The Great Day of the Lord “For behold, the day comes, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.
For, behold, a day comes burning as an oven, and it shall consume them; and all the aliens, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that is coming shall set them on fire, saith the Lord Almighty, and there shall not be left of them root or branch.
But for you who fear my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go forth leaping like calves from the stall.
But to you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, and healing shall be in his wings: and ye shall go forth, and bound as young calves let loose from bonds.