本日經文提要(撒迦利亞書 11:1~瑪拉基書 4:6 )
 
 
 
亞11:1利巴嫩哪,開開你的門,任火燒滅你的香柏樹。
亞11:2松樹阿,應當哀號,因為香柏樹傾倒,佳美的樹毀壞,巴珊的橡樹阿,應當哀號,因為茂盛的樹林已經倒了。
亞11:3聽阿,有牧人哀號的聲音,因他們榮華的草場毀壞了。有少壯獅子咆哮的聲音,因約但河旁的叢林荒廢了。
亞11:4耶和華我的神如此說:你撒迦利亞要牧養這將宰的群羊。
亞11:5買他們的宰了他們,以自己為無罪,賣他們的說:耶和華是應當稱頌的,因我成為富足。牧養他們的,並不憐恤他們。
亞11:6耶和華說:我不再憐恤這地的居民,必將這民交給各人的鄰舍,和他們王的手中。他們必毀滅這地,我也不救這民脫離他們的手。
亞11:7於是我牧養這將宰的群羊,就是群中最困苦的羊。我拿著兩根杖,一根我稱為榮美,一根我稱為聯索,這樣,我牧養了群羊。
亞11:8一月之內,我除滅三個牧人,因為我的心厭煩他們,他們的心也憎嫌我。
亞11:9我就說:我不牧養你們,要死的,由他死,要喪亡的,由他喪亡,餘剩的,由他們彼此相食。
亞11:10我折斷那稱為榮美的杖,表明我廢棄與萬民所立的約。
亞11:11當日就廢棄了,這樣,那些仰望我的困苦羊,就知道所說的是耶和華的話。
亞11:12我對他們說:你們若以為美,就給我工價,不然,就罷了。於是他們給了三十塊錢作為我的工價。
亞11:13耶和華吩咐我說:要把眾人所估定美好的價值,丟給窯戶。我便將這三十塊錢,在耶和華的殿中,丟給窯戶了。
亞11:14我又折斷稱為聯索的那根杖,表明我廢棄猶大與以色列弟兄的情誼。
亞11:15耶和華又吩咐我說:你再取愚昧人所用的器具。
亞11:16因我要在這地興起一個牧人,他不看顧喪亡的,不尋找分散的,不醫治受傷的,也不牧養強壯的,卻要吃肥羊的肉,撕裂他的蹄子。
亞11:17無用的牧人丟棄羊群有禍了,刀必臨到他的膀臂,和右眼上,他的膀臂必全然枯乾,他的右眼也必昏暗失明。

亞12:1耶和華論以色列的默示。鋪張諸天,建立地基,造人裡面之靈的耶和華說。
亞12:2我必使耶路撒冷被圍困的時候,向四圍列國的民成為令人昏醉的杯,這默示也論到猶大。〔或作猶大也是如此〕
亞12:3那日,我必使耶路撒冷向聚集攻擊他的萬民,當作一塊重石頭,凡舉起的,必受重傷。
亞12:4耶和華說:到那日,我必使一切馬匹驚惶,使騎馬的顛狂,我必看顧猶大家,使列國的一切馬匹瞎眼。
亞12:5猶大的族長,必心裡說:耶路撒冷的居民,倚靠萬軍之耶和華他們的神,就作我們的能力。
亞12:6那日,我必使猶大的族長,如火盆在木柴中,又如火把在禾捆裡,他們必左右燒滅四圍列國的民,耶路撒冷人,必仍住本處,就是耶路撒冷。
亞12:7耶和華必先拯救猶大的帳棚,免得大衛家的榮耀,和耶路撒冷居民的榮耀,勝過猶大。
亞12:8那日,耶和華必保護耶路撒冷的居民,他們中間軟弱的,必如大衛,大衛的家必如神,如行在他們前面之耶和華的使者。
亞12:9那日,我必定意滅絕來攻擊耶路撒冷各國的民。
亞12:10我必將那施恩叫人懇求的靈,澆灌大衛家,和耶路撒冷的居民,他們必仰望我,〔或作他本節同〕就是他們所扎的,必為我悲哀,如喪獨生子,又為我愁苦,如喪長子。
亞12:11那日耶路撒冷必有大大的悲哀,如米吉多平原之哈達臨門的悲哀。
亞12:12境內,一家一家的,都必悲哀,大衛家,男的獨在一處,女的獨在一處,拿單家,男的獨在一處,女的獨在一處。
亞12:13利未家,男的獨在一處,女的獨在一處,示每家,男的獨在一處,女的獨在一處。
亞12:14其餘的各家,男的獨在一處,女的獨在一處。

亞13:1那日必給大衛家和耶路撒冷的居民,開一個泉源,洗除罪惡與污穢。
亞13:2萬軍之耶和華說:那日我必從地上除滅偶像的名,不再被人記念,也必使這地不再有假先知與污穢的靈。
亞13:3若再有人說豫言,生他的父母必對他說:你不得存活,因為你託耶和華的名說假豫言,生他的父母,在他說豫言的時候,要將他刺透。
亞13:4那日凡作先知說豫言的,必因他所論的異象羞愧,不再穿毛衣哄騙人。
亞13:5他必說:我不是先知,我是耕地的,我從幼年作人的奴僕。
亞13:6必有人問他說:你兩臂中間是甚麼傷呢,他必回答說:這是我在親友家中所受的傷。
亞13:7萬軍之耶和華說:刀劍哪,應當興起,攻擊我的牧人,和我的同伴,擊打牧人,羊就分散,我必反手加在微小者的身上。
亞13:8耶和華說:這全地的人,三分之二,必剪除而死,三分之一仍必存留。
亞13:9我要使這三分之一經火,熬煉他們,如熬煉銀子,試煉他們,如試煉金子,他們必求告我的名,我必應允他們,我要說:這是我的子民,他們也要說:耶和華是我們的神。

亞14:1耶和華的日子臨近,你的財物必被搶掠,在你中間分散。
亞14:2因為我必聚集萬國與耶路撒冷爭戰,城必被攻取,房屋被搶奪,婦女被玷污,城中的民一半被擄去,剩下的民,仍在城中,不致剪除。
亞14:3那時,耶和華必出去與那些國爭戰,好像從前爭戰一樣。
亞14:4那日,他的腳必站在耶路撒冷前面朝東的橄欖山上,這山必從中間分裂,自東至西,成為極大的谷,山的一半向北挪移,一半向南挪移。
亞14:5你們要從我山的谷中逃跑,因為山谷必延到亞薩,你們逃跑,必如猶大王烏西雅年間的人逃避大地震一樣,耶和華我的神必降臨,有一切聖者同來。
亞14:6那日,必沒有光,三光必退縮。
亞14:7那日,必是耶和華所知道的,不是白晝,也不是黑夜,到了晚上才有光明。
亞14:8那日,必有活水從耶路撒冷出來,一半往東海流,一半往西海流,冬夏都是如此。
亞14:9耶和華必作全地的王,那日耶和華必為獨一無二的,他的名也是獨一無二的。
亞14:10全地,從迦巴直到耶路撒冷南方的臨門,要變為亞拉巴,耶路撒冷必仍居高位,就是從便雅憫門到第一門之處,又到角門,並從哈楠業樓,直到王的酒醡。
亞14:11人必住在其中,不再有咒詛,耶路撒冷人必安然居住。
亞14:12耶和華用災殃攻擊那與耶路撒冷爭戰的列國人,必是這樣,他們兩腳站立的時候,肉必消沒,眼在眶中乾癟,吞在口中潰爛。
亞14:13那日,耶和華必使他們大大擾亂,他們各人彼此揪住,舉手攻擊。
亞14:14猶大也必在耶路撒冷爭戰,那時四圍各國的財物,就是許多金銀衣服,必被收聚。
亞14:15那臨到馬匹,騾子,駱駝,驢,和營中一切牲畜的災殃是與那災殃一般。
亞14:16所有來攻擊耶路撒冷列國中剩下的人,必年年上來敬拜大君王萬軍之耶和華,並守住棚節。
亞14:17地上萬族中,凡不上耶路撒冷敬拜大君王萬軍之耶和華的,必無雨降在他們的地上。
亞14:18埃及族若不上來,雨也不降在他們的地上,凡不上來守住棚節的列國人,耶和華也必用這災攻擊他們。
亞14:19這就是埃及的刑罰,和那不上來守住棚節之列國的刑罰。
亞14:20當那日,馬的鈴鐺上,必有歸耶和華為聖的這句話,耶和華殿內的鍋必如祭壇前的碗一樣。
亞14:21凡耶路撒冷和猶大的鍋,都必歸萬軍之耶和華為聖,凡獻祭的,都必來取這鍋,煮肉在其中。當那日,在萬軍之耶和華的殿中必不再有迦南人。

瑪1:1耶和華藉瑪拉基傳給以色列的默示。
瑪1:2耶和華說:我曾愛你們,你們卻說:你在何事上愛我們呢,耶和華說:以掃不是雅各的哥哥麼,我卻愛雅各,
瑪1:3惡以掃,使他的山嶺荒涼,把他的地業交給曠野的野狗。
瑪1:4以東人說:我們現在雖被毀壞,卻要重建荒廢之處,萬軍之耶和華如此說:任他們建造,我必拆毀,人必稱他們的地,為罪惡之境,稱他們的民,為耶和華永遠惱怒之民。
瑪1:5你們必親眼看見,也必說:願耶和華在以色列境界之外,被尊為大。
瑪1:6藐視我名的祭司阿,萬軍之耶和華對你們說:兒子尊敬父親,僕人敬畏主人,我既為父親,尊敬我的在那裡呢,我既為主人,敬畏我的在那裡呢。你們卻說:我們在何事上藐視你的名呢。
瑪1:7你們將污穢的食物獻在我的壇上,且說:我們在何事上污穢你呢,因你們說:耶和華的桌子,是可藐視的。
瑪1:8你們將瞎眼的獻為祭物,這不為惡麼,將瘸腿的有病的獻上,這不為惡麼,你獻給你的省長,他豈喜悅你,豈能看你的情面麼,這是萬軍之耶和華說的。
瑪1:9現在我勸你們懇求神,他好施恩與我們。這妄獻的事,既由你們經手,他豈能看你們的情面麼。這是萬軍之耶和華說的。
瑪1:10甚願你們中間有一人關上殿門,免得你們徒然在我壇上燒火。萬軍之耶和華說:我不喜悅你們,也不從你們手中收納供物。
瑪1:11萬軍之耶和華說:從日出之地到日落之處,我的名在外邦中必尊為大,在各處,人必奉我的名燒香,獻潔淨的供物,因為我的名在外邦中必尊為大。
瑪1:12你們卻褻瀆我的名,說:耶和華的桌子是污穢的,其上的食物是可藐視的。
瑪1:13你們又說:這些事何等煩瑣,並嗤之以鼻,這是萬軍之耶和華說的。你們把搶奪的,瘸腿的,有病的,拿來獻上為祭,我豈能從你們手中收納呢,這是耶和華說的。
瑪1:14行詭詐的在群中有公羊,他許願卻用有殘疾的獻給主,這人是可咒詛的,因為我是大君王,我的名在外邦中
是可畏的,這是萬軍之耶和華說的。

瑪2:1眾祭司阿,這誡命是傳給你們的。
瑪2:2萬軍之耶和華說:你們若不聽從,也不放在心上,將榮耀歸與我的名,我就使咒詛臨到你們,使你們的福分變為咒詛,因你們不把誡命放在心上,我已經咒詛你們了。
瑪2:3我必斥責你們的種子,又把你們犧牲的糞,抹在你們的臉上,你們要與糞一同除掉。
瑪2:4你們就知道我傳這誡命給你們,使我與利未〔或作利未人〕所立的約,可以常存,這是萬軍之耶和華說的。
瑪2:5我曾與他立生命和平安的約,我將這兩樣賜給他,使他存敬畏的心,他就敬畏我,懼怕我的名。
瑪2:6真實的律法在他口中,他嘴裡沒有不義的話,他以平安和正直與我同行,使多人回頭離開罪孽。
瑪2:7祭司的嘴裡當存知識,人也當由他口中尋求律法,因為他是萬軍之耶和華的使者。
瑪2:8你們卻偏離正道,使許多人在律法上跌倒,你們廢棄我與利未所立的約,這是萬軍之耶和華說的。
瑪2:9所以我使你們被眾人藐視,看為下賤,因你們不守我的道,竟在律法上瞻徇情面。
瑪2:10我們豈不都是一位父麼,豈不是一位神所造的麼,我們各人怎麼以詭詐待弟兄,背棄了神與我們列祖所立的約呢。
瑪2:11猶大人行事詭詐,並且在以色列和耶路撒冷中,行一件可憎的事,因為猶大人褻瀆耶和華所喜愛的聖潔,〔或作聖地〕娶事奉外邦神的女子為妻。
瑪2:12凡行這事的,無論何人,〔何人原文作叫醒的答應的〕,就是獻供物給萬軍之耶和華,耶和華也必從雅各的帳棚中剪除他。
瑪2:13你們又行了一件這樣的事,使前妻歎息哭泣的眼淚,遮蓋耶和華的壇,以致耶和華不再看顧那供物,也不樂意從你們手中收納。
瑪2:14你們還說:這是為甚麼呢,因耶和華在你和你幼年所娶的妻中間作見證,他雖是你的配偶,又是你盟約的妻,你卻以詭詐待他。
瑪2:15雖然神有靈的餘力能造多人,他不是單造一人麼,為何只造一人呢,乃是他願人得虔誠的後裔。所以當謹守你們的心,誰也不可以詭詐待幼年所娶的妻。
瑪2:16耶和華以色列的神說:休妻的事,和以強暴待妻的人,都是我所恨惡的,所以當謹守你們的心,不可行詭詐,這是萬軍之耶和華說的。
瑪2:17你們用言語煩瑣耶和華,你們還說:我們在何事上煩瑣他呢,因為你們說:凡行惡的,耶和華眼看為善,並且他喜悅他們,或說:公義的神在那裡呢。

瑪3:1萬軍之耶和華說:我要差遣我的使者,在我前面豫備道路,你們所尋求的主,必忽然進入他的殿,立約的使者,就是你們所仰慕的,快要來到。
瑪3:2他來的日子,誰能當得起呢,他顯現的時候,誰能立得住呢,因為他如煉金之人的火,如漂布之人的鹼。
瑪3:3他必坐下如煉淨銀子的,必潔淨利未人,熬煉他們像金銀一樣,他們就憑公義獻供物給耶和華。
瑪3:4那時,猶大和耶路撒冷所獻的供物,必蒙耶和華悅納,彷彿古時之日,上古之年。
瑪3:5萬軍之耶和華說:我必臨近你們,施行審判,我必速速作見證,警戒行邪術的,犯姦淫的,起假誓的,虧負人之工價的,欺壓寡婦孤兒的,屈枉寄居的,和不敬畏我的。
瑪3:6因我耶和華是不改變的,所以你們雅各之子沒有滅亡。
瑪3:7萬軍之耶和華說:從你們列祖的日子以來,你們常常偏離我的典章,而不遵守。現在你們要轉向我,我就轉向你們,你們卻問說:我們如何才是轉向呢。
瑪3:8人豈可奪取神之物呢,你們竟奪取我的供物,你們卻說:我們在何事上奪取你的供物呢,就是你們在當納的十分之一,和當獻的供物上。
瑪3:9因你們通國的人,都奪取我的供物,咒詛就臨到你們身上。
瑪3:10萬軍之耶和華說:你們要將當納的十分之一,全然送入倉庫,使我家有糧,以此試試我,是否為你們敞開天上的窗戶,傾福與你們,甚至無處可容。
瑪3:11萬軍之耶和華說:我必為你們斥責蝗蟲〔蝗蟲原文作吞噬者〕不容他毀壞你們的土產,你們田間的葡萄樹在未熟之先,也不掉果子。
瑪3:12萬軍之耶和華說:萬國必稱你們為有福的,因你們的地必成為喜樂之地。
瑪3:13耶和華說:你們用話頂撞我,你們還說:我們用甚麼話頂撞了你呢。
瑪3:14你們說:事奉神是徒然的,遵守神所吩咐的,在萬軍之耶和華面前苦苦齋戒,有甚麼益處呢。
瑪3:15如今我們稱狂傲的人為有福,並且行惡的人得建立,他們雖然試探神,卻得脫離災難。
瑪3:16那時,敬畏耶和華的彼此談論,耶和華側耳而聽,且有紀念冊在他面前,記錄那敬畏耶和華思念他名的人。
瑪3:17萬軍之耶和華說:在我所定的日子,他們必屬我,特特歸我,我必憐恤他們,如同人憐恤服事自己的兒子。
瑪3:18那時你們必歸回,將善人和惡人,事奉神的和不事奉神的,分別出來。

瑪4:1萬軍之耶和華說:那日臨近,勢如燒著的火爐,凡狂傲的和行惡的,必如碎秸,在那日必被燒盡,根本枝條一無存留。
瑪4:2但向你們敬畏我名的人,必有公義的日頭出現,其光線有醫治之能。〔光線原文作翅膀〕你們必出來跳躍如圈裡的肥犢。
瑪4:3你們必踐踏惡人,在我所定的日子,他們必如灰塵在你們腳掌之下,這是萬軍之耶和華說的。
瑪4:4你們當記念我僕人摩西的律法,就是我在何烈山為以色列眾人所吩咐他的律例典章。
瑪4:5看哪,耶和華大而可畏之日未到以前,我必差遣先知以利亞到你們那裡去。
瑪4:6他必使父親的心轉向兒女,兒女的心轉向父親,免得我來咒詛遍地。
 

 SEP 19 ,2016-The Journey of Grace (262 /365) Zec 11:1~Mal 4:6
 
 
 
Zechariah 11 

11 Open your doors, Lebanon,
    so that fire may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
    the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan;
    the dense forest has been cut down!
3 Listen to the wail of the shepherds;
    their rich pastures are destroyed!
Listen to the roar of the lions;
    the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined!
Two Shepherds
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter. 5 Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” declares the Lord. “I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbors and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.”

7 So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds.

The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them 9 and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.”

10 Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.

12 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.

14 Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.

15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.

17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd,
    who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm and his right eye!
    May his arm be completely withered,
    his right eye totally blinded!”
 
Zechariah 12 

Jerusalem’s Enemies to Be Destroyed
12 A prophecy: The word of the Lord concerning Israel.

The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: 2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. 4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.’

6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.

7 “The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.

Mourning for the One They Pierced
10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit[a] of grace and supplication. They will look on[b] me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.
 
 
Zechariah 13 

Cleansing From Sin
13 “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

2 “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. 3 And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.

4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. 5 Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.[a]’ 6 If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body[b]?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered
7 “Awake, sword, against my shepherd,
    against the man who is close to me!”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered,
    and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
    “two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
    yet one-third will be left in it.
9 This third I will put into the fire;
    I will refine them like silver
    and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
    and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
 
Zechariah 14 

The Lord Comes and Reigns
14 A day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.

2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake[a] in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

6 On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness. 7 It will be a unique day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.

8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.

9 The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.

10 The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up high from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place. 11 It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.

12 This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought 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 On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another. 14 Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. 15 A similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

16 Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 17 If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain. 18 If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord[b] will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.

20 On that day holy to the Lord will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite[c] in the house of the Lord Almighty.
 
 
Malachi 1 

1 A prophecy: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.[a]

Israel Doubts God’s Love
2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord.

“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

4 Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.”

But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord. 5 You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great is the Lord—even beyond the borders of Israel!’

Breaking Covenant Through Blemished Sacrifices
6 “A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty.

“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.

“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’

7 “By offering defiled food on my altar.

“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’

“By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. 8 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.

9 “Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the Lord Almighty.

10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. 11 My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty.

12 “But you profane it by saying, ‘The Lord’s table is defiled,’ and, ‘Its food is contemptible.’ 13 And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the Lord Almighty.

“When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the Lord. 14 “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.
 
Malachi 2 

Additional Warning to the Priests
2 “And now, you priests, this warning is for you. 2 If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.

3 “Because of you I will rebuke your descendants[a]; I will smear on your faces the dung from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. 4 And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi may continue,” says the Lord Almighty. 5 “My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.

7 “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth. 8 But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the Lord Almighty. 9 “So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”

Breaking Covenant Through Divorce
10 Do we not all have one Father[b]? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?

11 Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god. 12 As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob[c]—even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty.

13 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 14 You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.

15 Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.[d] So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.

16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”[e] says the Lord Almighty.

So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.

Breaking Covenant Through Injustice
17 You have wearied the Lord with your words.

“How have we wearied him?” you ask.

By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?”
 
Malachi 3 

3 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.

5 “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.

Breaking Covenant by Withholding Tithes
6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.

“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

Israel Speaks Arrogantly Against God
13 “You have spoken arrogantly against me,” says the Lord.

“Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?’

14 “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.’”

The Faithful Remnant
16 Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.

17 “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.
 
 
Malachi 4

Judgment and Covenant Renewal
4 [a]“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. 3 Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.

4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
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