1 Lo! I shall send mine angel, and he shall make ready the way before my face; and anon the Lord, whom ye seek, shall come to his holy temple, and the angel of the testament, whom ye will or desire. Lo! he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts;

2 and who shall be able to think the day of his coming? and who shall stand to see him? For he shall be as fire welling together, and as the herb of fullers, either tuckers;

3 and he shall sit welling together and cleansing silver, and he shall purge the sons of Levi; and he shall purge them as gold and as silver, and they shall be offering to the Lord sacrifices in rightwiseness.

4 And the sacrifice of Judah and of Jerusalem shall please the Lord, as the days of the world, and as old years.

5 And I shall come to you in doom, and I shall be a swift witness to mis-doers, either enchanters of devil’s craft, and to adulterers, and to forsworn men, and that falsely challenge the hire of an hired man, and widows, and fatherless children, and oppress a pilgrim, and dreaded not me, saith the Lord of hosts.

6 Forsooth I am the Lord, and I am not changed; and ye sons of Jacob be not wasted.

7 Forsooth from the days of your fathers ye went away from my lawful things, and kept not; turn ye again to me, and I shall again turn to you, saith the Lord of hosts. And ye said, In what thing shall we turn again?

8 If a man shall torment God, for ye tormented me. And ye said, In what thing tormented we thee? In tithes and in first fruits;

9 and ye be cursed in neediness, and all ye folk deceived me, and tormented.

10 Bring ye each tithe into my barn, that meat be in mine house, and prove ye me on this thing, saith the Lord, if I shall not open to you the gutters of heaven, and shall shed out to you blessing, till to abundance.

11 And I shall blame for you that that devoureth, and he shall not destroy the fruit of your land; neither barren vine shall be in the field, saith the Lord of hosts,

12 and all folks shall say you blessed; for ye shall be a desirable land, saith the Lord of hosts.

13 Your words waxed strong on me, saith the Lord; and ye said, What have we spoken against thee?

14 And ye said, He is vain, that serveth God; and what winning for we kept his behests, and for we went sorrowful before the Lord of hosts?

15 Therefore now we say proud men [be] blessed; for they be builded doing wickedness, and they tempted God, and be made safe.

16 Then men dreading God spake, each with his neighbour; and the Lord perceived, and heard, and a book of mind or remembrance is written before him, to them that dreaded God, and thought on his name.

17 And they shall be to me, saith the Lord of hosts, in the day in which I shall make, into a special treasure; and I shall spare them, as a man spareth his son serving to him.

18 And ye shall be turned again, and ye shall see, what is betwixt the just man and the unpious, betwixt the serving to the Lord, and not serving to him.