Malachi 3-4
New King James Version
The Coming Messenger
3 “Behold, (A)I send My messenger,
And he will (B)prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
(C)Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, (D)He is coming,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
2 “But who can endure (E)the day of His coming?
And (F)who can stand when He appears?
For (G)He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
3 (H)He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And [a]purge them as gold and silver,
That they may (I)offer to the Lord
An offering in righteousness.
4 “Then (J)the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
Will be [b]pleasant to the Lord,
As in the days of old,
As in former years.
5 And I will come near you for judgment;
I will be a swift witness
Against sorcerers,
Against adulterers,
(K)Against perjurers,
Against those who (L)exploit wage earners and (M)widows and orphans,
And against those who turn away an alien—
Because they do not fear Me,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
6 “For I am the Lord, (N)I do not change;
(O)Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
7 Yet from the days of (P)your fathers
You have gone away from My ordinances
And have not kept them.
(Q)Return to Me, and I will return to you,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
(R)“But you said,
‘In what way shall we return?’
Do Not Rob God
8 “Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’
(S)In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 (T)Bring all the tithes into the (U)storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the (V)windows of heaven
And (W)pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 “And I will rebuke (X)the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the Lord of hosts;
12 “And all nations will call you blessed,
For you will be (Y)a delightful land,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
The People Complain Harshly
13 “Your(Z) words have been [c]harsh against Me,”
Says the Lord,
“Yet you say,
‘What have we spoken against You?’
14 (AA)You have said,
‘It is useless to serve God;
What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance,
And that we have walked as mourners
Before the Lord of hosts?
15 So now (AB)we call the proud blessed,
For those who do wickedness are [d]raised up;
They even (AC)tempt God and go free.’ ”
A Book of Remembrance
16 Then those (AD)who feared the Lord (AE)spoke to one another,
And the Lord listened and heard them;
So (AF)a book of remembrance was written before Him
For those who fear the Lord
And who [e]meditate on His name.
17 “They(AG) shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts,
“On the day that I make them My (AH)jewels.[f]
And (AI)I will spare them
As a man spares his own son who serves him.”
18 (AJ)Then you shall again discern
Between the righteous and the wicked,
Between one who serves God
And one who does not serve Him.
The Great Day of God
4 “For behold, (AK)the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all (AL)the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be (AM)stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“That will (AN)leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But to you who (AO)fear My name
The (AP)Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;
And you shall go out
And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
3 (AQ)You shall trample the wicked,
For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
On the day that I do this,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
4 “Remember the (AR)Law of Moses, My servant,
Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,
With (AS)the statutes and judgments.
5 Behold, I will send you (AT)Elijah the prophet
(AU)Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And (AV)he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and (AW)strike the earth with (AX)a curse.”
Footnotes
- Malachi 3:3 Or refine
- Malachi 3:4 pleasing
- Malachi 3:13 Lit. strong
- Malachi 3:15 Lit. built
- Malachi 3:16 Or esteem
- Malachi 3:17 Lit. special treasure
Psalm 148
New King James Version
Praise to the Lord from Creation
148 Praise[a] the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
2 Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all you stars of light!
4 Praise Him, (A)you heavens of heavens,
And (B)you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For (C)He commanded and they were created.
6 (D)He also established them forever and ever;
He made a decree which shall not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(E)You great sea creatures and all the depths;
8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9 (F)Mountains and all hills;
Fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and flying fowl;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and maidens;
Old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For His (G)name alone is exalted;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 And He (H)has exalted the [b]horn of His people,
The praise of (I)all His saints—
Of the children of Israel,
(J)A people near to Him.
[c]Praise the Lord!
Footnotes
- Psalm 148:1 Heb. Hallelujah
- Psalm 148:14 Strength or dominion
- Psalm 148:14 Heb. Hallelujah
Acts 5
New King James Version
Lying to the Holy Spirit
5 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 (A)But Peter said, “Ananias, why has (B)Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, (C)fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. 6 And the young men arose and (D)wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.
7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?”
She said, “Yes, for so much.”
9 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together (E)to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 (F)Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. 11 (G)So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.
Continuing Power in the Church
12 And (H)through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. (I)And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. 13 Yet (J)none of the rest dared join them, (K)but the people esteemed them highly. 14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, (L)that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. 16 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing (M)sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
Imprisoned Apostles Freed
17 (N)Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with [a]indignation, 18 (O)and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. 19 But at night (P)an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people (Q)all the words of this life.”
21 And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. (R)But the high priest and those with him came and called the [b]council together, with all the [c]elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
Apostles on Trial Again
22 But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, 23 saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing [d]outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!” 24 Now when [e]the high priest, (S)the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. 25 So one came and told them, [f]saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”
26 Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, (T)for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. 27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, 28 saying, (U)“Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, (V)and intend to bring this Man’s (W)blood on us!”
29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: (X)“We ought to obey God rather than men. 30 (Y)The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by (Z)hanging on a tree. 31 (AA)Him God has exalted to His right hand to be (AB)Prince and (AC)Savior, (AD)to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And (AE)we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit (AF)whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
Gamaliel’s Advice
33 When they heard this, they were (AG)furious[g] and plotted to kill them. 34 Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named (AH)Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. 35 And he said to them: “Men of Israel, [h]take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. 36 For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, [i]joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. 37 After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. 38 And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; 39 (AI)but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found (AJ)to fight against God.”
40 And they agreed with him, and when they had (AK)called for the apostles (AL)and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 So they departed from the presence of the council, (AM)rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for [j]His name. 42 And daily (AN)in the temple, and in every house, (AO)they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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