Malachi 3
Messenger of the Covenant
1 “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come into His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom you desire. Behold, He is coming,” says the Lord Almighty.†
2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can withstand His appearance? For He enters like a refiner’s fire and as soap in one’s wash.†
3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver and gold. He will purify the sons of Levi and pour them out as purified gold and silver, and they will bring an offering to the Lord in righteousness.
4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old, as in former years.
5 “And I will draw near to you in judgment, a swift witness against sorcerers, adulterers, those who swear falsely by My name, those who exploit wage-earners, those who oppress widows and afflict orphans, those who pervert the justice due foreigners, and those who do not fear Me,” says the Lord Almighty.†
6 “For I am the Lord your God; I have not changed. But you, O sons of Jacob, have not abstained†
7 from the sins of your fathers. You have turned away from My ordinances and have not kept them.
Tithing Brings God’s Blessing
“Return to Me and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you say, ‘In what way shall we return?’
8 Will a man insult God? Yet you have insulted Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we insulted You?’ You kept back your tithes and offerings.†
9 You most certainly turned your back on Me, you and the whole nation, and you insulted Me.
10 You brought all the produce into the storehouses—but it will be plundered in its house. Return now in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not open for you the floodgates of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it is overflowing.
11 And I shall send it to you for food and I will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor will the vine in the field fail to bear fruit,” says the Lord Almighty.
12 “And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.
13 “You spoke harsh words against Me,” says the Lord, “yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’†
14 You have said, ‘One who serves God is foolish; what profit have we from keeping His ordinances, and why do we go as suppliants before the face of the Lord Almighty?
15 And now we call foreigners blessed, and those doing lawless deeds are raised up—they even oppose God and go free.’”
16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke these things each to his neighbor, and the Lord listened and heard them, and He wrote a book of remembrance before His face for those who feared the Lord and reverenced His name.†
17 “They shall be mine,” says the Lord Almighty, “in the day that I make them My possession, and I will choose them as a man chooses his own son who serves him.
18 Then you shall return, and you will discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
The Day of the Lord
19 “For behold, the day of the Lord is coming, burning like an oven. And it will burn them up, and it shall be that all foreigners and all who do wickedly will be stubble; and the day that is coming shall burn them up,” says the Lord Almighty, “and neither root nor branch will be left of them.†
20 But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings, and you shall go forth leaping as little calves released from their bonds.†
21 You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under your feet on the day I do this,” says the Lord Almighty.
22 “Behold, I will send you Elijah before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.†
23 And he will turn the heart of the father to his son, and a man’s heart to his neighbor, lest I come and strike the earth completely.
24 Be in remembrance of the Law of Moses My servant as I commanded him, with its statutes and judgments, at Horeb for all Israel.Ӡ
Psalms 58
1 For the End; corrupt not; by David; for a pillar inscription, when Saul sent and watched his house, that he might kill him. †
2 Rescue me from my enemies, O God, And redeem me from those who rise up against me.
3 Deliver me from the workers of lawlessness And save me from men of blood.
4 For behold, they hunt for my soul; Mighty men set upon me. Neither is it for my lawlessness, nor for my sin, O Lord;
5 I run without lawlessness, and keep a straight path; Rise up and meet me, and see.
6 And You, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, Give heed, and examine all the Gentiles; Do not be merciful to all who work lawlessness. (Pause)
7 They shall return at evening, And hunger like dogs; and they shall encircle the city.
8 Behold, they shall speak with their mouth, And a sword is in their lips; for they say, “Who hears?”
9 But You, O Lord, shall laugh at them; You shall hold all the nations in contempt.
10 O my strength, I shall keep watch with You, For You are my protector, O God.
11 As for my God, His mercy shall go before me; God will show it to me among my enemies.
12 Do not kill them, lest they forget my people; Scatter them by Your power, And bring them down, O Lord my protector.
13 For the sin of their mouth, for the word of their lips, Let them also be taken in their arrogance; And from their vow of evil and lie, their end will be proclaimed
14 In a wrath of destruction, and let them be no more; And they shall know God is Jacob’s Lord, And the Lord of the ends of the earth.
15 They shall return at evening, and hunger like dogs; And they shall encircle the city.
16 They shall be scattered to and fro so as to eat, But if they are not satisfied, they shall also grumble.
17 But I will sing of Your power, And greatly rejoice in Your mercy in the morning; For You are my protector, And my refuge in the day of my affliction.
18 You are my helper; I will sing to You; For You, O God, are my protector; You are my mercy, O my God.
Proverbs of Solomon 12
6 The words of the ungodly are deceitful, But the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
7 If he does not turn, an ungodly man is destroyed, But the houses of the righteous remain.
8 The mouth of a man of understanding is praised by a man, But the slothful of heart are treated with contempt.†
9 It is better for a man in dishonor to serve himself Than for him to surround himself with honor while in need of bread.
10 A righteous man has compassion on the lives of his cattle, But the affections of the ungodly are without mercy.†
1 Corinthians 14
Order in Worship
26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.
27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.
28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.
29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.
30 But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent.
31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.
32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
34 Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says.†
35 And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.
36 Or did the word of God come originally from you? Or was it you only that it reached?
37 If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.†
38 But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.
39 Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.
40 Let all things be done decently and in order.