Bible Verses

Cursed are you who cheat me! Cursed is the entire nation!

Can a man deceive God? Yet, you cheat me and ask: “How did we cheat you?” I point out your sacred offerings and the tenth, which is due to me.

Since the day of your ancestors, you have strayed from my ordinances and do not follow them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you ask: “Why do we have to return?”

Tithes and Harvests I, the Lord, have not changed in anything; just as you, children of Jacob, are always the same.

When I come near to you to do justice, I will demand immediate punishment of sorcerers and adulterers, of those who swear falsely, oppress the wage earner, the widow, and the orphan, and fail to respect the rights of the foreigner. They do all this and have no fear of me, says the Lord.

And the Lord will accept the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem with pleasure, as in past days.

He will be as a refiner and a purifier. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them, like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have priests who will present the offerings as they should be.

Who can endure the day of his coming and remain standing when he appears? For he will be like fire in the furnace and like the fuller’s lye.

Now I am sending my messenger ahead of me to clear the way; then, suddenly, the Lord, for whom you long, will enter the sanctuary. The envoy of the covenant, which you greatly desire, is already coming, says the Lord of hosts.

Judgment of Purification You irritate the Lord with your speeches, and you dare say: “How did we irritate him?” You irritate Him whenever you say that the Lord favors those who do evil and allows everything to go smoothly for them; or when you ask: “Where is the God who does justice?”