1 “Now this is ^zthe commandment—the statutes and the rules¹—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that ^ayou may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and ^bthat your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, ^cas the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

4 “Hear, O Israel: ^dThe Lord our God, the Lord is one.² 5 You ^eshall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And ^fthese words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 ^gYou shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 ^hYou shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 ⁱYou shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

10 “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities ^jthat you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 ^kthen take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 It is ^lthe Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and ^mby his name you shall swear. 14 You shall not ⁿgo after other gods, ^othe gods of the peoples who are around you— 15 for ^pthe Lord your God in your midst ^qis a jealous God—^rlest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.

16 ^s“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, ^tas you tested him at Massah. 17 You shall ^udiligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. 18 ^vAnd you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers 19 ^wby thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised.

20 ^x“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ^y‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 And ^zthe Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23 And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. 24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, ^ato fear the Lord our God, ^bfor our good always, that ^che might preserve us alive, as we are this day. 25 And ^dit will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’

1 ^g“Behold, I send ^hmy messenger, and ⁱhe will prepare the way before me. And the Lord ^jwhom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and ^kthe messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But ^lwho can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For ^mhe is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit ⁿas a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring ^oofferings in righteousness to the Lord.¹ 4 ^pThen the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be ^qa swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those ^rwho oppress the hired worker in his wages, ^sthe widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

6 “For ^tI the Lord do not change; ^utherefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 ^vFrom the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. ^wReturn to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. ^xBut you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. ^xBut you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ ^yIn your tithes and contributions. 9 ^zYou are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 ^aBring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby ^bput me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open ^cthe windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke ^dthe devourer² for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then ^eall nations will call you blessed, for you will be ^fa land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

13 ^g“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. ^hBut you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ⁱ‘It is vain to serve God. ^jWhat is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we call ^kthe arrogant blessed. ^kEvildoers not only prosper but ^lthey put God to the test and they escape.’”

16 Then those who feared the Lord ^mspoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and ⁿa book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, ^oin the day when I make up ^pmy treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall ^qsee the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.