Chapter
1 2 3 4
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Malachi 3:4
ESV Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.
NIV and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
NASB Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old, and as in former years.
CSB And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as in days of old and years gone by.
NLT Then once more the Lord will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did in the past.
KJV Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

What does Malachi 3:4 mean?

In several places in Malachi, God indicates that He will no longer accept the offerings of Israel (Malachi 1:10; 2:13). In the case of the priests, this is because they are offering blemished animals (Malachi 1:8). In the case of the people, it is due to their rampant divorce, idolatry, and marrying of non-believers (Malachi 2:11, 14). God goes so far as to say that no worship at all is better than hypocritical, indifferent rituals (Malachi 1:10).

Verses 2 and 3 of this chapter explained that God's plan is to "refine" the priests of Israel. Refiners used fire to melt silver and gold; the heat would burn out the undesirable contaminants. In this way, God's judgment will "burn out" the impure and inappropriate from His people, and leave offerings truly worthy of Him. As verse 5 will show, however, this will not merely be limited to the priests, but will also "refine" all of Israel.

Malachi noted, earlier, that there was a time when Israel honored God correctly (Malachi 2:4–5). The problem with the current situation is not that God has broken His promise. In fact, He has changed nothing (Malachi 3:6). What has changed, for the worse, is the attitude of Israel.
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