Malachi 3:5
New International Version
“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.

New Living Translation
“At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

English Standard Version
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

Berean Standard Bible
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.

King James Bible
And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

New King James Version
And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien— Because they do not fear Me,” Says the LORD of hosts.

New American Standard Bible
“Then I will come near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, those who oppress the wage earner in his wages or the widow or the orphan, and those who turn away the stranger from justice and do not fear Me,” says the LORD of armies.

NASB 1995
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me,” says the LORD of hosts.

NASB 1977
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien, and do not fear Me,” says the LORD of hosts.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the sojourner and do not fear Me,” says Yahweh of hosts.

Amplified Bible
“Then I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, and against those who oppress the laborer in his wages and widows and the fatherless, and against those who turn away the alien [from his right], and those who do not fear Me [with awe-filled reverence],” says the LORD of hosts.

Christian Standard Bible
“I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless; and against those who deny justice to the resident alien. They do not fear me,” says the LORD of Armies.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the widow and the fatherless, and cheat the wage earner; and against those who deny justice to the foreigner. They do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts. “

American Standard Version
And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the sojourner from his right, and fear not me, saith Jehovah of hosts.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And I shall come near to you in judgment and I shall be a swift witness among the Sorcerers and among adulterers and among those who swear with lies and among those who withhold the payment of a hired man and of the settler and of the orphan and of the widow, and are turning against him who is converted to me, and are not in awe of me, says LORD JEHOVAH of Hosts

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And I will draw near to you in judgment; and I will be a sift witness against the witches, and against the adulteresses, and against them that swear falsely by my name, and against them that keep back the hireling's wages, and them that oppress the widow, and afflict orphans, and that wrest the judgment of the stranger, and fear not me, saith the Lord Almighty.

Contemporary English Version
The LORD All-Powerful said: I'm now on my way to judge you. And I will quickly condemn all who practice witchcraft or cheat in marriage or tell lies in court or rob workers of their pay or mistreat widows and orphans or steal the property of foreigners or refuse to respect me.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I will come to you in judgment, and will be a speedy witness against sorcerers, and adulterers, and false swearers, and them that oppress the hireling in his wages; the widows, and the fatherless: and oppress the stranger, and have not feared me, saith the Lord of hosts.

English Revised Version
And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers; and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"I will come to judge you. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers, lying witnesses, and those who cheat workers out of their wages and oppress widows and orphans. I will also testify against those who deprive foreigners of their rights. None of them fear me," says the LORD of Armies.

Good News Translation
The LORD Almighty says, "I will appear among you to judge, and I will testify at once against those who practice magic, against adulterers, against those who give false testimony, those who cheat employees out of their wages, and those who take advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners--against all who do not respect me.

International Standard Version
"I'll come near to you for judgment. I'll be a witness, quick to speak against sorcerers, against adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who defraud the laborer of his wage, against those who defraud the widow and the orphan, against those who deprive the alien of justice, and against those who don't fear me," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And I will come near to you to judgment; And I will be a swift witness Against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, And against false swearers; And against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, The widow, and the fatherless, And that turn aside the stranger from his right, And fear not Me, Saith the LORD of hosts.

Literal Standard Version
And I have drawn near to you for judgment, | And I have been a witness, | Making haste against sorcerers, and against adulterers, | And against swearers to a falsehood, | And against oppressors of the hire of a hired worker, | Of a widow, and of a fatherless one, | And those turning aside a sojourner, | And who do not fear Me,” said YHWH of Hosts.

Majority Standard Bible
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.

New American Bible
I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be swift to bear witness Against sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers, those who deprive a laborer of wages, Oppress a widow or an orphan, or turn aside a resident alien, without fearing me, says the LORD of hosts.

NET Bible
"I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, who refuse to help the immigrant and in this way show they do not fear me," says the LORD who rules over all.

New Revised Standard Version
Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

New Heart English Bible
I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and do not fear me," says the LORD of hosts.

Webster's Bible Translation
And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

World English Bible
I will come near to you to judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says Yahweh of Armies.

Young's Literal Translation
And I have drawn near to you for judgment, And I have been a witness, Making haste against sorcerers, And against adulterers, And against swearers to a falsehood, And against oppressors of the hire of an hireling, Of a widow, and of a fatherless one, And those turning aside a sojourner, And who fear Me not, said Jehovah of Hosts.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Coming Day of Judgment
4Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old and years gone by. 5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.

Cross References
James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

Exodus 22:22
You must not mistreat any widow or orphan.

Leviticus 19:13
You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.

Deuteronomy 18:10
Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,

Deuteronomy 27:19
Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.' And let all the people say, 'Amen!'

Proverbs 22:22
Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,

Isaiah 57:3
"But come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!


Treasury of Scripture

And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, said the LORD of hosts.

I will come.

Malachi 2:17
Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?

Psalm 50:3-6
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him…

Psalm 96:13
Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

a swift.

Malachi 2:14
Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.

Psalm 50:7
Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.

Psalm 81:8
Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;

the sorcerers.

Leviticus 20:6,10,27
And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people…

Deuteronomy 5:11,17-21
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain…

Jeremiah 7:9,10
Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; …

against those.

Exodus 22:21-24
Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt…

Leviticus 19:13
Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

Deuteronomy 24:14,15,17
Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: …

oppress.

1 Thessalonians 4:6
That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

fear.

Genesis 20:11
And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.

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Adulterers Armies Deprive Fatherless Fear Foreigner Hireling Judgment Justice Oppress Perjurers Right Sorcerers Stranger Swift Turn Wages Widow Witness
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Adulterers Armies Deprive Fatherless Fear Foreigner Hireling Judgment Justice Oppress Perjurers Right Sorcerers Stranger Swift Turn Wages Widow Witness
Malachi 3
1. Of the messenger, majesty, and grace of Christ.
7. Of the rebellion,
8. sacrilege,
13. and infidelity of the people.
16. The promise of blessing to those who fear God.














(5) All these crimes were explicitly forbidden by the Law. Sorcery (Exodus 22:18), adultery (Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22), false-swearing (Leviticus 19:12), defrauding, or withholding of wages (Leviticus 19:13; Deuteronomy 24:14-15), oppressing the widow and orphan (Exodus 22:22-24), doing injustice to a stranger (Deuteronomy 24:17; Deuteronomy 27:19). (Comp. also Zechariah 7:9-10; Zechariah 8:16-17.) . . . Verse 5. - I will come near to you to judgment. They had asked, "Where is the God of judgment?" (Malachi 2:17). He tells them that his judgment shall extend beyond the Levites even unto all the people; they will then see whether, as they supposed, the evil went unpunished. The announcement applies especially to the circumstances of Malachi's time, though, of course, it has an extended reference. Swift witness. God's judgments fall swiftly and unexpectedly; and when they fall the sinner is at once convicted, and no con-comment, excuse, or subterfuge is possible. "How terrible is that judgment," says St. Jerome, "where God is at once Witness and Judge!" Sorcerers; τὰς φαρμακούς (Septuagint); maleficis (Vulgate); see Exodus 7:11; Exodus 22:18; Deuteronomy 18:10. The Jews had grown familiar with magical arts during the Captivity; that they practised them later we learn from Acts 8:9; Acts 13:6. Adulterers. They who were ready to marry heathen wives would not be likely to be restrained by any law from gratifying their passions, False swearers; Septuagint, "those who swear falsely by my name," which is from Zechariah 5:4 (comp. Leviticus 19:12; and see note on Zechariah 5:3). Oppress the hireling. Defraud him of his just wages (see Deuteronomy 24:14, 15; James 5:4). The widow, and the fatherless (Exodus 22:22; Deuteronomy 24:17). Turn aside (bow down) the stranger; Septuagint, "pervert the judgment of the stranger;" Vulgate, opprimunt peregrinum (Exodus 22:21; Deuteronomy 27:19; Amos 5:12). And fear not me. This was the root of all the evil.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Then I will draw near
וְקָרַבְתִּ֣י (wə·qā·raḇ·tî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7126: To come near, approach

to you
אֲלֵיכֶם֮ (’ă·lê·ḵem)
Preposition | second person masculine plural
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

for judgment.
לַמִּשְׁפָּט֒ (lam·miš·pāṭ)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4941: A verdict, a sentence, formal decree, divine law, penalty, justice, privilege, style

And I will be
וְהָיִ֣יתִי ׀ (wə·hā·yî·ṯî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

a swift
מְמַהֵ֗ר (mə·ma·hêr)
Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 4116: To be liquid, flow easily, to hurry, promptly

witness
עֵ֣ד (‘êḏ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5707: A witness, testimony, a recorder, prince

against sorcerers
בַּֽמְכַשְּׁפִים֙ (bam·ḵaš·šə·p̄îm)
Preposition-b, Article | Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 3784: To whisper a, spell, to inchant, practise magic

and adulterers
וּבַמְנָ֣אֲפִ֔ים (ū·ḇam·nā·’ă·p̄îm)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article | Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 5003: To commit adultery, to apostatize

and
וּבַנִּשְׁבָּעִ֖ים (ū·ḇan·niš·bā·‘îm)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article | Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 7650: To seven oneself, swear

perjurers,
לַשָּׁ֑קֶר (laš·šā·qer)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8267: Deception, disappointment, falsehood

against oppressors
וּבְעֹשְׁקֵ֣י (ū·ḇə·‘ō·šə·qê)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct
Strong's 6231: To press upon, oppress, defraud, violate, overflow

of the widowed
אַלְמָנָ֨ה (’al·mā·nāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 490: A widow, a desolate place

and fatherless,
וְיָת֤וֹם (wə·yā·ṯō·wm)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3490: A bereaved person

and against those who defraud laborers
שְׂכַר־ (śə·ḵa·r·śā-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7939: Payment of contract, salary, fare, maintenance, compensation, benefit

of their wages
שָׂ֠כִיר (ḵîr)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7916: A man at wages

and deny justice
וּמַטֵּי־ (ū·maṭ·ṭê-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine plural construct
Strong's 5186: To stretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bend

to the foreigner
גֵר֙ (ḡêr)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1616: A guest, a foreigner

but do not
וְלֹ֣א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

fear Me,�
יְרֵא֔וּנִי (yə·rê·’ū·nî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural | first person common singular
Strong's 3372: To fear, to revere, caus, to frighten

says
אָמַ֖ר (’ā·mar)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

the LORD
יְהוָ֥ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

of Hosts.
צְבָאֽוֹת׃ (ṣə·ḇā·’ō·wṯ)
Noun - common plural
Strong's 6635: A mass of persons, reg, organized for, war, a campaign


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OT Prophets: Malachi 3:5 I will come near to you (Malachi Mal Ml)
Malachi 3:4
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