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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Mal 3 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18
OET (OET-LV) Bring DOM all_of the_tithe into the_house_of the_store and_ food _let_it_be in_house_of_my and_test_me please by_this YHWH he_says hosts if not I_will_open to/for_you(pl) DOM the_windows_of the_heavens and_I_will_pour_out to/for_you(pl) blessing until not sufficiency.
OET (OET-RV) Bring the full tenth into the temple storeroom, so that there’ll be food in my house for the temple workers,” says army-commander Yahweh. “In fact, you all can test me by doing that and see if I don’t open the windows of heaven for you all and pour out an overflowing blessing for you.
Notice that this section also starts with the “Statement, Question, Response” pattern. However this time the sequence is expanded. The “Statement-Question” part occurs twice before a longer “Response” is given. (Another difference is that the second statement begins with a short question.) The “Statement-Question-Response” pattern marks the beginning of a new section.
3:6 is a transitional verse, as 2:17 was. Again, it is recommended that you take it as the first verse of this new section.
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse,
Bring(plur) the tithes of all that you(plur) earn and put/place(plur) them in the store rooms in my temple,
Bring the full tithe: That is, “bring everything you owe God—the tenth part (tithe) of all that you produce or earn.” See the note on “tithes” in 3:8e.
into the storehouse: That is, into the storerooms in the temple. There was a special place in the temple where the tithes were brought and stored. See Nehemiah 13:12.
so that there may be food in My house.
so that there may be plenty of food there.
so that there may be food in My house: This phrase gives the reason for 3:10a. The food probably refers to the tithes which the people gave from their crops. They were stored in rooms in the temple and used as food by the priests.
Test Me in this,”
By doing this, test(plur) me,”
Test Me in this: That is, learn whether I have spoken the truth. The complete sense of this will be understood better from 3:10e.
says the LORD of Hosts.
these are the words of Yahweh Sabaot.
Yahweh Sabaot has spoken.
this is what Yahweh Sabaot says to you(plur).
says the LORD of Hosts: See the note on 3:1f. In Hebrew this speech clause occurs in the middle of a sentence and thought. In Hebrew this emphasizes that the LORD was the one who was speaking. In some languages it may not be natural to use the speech clause in this position in the sentence. If that is true in your language, it may be best to place the clause at the beginning or end of the sentence.
the LORD of Hosts: See the note on 3:1f.
“See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.
“then you(plur) will see that I will indeed cause plentiful blessings to come to you(plur), as though I had opened heaven’s windows and poured them out like heavy rain.
“If you do this, I will certainly bless you(plur) abundantly, with more than enough for your(plur) every need.
open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure: This is the fulfilment of 3:10c. If the people of Israel give the LORD what they owe him (their tithes), he will bless them.
The phrase open the windows of heaven is a figure of speech. It implies falling rain. People can imagine that someone opened a window high above and poured water onto the ground below. Rain is closely associated with blessing in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 11:13–14). Here the figure of speech is that the LORD would send blessings from heaven abundantly like rain would pour from the sky. In other words, it is a promise that the LORD would bless the people abundantly.
In some languages this figure of speech may not be clearly understood. If that is true in your language, there are other options for translation:
Translate the meaning directly, and use the figure of speech as a simile. For example:
I will bless you abundantly. It will be as though I had opened windows in heaven and poured down blessings.
I will bless you with blessings as abundant as heavy rain falling from heaven.
Translate the meaning without the figure of speech, but use another way to emphasize the abundance of the LORD’s blessing. For example:
I will bless you so greatly that the blessing cannot be measured.
Use an option which is natural and clear in your language.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
בֵּ֣ית הָאוֹצָ֗ר
house_of of,the_store
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of treasure, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [the temple treasury]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
טֶ֨רֶף֙ בְּבֵיתִ֔י
food in,house_of,my
Yahweh is speaking of the temple as if it were his house. Alternate translation: [provision for the priests who serve in my temple]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
אִם־לֹ֧א אֶפְתַּ֣ח לָכֶ֗ם אֵ֚ת אֲרֻבּ֣וֹת הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַהֲרִיקֹתִ֥י לָכֶ֛ם בְּרָכָ֖ה
if not open to/for=you(pl) DOM windows_of the=heavens and,I_will_pour_out to/for=you(pl) blessing
Yahweh is speaking of giving blessings as if he were opening windows in the sky and pouring them out. Alternate translation: [if I will not give you abundant blessings]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
בְּרָכָ֖ה
blessing
Yahweh assumes that the people will understand that by a blessing he means abundant crops. You could say that explicitly if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [abundant crops]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
עַד־בְּלִי־דָֽי
until without measure
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of sufficiency, you could express the same idea in another way. Yahweh is not saying that there will not be sufficient crops; he means that there will be so many crops that the storehouses of the Judeans will not be sufficient to contain them. Alternate translation: [until you no longer have sufficient room to contain it]
OET (OET-LV) Bring DOM all_of the_tithe into the_house_of the_store and_ food _let_it_be in_house_of_my and_test_me please by_this YHWH he_says hosts if not I_will_open to/for_you(pl) DOM the_windows_of the_heavens and_I_will_pour_out to/for_you(pl) blessing until not sufficiency.
OET (OET-RV) Bring the full tenth into the temple storeroom, so that there’ll be food in my house for the temple workers,” says army-commander Yahweh. “In fact, you all can test me by doing that and see if I don’t open the windows of heaven for you all and pour out an overflowing blessing for you.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.
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