3:16 Then those who respected 3 the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice. 4 A scroll 5 was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected the Lord and honored his name. 3:17 “They will belong to me,” says the Lord who rules over all, “in the day when I prepare my own special property. 6 I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 3:18 Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between 7 the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.
1 tn Heb “built up” (so NASB); NIV, NRSV “prosper”; NLT “get rich.”
2 tn Or “test”; NRSV, CEV “put God to the test.”
3 tn Or “fear” (so NAB); NRSV “revered”; NCV “honored.”
4 tn Heb “heard and listened”; NAB “listened attentively.”
5 sn The scroll mentioned here is a “memory book” (סֵפֶר זִכָּרוֹן, sefer zikkaron) in which the
6 sn The Hebrew word סְגֻלָּה (sÿgullah, “special property”) is a technical term referring to all the recipients of God’s redemptive grace, especially Israel (Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18). The
7 tn Heb “you will see between.” Cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “see the difference.”