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14 But you say, “Why?”
    Because the Lord testifies about you
            and the wife of your youth against whom you cheated.
    She is your partner,
            the wife of your covenant.
15 Didn’t he make her[a] the one[b]
    and the remnant of his spirit?[c]
    What is the one?
        The one seeking godly offspring.
You should guard your own spirit.
    Don’t cheat on the wife of your youth
16         because he hates divorce,
says the Lord God of Israel,
            and he also hates the one covering his garment with violence,[d]
says the Lord of heavenly forces.
        Guard your own life, and don’t cheat.

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Footnotes

  1. Malachi 2:15 Heb lacks her.
  2. Malachi 2:15 Heb uncertain; her refers to the wife in Mal 2:14.
  3. Malachi 2:15 Heb uncertain
  4. Malachi 2:16 Heb uncertain

14 You ask,(A) “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness(B) between you and the wife of your youth.(C) You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.(D)

15 Has not the one God made you?(E) You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.[a](F) So be on your guard,(G) and do not be unfaithful(H) to the wife of your youth.

16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,(I)” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”[b](J) says the Lord Almighty.

So be on your guard,(K) and do not be unfaithful.

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Footnotes

  1. Malachi 2:15 The meaning of the Hebrew for the first part of this verse is uncertain.
  2. Malachi 2:16 Or “I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “because the man who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,”