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14 You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord has seen how you have not been faithful to the wife you married when you were young, even when she stays with you and is your wife by agreement. 15 Has not the Lord made them one in flesh and spirit? And what does He desire but God-like children? Be careful then in your spirit, and stay faithful to the wife you married when you were young. 16 “For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “And I hate the man who does wrong to his wife,” says the Lord of All. “So be careful in your spirit, and be one who can be trusted.”

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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,”