Malachi 2
King James Version
2 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.
4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.
5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.
6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.
7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.
9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.
10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
11 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.
12 The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts.
13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
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.
15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
16 For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
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?
Malachi 2
New King James Version
Corrupt Priests
2 “And now, O (A)priests, this commandment is for you.
2 (B)If you will not hear,
And if you will not take it to heart,
To give glory to My name,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“I will send a curse upon you,
And I will curse your blessings.
Yes, I have cursed them (C)already,
Because you do not take it to heart.
3 “Behold, I will rebuke your descendants
And spread (D)refuse on your faces,
The refuse of your solemn feasts;
And one will (E)take you away [a]with it.
4 Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you,
That My covenant with Levi may continue,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
5 “My(F) covenant was with him, one of life and peace,
And I gave them to him (G)that he might fear Me;
So he feared Me
And was reverent before My name.
6 (H)The[b] law of truth was in his mouth,
And [c]injustice was not found on his lips.
He walked with Me in peace and equity,
And (I)turned many away from iniquity.
7 “For(J) the lips of a priest should keep knowledge,
And people should seek the law from his mouth;
(K)For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
8 But you have departed from the way;
You (L)have caused many to stumble at the law.
(M)You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
9 “Therefore (N)I also have made you contemptible and base
Before all the people,
Because you have not kept My ways
But have shown (O)partiality in the law.”
Treachery of Infidelity
10 (P)Have we not all one Father?
(Q)Has not one God created us?
Why do we deal treacherously with one another
By profaning the covenant of the fathers?
11 Judah has dealt treacherously,
And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem,
For Judah has (R)profaned
The Lord’s holy institution which He loves:
He has married the daughter of a foreign god.
12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob
The man who does this, being [d]awake and aware,
Yet (S)who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!
13 And this is the second thing you do:
You cover the altar of the Lord with tears,
With weeping and crying;
So He does not regard the offering anymore,
Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.
14 Yet you say, “For what reason?”
Because the Lord has been witness
Between you and (T)the wife of your youth,
With whom you have dealt treacherously;
(U)Yet she is your companion
And your wife by covenant.
15 But (V)did He not make them one,
Having a remnant of the Spirit?
And why one?
He seeks (W)godly offspring.
Therefore take heed to your spirit,
And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.
16 “For (X)the Lord God of Israel says
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
“Therefore take heed to your spirit,
That you do not deal treacherously.”
17 (Y)You have wearied the Lord with your words;
Yet you say,
“In what way have we wearied Him?”
In that you say,
(Z)“Everyone who does evil
Is good in the sight of the Lord,
And He delights in them,”
Or, “Where is the God of justice?”
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:3 Lit. to it
- Malachi 2:6 Or True instruction
- Malachi 2:6 Or unrighteousness
- Malachi 2:12 Talmud, Vg. teacher and student
Malachi 2
Contemporary English Version
True and False Priests
2 I, the Lord All-Powerful, have something else to say to you priests. 2 You had better take seriously the need to honor my name. Otherwise, when you give a blessing, I will turn it into a curse. In fact, I have already done this, because you haven't taken to heart your duties as priests. 3 I will punish your descendants and rub your faces in the manure from your animal sacrifices, and then be done with you.[a]
4 (A) I am telling you this, so I can continue to keep my agreement with your ancestor Levi. 5 (B) I blessed him with a full life, as I had promised, and he kept his part of the agreement by honoring me and respecting my name. 6 He taught the truth and never told lies, and he led a lot of people to turn from sin, because he obeyed me and lived right.
7 You priests should be eager to spread knowledge, and everyone should come to you for instruction, because you speak for me, the Lord All-Powerful. 8 But you have turned your backs on me. Your teachings have led others to do sinful things, and you have broken the agreement I made with your ancestor Levi. 9 So I caused everyone to hate and despise you, because you disobeyed me and failed to treat all people alike.
A Broken Agreement
10 Don't you know that we all have God as our Father? Didn't the one God create each of us? Then why do you cheat each other by breaking the agreement God made with your ancestors? 11 You people in Judah and Jerusalem have been unfaithful to the Lord. You have disgraced the temple that he loves, and you have committed the disgusting sin of marrying the worshipers of other gods. 12 I pray that the Lord will no longer let those who are guilty belong to his people, even if they eagerly decide to offer the Lord a gift.[b]
13 And what else are you doing? You cry noisily and flood the Lord's altar with your tears, because he isn't pleased with your offerings and refuses to accept them. 14 And why isn't God pleased? It's because he knows that each of you men has been unfaithful to the wife you married when you were young. You promised that she would be your partner, but now you have broken that promise. 15 Didn't God create you and your wife to become like one person?[c] And why did he do this? It was so you would have children, and then lead them to become God's people. Don't ever be unfaithful to your wife. 16 The Lord God All-Powerful of Israel hates anyone who is cruel enough to divorce his wife. So take care never to be unfaithful!
17 You have worn out the Lord with your words. And yet, you ask, “How did we do that?”
You did it by saying, “The Lord is pleased with evil and doesn't care about justice.”
Malachi 2
Common English Bible
2 But now, this command is for you, priests:
2 If you don’t listen,
or don’t intend to glorify my name,
says the Lord of heavenly forces,
then I will send a curse among you.
I will curse your blessings,
and I mean really curse them,
because none of you intend to do it.
3 I am about to denounce your offspring;
I will scatter feces on your faces,
the feces of your festivals.
Then I will lift you up to me,[a]
4 and you will know that I have sent this command to you
so that my covenant with Levi can continue to exist,
says the Lord of heavenly forces.
5 My covenant with him involved life and peace, which I gave him,
and also fear so that he honored me.
He was in awe of my name.
6 True Instruction was in his mouth;
injustice wasn’t found on his lips.
He walked with me in peace and did the right thing;
he made many turn from iniquity.
7 The lips of the priest should guard knowledge;
everyone[b] should seek Instruction from his mouth,
for he is the messenger from the Lord of heavenly forces.
8 But you have turned from the path.
You have caused many to stumble by your instruction.
You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,
says the Lord of heavenly forces.
9 Moreover, I have made you despised and humiliated in the view of all the people,
since none of you keep my ways
or show respect for Instruction.
Judah’s dishonesty
10 Isn’t there one father for all of us,
one God who created us?
Why does everyone cheat each other
to make the covenant
of our ancestors impure?
11 Judah cheated—
a detestable thing was done in Israel and Jerusalem.
Judah made the Lord’s holy place impure, which God loved,
and married the daughter of a foreign god.
12 May the Lord eliminate anyone who does so from the tents of Jacob,
anyone awaking, testifying,[c]
and making an offering to the Lord of heavenly forces.
13 You should do this as well:
cover the altar of the Lord with tears, weeping, and groaning
because there is still no divine favor for your offering or favorable regard
for anything from your hand.
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[d] the one[e]
and the remnant of his spirit?[f]
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,[g]
says the Lord of heavenly forces.
Guard your own life, and don’t cheat.
Purifying judgment
17 You have made the Lord tired with your words.
You say, “How have we made him tired?”
When you say:
“Anyone doing evil is good in the Lord’s eyes,”
or “He delights in those doing evil,”[h]
or “Where is the God of justice?”
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:3 Heb uncertain; MT He will carry you to it.
- Malachi 2:7 Or they
- Malachi 2:12 Heb uncertain
- Malachi 2:15 Heb lacks her.
- Malachi 2:15 Heb uncertain; her refers to the wife in Mal 2:14.
- Malachi 2:15 Heb uncertain
- Malachi 2:16 Heb uncertain
- Malachi 2:17 Or them
Malachi 2
Amplified Bible
Priests to Be Disciplined
2 “Now, O priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the Lord of hosts, “then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings [on the people]. Indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart. 3 Behold, I am going to rebuke your seed, and I will spread the refuse on your faces, the refuse from the festival offerings; and you will be taken away with it [in disgrace]. 4 Then you will know [without any doubt] that I have sent this [new] commandment to you (priests), that My covenant may continue with Levi [the priestly tribe],” says the Lord of hosts. 5 “My covenant with Levi was [one of] life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he [and the priests] feared Me and stood in reverent awe of My name. 6 True instruction was in Levi’s mouth and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from wickedness. 7 For the lips of the priest should guard and preserve knowledge [of My law], and the people should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 8 But as for you [priests], you have turned from the way and you have caused many to stumble by your instruction [in the law]. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. 9 “So I have also made you despised and abased before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality [to people] in [your administration of] the law.”
Sin in the Family
10 Do we not all have one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers [with God]? 11 Judah has been treacherous (disloyal), and an repulsive act has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.(A) 12 As for the man who does this, may the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob to the last man those who do this [evil thing], awake and aware, even the one who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts.
13 This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with [your own] weeping and sighing, because the Lord no longer regards your offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 But you say, “Why [does He reject it]?” Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously. Yet she is your marriage companion and the wife of your covenant [made by your vows]. 15 But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate [a]divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong and violence,” says the Lord of hosts. “Therefore keep watch on your spirit, so that you do not deal treacherously [with your wife].”
17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “In what way have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them,” or [by asking], “Where is the God of justice?”
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:16 I.e. unwarranted divorce. Conditions for divorce are outlined. See Deut 24:1-4; Ezra 10:10-19; Matt 5:31, 32; 19:3-12; 1 Cor 7:10-16.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
