Malachi 2
Revised Geneva Translation
2 “And now, O you priests, this Commandment is for you.
2 “If you will not hear it, or consider it in your heart, to give glory to My Name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse upon you, and will curse your blessings. Yea, I have cursed them already, because you do not consider it in your heart.
3 “Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and cast dung upon your faces, the dung of your solemn Feasts. And you shall be like it.
4 “And you shall know that I have sent this Commandment to you, so that My Covenant which I made with Levi might stand,” says the LORD of Hosts.
5 “My Covenant was with him, one of life and peace. And I gave him fear. And he feared Me and was afraid before My Name.
6 “The Law of Truth was in his mouth and there was no iniquity found in his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness and turned many away from iniquity.
7 “For the priest’s lips should preserve knowledge. And they should seek the Law from his mouth. For he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.
8 “But you have gone out of the way. You have caused many to fall by the Law. You have broken the Covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts.
9 “Therefore, I have also made you despised and vile before all the people, because you did not keep My ways, but have been partial in the Law.”
10 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God made us? Why do we transgress, each one against his brother, and break the Covenant of our fathers?
11 Judah has transgressed. And an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Israel has defiled the holiness of the LORD, which He loves, and has married the daughter of a strange god.
12 The LORD will cut off the man who does this—the master and the servant—out of the Tabernacle of Jacob and he who offers an offering to the LORD of Hosts.
13 And this you have done again, and covered the Altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and with mourning. Because the offering is no longer regarded. Nor is it received acceptably from your hands.
14 Yet you say, “Why?” Because the LORD has been Witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have transgressed. She still is your companion and the wife of your covenant.
15 And did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit. And why one? Because He sought a godly seed. Therefore, keep yourselves in your spirit. And let no one trespass against the wife of his youth.
16 “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel, “and he who covers the injury under his garment,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Therefore, keep yourselves in your spirit, and do not transgress.”
17 You have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet, you say “How have we wearied him?” When you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD. And He delights in them.” Or “Where is the God of judgment?”
Malachi 2
English Standard Version
The Lord Rebukes the Priests
2 “And now, (A)O priests, (B)this command is for you. 2 (C)If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send (D)the curse upon you and I will curse (E)your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. 3 Behold, (F)I will rebuke your offspring,[a] and (G)spread dung on your faces, the (H)dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.[b] 4 So shall you know that I have sent (I)this command to you, that (J)my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. 5 My covenant with him was one of life and (K)peace, and I gave them to him. (L)It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. 6 (M)True instruction[c] was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he (N)turned many from iniquity. 7 For (O)the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people[d] should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 8 But you have turned aside from the way. (P)You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted (Q)the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, 9 and so (R)I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but (S)show partiality in your instruction.”
Judah Profaned the Covenant
10 Have we not all (T)one Father? Has not (U)one God created us? Why then are we (V)faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has been (W)faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For (X)Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant[e] of the man who does this, who (Y)brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!
13 And this second thing you do. (Z)You cover the Lord's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 (AA)But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord (AB)was witness between you and the wife of your youth, (AC)to whom (AD)you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 (AE)Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union?[f] And what was the one God[g] seeking?[h] (AF)Godly offspring. So guard yourselves[i] in your spirit, and let none of you be (AG)faithless to the wife of your youth. 16 “For (AH)the man who does not love his wife but divorces her,[j] says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers[k] his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and (AI)do not be faithless.”
The Messenger of the Lord
17 (AJ)You have wearied the Lord with your words. (AK)But you say, “How have we wearied him?” (AL)By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, (AM)“Where is the God of justice?”
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:3 Hebrew seed
- Malachi 2:3 Or to it
- Malachi 2:6 Or law; also verses 7, 8, 9
- Malachi 2:7 Hebrew they
- Malachi 2:12 Hebrew any who wakes and answers
- Malachi 2:15 Hebrew in it
- Malachi 2:15 Hebrew the one
- Malachi 2:15 Or And not one has done this who has a portion of the Spirit. And what was that one seeking?
- Malachi 2:15 Or So take care; also verse 16
- Malachi 2:16 Hebrew who hates and divorces
- Malachi 2:16 Probable meaning (compare Septuagint and Deuteronomy 24:1–4); or “The Lord, the God of Israel, says that he hates divorce, and him who covers
© 2019, 2024 by Five Talents Audio. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
