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The burden of the Devar Hashem to Yisroel by Malachi.

I have loved you, saith Hashem. Yet ye say, Wherein hast Thou loved us? Was not Esav Ya’akov’s brother? saith Hashem; yet I loved Ya’akov,

But I hated Esav, and his mountains and his nachalah I laid waste into wasteland for the jackals of the midbar.

Whereas Edom saith, We are dashed to pieces, but we will return and rebuild the ruins; thus saith Hashem Tzva’os: They may build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, Gevul Rishah (territory of wickedness), and the people against whom Hashem hath indignation ad olam (for ever).

And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, Hashem is gadol (great) even beyond the Gevul Yisroel.

A ben honoreth his av, and an eved his adon; if then I be an Av, where is Mine honor? And if I be Adonim, where is My reverence? saith Hashem Tzva’os unto you, O kohanim, that despise My Name. But ye say, Wherein have we despised Thy name?

Ye offer lechem mego’al (defiled food) upon Mine mizbe’ach; and ye say, Wherein have we defiled Thee? In that ye say, The shulchan of Hashem is to be despised.

And when ye offer the blind animal for sacrifice, is it not rah? And when ye offer the lame and diseased, is it not rah? Offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or receive thee? saith Hashem Tzva’os.

And now, I pray you, beseech G-d that He will be gracious unto us; with such offerings from your hand, will He receive you? saith Hashem Tzva’os.

10 Who is there even among you that would shut the dlatayim of the Beis Hamikdash so that eish would not be kindled on Mine mizbe’ach in vain? There is no chefetz (pleasure) to Me with you, saith Hashem Tzva’os, neither will I accept a minchah at your hand.

11 For from the rising of the shemesh even unto the going down of the same My name shall be gadol among the Goyim; and in every place incense shall be offered unto My name, and a minchah tehorah; for My name shall be gadol among the Goyim, saith Hashem Tzva’os.

12 But ye have committed chillul Hashem (desecration of the Name), in that ye say, The shulchan Adonoi is mego’al (defiled); and the fruit, even the food thereof, is contemptible.

13 Ye said also, Hinei, what a burden it is! And ye have sniffed scornfully at it, saith Hashem Tzva’os; and ye brought that which was injured, and the lame, and the diseased; thus ye brought a minchah; should I accept this of your hand? saith Hashem.

14 But cursed be the nokhel (cheat, swindler, charlatan), which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto Hashem the one being blemished; for I am a Melech Gadol, saith Hashem Tzva’os, and My name is to be feared among the Goyim.

A prophecy:(A) The word(B) of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.[a]

Israel Doubts God’s Love

“I have loved(C) you,” says the Lord.

“But you ask,(D) ‘How have you loved us?’

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob,(E) but Esau I have hated,(F) and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland(G) and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.(H)

Edom(I) may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild(J) the ruins.”

But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish.(K) They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord.(L) You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great(M) is the Lord—even beyond the borders of Israel!’(N)

Breaking Covenant Through Blemished Sacrifices

“A son honors his father,(O) and a slave his master.(P) If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect(Q) due me?” says the Lord Almighty.(R)

“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.

“But you ask,(S) ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’

“By offering defiled food(T) on my altar.

“But you ask,(U) ‘How have we defiled you?’

“By saying that the Lord’s table(V) is contemptible. When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals,(W) is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased(X) with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.(Y)

“Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings(Z) from your hands, will he accept(AA) you?”—says the Lord Almighty.

10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors,(AB) so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased(AC) with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept(AD) no offering(AE) from your hands. 11 My name will be great(AF) among the nations,(AG) from where the sun rises to where it sets.(AH) In every place incense(AI) and pure offerings(AJ) will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty.

12 “But you profane it by saying, ‘The Lord’s table(AK) is defiled,’ and, ‘Its food(AL) is contemptible.’ 13 And you say, ‘What a burden!’(AM) and you sniff at it contemptuously,(AN)” says the Lord Almighty.

“When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices,(AO) should I accept them from your hands?”(AP) says the Lord. 14 “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal(AQ) to the Lord. For I am a great king,(AR)” says the Lord Almighty,(AS) “and my name is to be feared(AT) among the nations.(AU)

Footnotes

  1. Malachi 1:1 Malachi means my messenger.