Malachi 1:2-6

New International Version

Israel Doubts God’s Love

² “I have loved^(A) you,” says the Lord.

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

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob,^{(C) 3} but Esau I have hated,^(D) and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland^(E) and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.^(F)”

⁴ Edom^(G) may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild^(H) the ruins.”

But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish.^(I) They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord.^{(J) 5} You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great^(K) is the Lord—even beyond the borders of Israel!’^(L)

Breaking Covenant Through Blemished Sacrifices

⁶ “A son honors his father,^(M) and a slave his master.^(N) If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect^(O) due me?” says the Lord Almighty.^(P)

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

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