13 This is another thing you do. You are covering the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning,(A) because he no longer respects your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.(B)

14 And you ask, “Why?” Because even though the Lord has been a witness(C) between you and the wife of your youth,(D) you have acted treacherously against her. She was your marriage partner(E) and your wife by covenant.(F) 15 Didn’t God make them one and give them a portion of spirit? What is the one seeking?[a] Godly offspring. So watch yourselves carefully,[b](G) so that no one acts treacherously against the wife of his[c] youth.

16 “If he hates(H) and divorces his wife,”(I) says the Lord God of Israel, “he[d] covers his garment with injustice,”(J) says the Lord of Armies. Therefore, watch yourselves carefully,[e] and do not act treacherously.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:15 Hb obscure
  2. 2:15 Lit So guard yourselves in your spirit
  3. 2:15 Lit your
  4. 2:16 Or The Lord God of Israel says that he hates divorce and the one who
  5. 2:16 Lit Therefore, guard yourselves in your spirit

13 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears.(A) You weep and wail(B) because he no longer looks with favor(C) on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.(D) 14 You ask,(E) “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness(F) between you and the wife of your youth.(G) You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.(H)

15 Has not the one God made you?(I) You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.[a](J) So be on your guard,(K) and do not be unfaithful(L) to the wife of your youth.

16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,(M)” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”[b](N) says the Lord Almighty.

So be on your guard,(O) 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,”