13 And this second thing you do. (A)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 (B)But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord (C)was witness between you and the wife of your youth, (D)to whom (E)you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 (F)Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union?[a] And what was the one God[b] seeking?[c] (G)Godly offspring. So guard yourselves[d] in your spirit, and let none of you be (H)faithless to the wife of your youth. 16 “For (I)the man who does not love his wife but divorces her,[e] says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers[f] his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and (J)do not be faithless.”

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Footnotes

  1. Malachi 2:15 Hebrew in it
  2. Malachi 2:15 Hebrew the one
  3. Malachi 2:15 Or And not one has done this who has a portion of the Spirit. And what was that one seeking?
  4. Malachi 2:15 Or So take care; also verse 16
  5. Malachi 2:16 Hebrew who hates and divorces
  6. 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

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,”