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
Malachi 2
Common English Bible
2 But now, this command is for you, priests:
2 If you don’t listen,
or don’t intend to glorify my name,
says the Lord of heavenly forces,
then I will send a curse among you.
I will curse your blessings,
and I mean really curse them,
because none of you intend to do it.
3 I am about to denounce your offspring;
I will scatter feces on your faces,
the feces of your festivals.
Then I will lift you up to me,[a]
4 and you will know that I have sent this command to you
so that my covenant with Levi can continue to exist,
says the Lord of heavenly forces.
5 My covenant with him involved life and peace, which I gave him,
and also fear so that he honored me.
He was in awe of my name.
6 True Instruction was in his mouth;
injustice wasn’t found on his lips.
He walked with me in peace and did the right thing;
he made many turn from iniquity.
7 The lips of the priest should guard knowledge;
everyone[b] should seek Instruction from his mouth,
for he is the messenger from the Lord of heavenly forces.
8 But you have turned from the path.
You have caused many to stumble by your instruction.
You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,
says the Lord of heavenly forces.
9 Moreover, I have made you despised and humiliated in the view of all the people,
since none of you keep my ways
or show respect for Instruction.
Judah’s dishonesty
10 Isn’t there one father for all of us,
one God who created us?
Why does everyone cheat each other
to make the covenant
of our ancestors impure?
11 Judah cheated—
a detestable thing was done in Israel and Jerusalem.
Judah made the Lord’s holy place impure, which God loved,
and married the daughter of a foreign god.
12 May the Lord eliminate anyone who does so from the tents of Jacob,
anyone awaking, testifying,[c]
and making an offering to the Lord of heavenly forces.
13 You should do this as well:
cover the altar of the Lord with tears, weeping, and groaning
because there is still no divine favor for your offering or favorable regard
for anything from your hand.
14 But you say, “Why?”
Because the Lord testifies about you
and the wife of your youth against whom you cheated.
She is your partner,
the wife of your covenant.
15 Didn’t he make her[d] the one[e]
and the remnant of his spirit?[f]
What is the one?
The one seeking godly offspring.
You should guard your own spirit.
Don’t cheat on the wife of your youth
16 because he hates divorce,
says the Lord God of Israel,
and he also hates the one covering his garment with violence,[g]
says the Lord of heavenly forces.
Guard your own life, and don’t cheat.
Purifying judgment
17 You have made the Lord tired with your words.
You say, “How have we made him tired?”
When you say:
“Anyone doing evil is good in the Lord’s eyes,”
or “He delights in those doing evil,”[h]
or “Where is the God of justice?”
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:3 Heb uncertain; MT He will carry you to it.
- Malachi 2:7 Or they
- Malachi 2:12 Heb uncertain
- Malachi 2:15 Heb lacks her.
- Malachi 2:15 Heb uncertain; her refers to the wife in Mal 2:14.
- Malachi 2:15 Heb uncertain
- Malachi 2:16 Heb uncertain
- Malachi 2:17 Or them
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible