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Malachi 2
Lexham English Bible

2 “And so then, O priests, this command is for you: 2 If you will not listen, and if you will not take it to heart[a] to give glory to my name,” says Yahweh of hosts, “then I will send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings; moreover I have already cursed them because you are not taking it to heart.[b] 3 Look! I am going to rebuke your offspring,[c] and I will scatter offal on your faces, the offal of your religious feasts, and you will be carried to it.[d]

4 “Then you will know that I have sent to you this command, that my covenant with Levi continues,”[e] says Yahweh of hosts. 5 “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. This required reverence, and he revered[f] me and stood in awe before[g] my name. 6 The instruction of truth[h] was in his mouth, and wickedness was not found on his lips. In peace and in uprightness[i] he walked with me, and he brought back many from sin.[j] 7 For the lips of the priest should guard knowledge, and they should seek instruction[k] from his mouth, for he is the messenger of Yahweh of hosts. 8 But you, you have turned from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction;[l] you have ruined the covenant of Levi,” says Yahweh of hosts. 9 “And in turn I have made you despised and humbled before all the people, inasmuch as you are not keeping[m] my way, but are favoring your own instruction.”[n]

Yahweh Hates Faithlessness

10 Do we not all have[o] one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we unfaithful to one another,[p] profaning the covenant of our ancestors?[q] 11 Judah has been faithless, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. Judah has profaned the sanctuary of Yahweh which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign[r] god. 12 May Yahweh cut off from the tents of Jacob the man who does this, the one who is awake and who answers, and the one who brings an offering to Yahweh of hosts!

13 And this you do as well:[s] you cover the altar of Yahweh with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because he[t] no longer regards the offering[u] or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 But you ask, “For what reason?”[v] Because Yahweh stands as a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have been unfaithful, even though she is your marriage partner and your wife by covenant.[w] 15 Did not one God make them?[x] But a remnant of the spirit is his.[y] And what does the one God desire? An offspring of God.[z] You must be attentive to[aa] your spirit, and you must not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce,”[ab] says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “and he who covers his clothing with violence,” says Yahweh of hosts. “You must be attentive to[ac] your spirit and you must not be unfaithful.”

17 You have wearied Yahweh with your words, but you ask, “With what have we wearied him?” You have done so when you say,[ad] “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight[ae] of Yahweh, and in them he delights,” or “Where is the God of justice?”

Footnotes

  1. Malachi 2:2 Literally, “place it on your heart”
  2. Malachi 2:2 Literally “you are not placing it on your heart”
  3. Malachi 2:3 Literally “for you the offspring”
  4. Malachi 2:3 The Hebrew is difficult. The subject is indefinite, and “it” likely refers to a refuse or waste pile
  5. Malachi 2:4 Literally “be”
  6. Malachi 2:5 Or “feared”
  7. Malachi 2:5 Literally “from the face of”
  8. Malachi 2:6 Or “law of truth”
  9. Malachi 2:6 Or “rectitude,” or “fairness”
  10. Malachi 2:6 Or “iniquity”
  11. Malachi 2:7 Or “law”
  12. Malachi 2:8 Or “the law”
  13. Malachi 2:9 Or “observing”
  14. Malachi 2:9 Literally “lifting faces in the instruction/law”
  15. Malachi 2:10 Literally “Is for all of us not”
  16. Malachi 2:10 Literally “each man to his brother”
  17. Malachi 2:10 Or “fathers”
  18. Malachi 2:11 Or “pagan”
  19. Malachi 2:13 Literally “a second time”
  20. Malachi 2:13 Yahweh
  21. Malachi 2:13 Literally “there is no longer turning to the offering”
  22. Malachi 2:14 Literally “Because of what?”
  23. Malachi 2:14 Literally “the wife of your covenant”
  24. Malachi 2:15 Literally “Not one did he make”
  25. Malachi 2:15 The meaning of this sentence is difficult; literally “And a remnant of the spirit to him”
  26. Malachi 2:15 Or “a godly offspring”
  27. Malachi 2:15 Literally “You must keep watch on”
  28. Malachi 2:16 Hebrew “sending away”
  29. Malachi 2:16 Literally “You must keep watch on”
  30. Malachi 2:17 Literally “at your saying”
  31. Malachi 2:17 Literally “eyes”
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Malachi 2
New English Translation

The Sacrilege of the Priestly Message

2 “Now, you priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you do not listen and take seriously[a] the need to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will send judgment[b] on you and turn your blessings into curses—indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart. 3 I am about to discipline your children[c] and will spread offal[d] on your faces,[e] the very offal produced at your festivals, and you will be carried away along with it. 4 Then you will know that I sent this commandment to you so that my covenant[f] may continue to be with Levi,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 5 “My covenant with him was designed to bring life and peace. I gave its statutes to him to fill him with awe, and he indeed revered me and stood in awe before me. 6 He taught what was true;[g] sinful words were not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and integrity, and he turned many people away from sin. 7 For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge of sacred things, and people should seek instruction from him[h] because he is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 8 You, however, have turned from the way. You have caused many to violate the law;[i] you have corrupted the covenant with Levi,”[j] says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 9 “Therefore, I have caused you to be ignored and belittled before all people to the extent that you are not following after me and are showing partiality in your[k] instruction.”

The Rebellion of the People

10 Do we not all have one father?[l] Did not one God create us? Why do we betray one another, thus making light of the covenant of our ancestors? 11 Judah has become disloyal, and unspeakable sins have been committed in Israel and Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned[m] the holy things that the Lord loves and has turned to a foreign god![n] 12 May the Lord cut off from the community[o] of Jacob every last person who does this,[p] as well as the person who presents improper offerings to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!

13 You also do this: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears[q] as you weep and groan, because he no longer pays any attention to the offering nor accepts it favorably from you. 14 Yet you ask, “Why?” The Lord is testifying against you on behalf of the wife you married when you were young,[r] to whom you have become unfaithful even though she is your companion and wife by law.[s] 15 No one who has even a small portion of the Spirit in him does this.[t] What did our ancestor[u] do when seeking a child from God? Be attentive, then, to your own spirit, for one should not be disloyal to the wife he took in his youth.[v] 16 “I hate divorce,”[w] says the Lord God of Israel, “and the one who is guilty of violence,”[x] says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Pay attention to your conscience, and do not be unfaithful.”

Resistance to the Lord through Self-deceit

17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” Because you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the Lord’s opinion,[y] and he delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”

Footnotes

  1. Malachi 2:2 tn Heb “and if you do not place upon [the] heart”; KJV, NAB, NRSV “lay it to heart.”
  2. Malachi 2:2 tn Heb “the curse” (so NASB, NRSV); NLT “a terrible curse.”
  3. Malachi 2:3 tc The phrase “discipline your children” is disputed. The LXX and Vulgate suppose זְרוֹעַ (zeroaʿ, “arm”) for the MT זֶרַע (zeraʿ, “seed”; hence, “children”). Then, for the MT גֹעֵר (goʿer, “rebuking”) the same versions suggest גָּרַע (garaʿ, “take away”). The resulting translation is “I am about to take away your arm” (cf. NAB “deprive you of the shoulder”). However, this reading is unlikely. It is common for a curse (v. 2) to fall on offspring (see, e.g., Deut 28:18, 32, 41, 53, 55, 57), but a curse never takes the form of a broken or amputated arm. It is preferable to retain the reading of the MT here.
  4. Malachi 2:3 tn The Hebrew term פֶרֶשׁ (feresh, “offal”) refers to the entrails as ripped out in preparing a sacrificial victim (BDB 831 s.v. פֶּרֶשׁ). This graphic term has been variously translated: “dung” (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NLT); “refuse” (NKJV, NASB); “offal” (NEB, NIV).
  5. Malachi 2:3 sn See Zech 3:3-4 for similar coarse imagery which reflects cultic disqualification.
  6. Malachi 2:4 sn My covenant refers to the priestly covenant through Aaron and his grandson Phinehas (see Exod 6:16-20; Num 25:10-13; Jer 33:21-22). The point here is to contrast the priestly ideal with the disgraceful manner in which it was being carried out in postexilic times.
  7. Malachi 2:6 tn Heb “True teaching was in his mouth”; cf. NASB, NRSV “True instruction (doctrine NAB) was in his mouth.”
  8. Malachi 2:7 tn Heb “from his mouth” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).
  9. Malachi 2:8 tn The definite article embedded within בַּתּוֹרָה (battorah) may suggest that the Torah is in mind and not just “ordinary” priestly instruction, though it might refer to the instruction previously mentioned (v. 7).
  10. Malachi 2:8 tn Or “the Levitical covenant.”
  11. Malachi 2:9 tn Heb “in the instruction” (so NASB). The Hebrew article is used here as a possessive pronoun (cf. NRSV, NLT).
  12. Malachi 2:10 sn The rhetorical question Do we not all have one father? by no means teaches the “universal fatherhood of God,” that is, that all people equally are children of God. The reference to the covenant in v. 10 as well as to Israel and Judah (v. 11) makes it clear that the referent of “we” is God’s elect people.
  13. Malachi 2:11 tn Or perhaps “secularized”; cf. NIV “desecrated”; TEV, NLT “defiled”; CEV “disgraced.”
  14. Malachi 2:11 tn Heb “has married the daughter of a foreign god.” Marriage is used here as a metaphor to describe Judah’s idolatry, that is, her unfaithfulness to the Lord and “remarriage” to pagan gods. But spiritual intermarriage found expression in literal, physical marriage as well, as vv. 14-16 indicate.
  15. Malachi 2:12 tn Heb “tents,” used figuratively for the community here (cf. NCV, TEV); NLT “the nation of Israel.”
  16. Malachi 2:12 tc Heb “every man who does this, him who is awake and him who answers.” For “answers” the LXX suggests an underlying Hebrew text of עָנָה (ʿanah, “to be humbled”), and then the whole phrase is modified slightly: “until he is humbled.” This requires also that the MT עֵר (ʿer, “awake”) be read as עֵד (ʿed, “until”; here the LXX reads ἕως, heōs). The reading of the LXX is most likely an alteration to correct what is arguably a difficult text.tn Heb “every man who does this, him who is awake and him who answers.” The idea seems to be a merism expressing totality, that is, everybody from the awakener to the awakened, thus “every last person who does this” (NLT similar); NIV “whoever he may be.”
  17. Malachi 2:13 sn You cover the altar of the Lord with tears. These tears are the false tears of hypocrisy, not genuine tears of repentance. The people weep because the Lord will not hear them, not because of their sin.
  18. Malachi 2:14 tn Heb “the Lord is a witness between you and [between] the wife of your youth.”
  19. Malachi 2:14 sn Though there is no explicit reference to marriage vows in the OT (but see Job 7:13; Prov 2:17; Ezek 16:8), the term law (Heb “covenant”) here asserts that such vows or agreements must have existed. References to divorce documents (e.g., Deut 24:1-3; Jer 3:8) also presuppose the existence of marriage documents.
  20. Malachi 2:15 tn Heb “and not one has done, and a remnant of the spirit to him.” The very elliptical nature of the statement suggests it is proverbial. The present translation represents an attempt to clarify the meaning of the statement (cf. NASB).
  21. Malachi 2:15 tn Heb “the one.” This is an oblique reference to Abraham who sought to obtain God’s blessing by circumventing God’s own plan for him by taking Hagar as wife (Gen 16:1-6). The result of this kind of intermarriage was, of course, disastrous (Gen 16:11-12).
  22. Malachi 2:15 sn The wife he took in his youth probably refers to the first wife one married (cf. NCV “the wife you married when you were young”).
  23. Malachi 2:16 tc The verb שָׂנֵא (saneʾ) appears to be a third person form, “he hates,” which makes little sense in the context, unless one emends the following word to a third person verb as well. Then one might translate, “he [who] hates [his wife] [and] divorces her…is guilty of violence.” A similar translation is advocated by M. A. Shields, “Syncretism and Divorce in Malachi 2, 10-16, ” ZAW 111 (1999): 81-85. However, it is possible that the first person pronoun אָנֹכִי (ʾanokhi, “I”) has accidentally dropped from the text after כִּי (ki). If one restores the pronoun, the form שָׂנֵא can be taken as a participle and the text translated, “for I hate” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT). sn Though the statement “I hate divorce” may (and should) be understood as a comprehensive biblical principle, the immediate context suggests that the divorce in view is that of one Jewish person by another in order to undertake subsequent marriages. The injunction here by no means contradicts Ezra’s commands to Jewish men to divorce their heathen wives (Ezra 9-10).
  24. Malachi 2:16 tn Heb “him who covers his garment with violence” (similar ASV, NRSV). Here “garment” is a metaphor for appearance and “violence” a metonymy of effect for cause. God views divorce as an act of violence against the victim.
  25. Malachi 2:17 tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.”
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Malachi 1
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