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Malachi 2
Tree of Life Version
Malachi 2
Tree of Life Version
Warning to the Kohanim and Levites
2 “So now, kohanim, this commandment is for you.
2 If you will not listen,
and if you will not take to heart to give glory to My Name”
—says Adonai-Tzva’ot—
“then I will send the curse on you,
and I will curse your blessings.
Yes, indeed I have cursed them,
because you did not take it to heart.
3 Behold, I am rebuking the seed on account of you,
and will spread dung on your faces
—the dung of your festivals—
and take you away together with it.
4 Then you will know that I have sent this command to you,
to be My covenant with Levi,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
5 “My covenant was with him for life and shalom,
and I gave them to him for reverence.
So he revered Me, and he was awestruck by My Name.
6 Instruction of truth was in his mouth.
Injustice was not found on his lips.
In shalom and uprightness he walked with Me,
and he turned many from iniquity.
7 For a kohen’s lips should guard knowledge,
and instruction must be sought from his mouth.
For he is a messenger of Adonai-Tzva’ot.
8 But you have turned from the way.
You caused many to stumble in Torah by the instruction,
You corrupted the covenant of the Levites,”
—says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
9 “So I also have made you despised and lowly to all the people,
because you are not keeping My ways but show favoritism in Torah.”
10 Do we not all have one Father?
Has not one God created us?
Why do we deal treacherously
—a man against his brother—
defiling the covenant of our fathers?
11 Judah has dealt treacherously,
an abomination done in Israel, even in Jerusalem!
For Judah has defiled Adonai’s Sanctuary,
which He loves,
and married the daughter of a foreign god.
12 Adonai will cut off the man who does this,
until he is cast from the tents of Jacob,
and from offering a gift to Adonai-Tzva’ot.
Covenant With Your Wife
13 Secondly, you do this:
Tears cover the altar of Adonai—
you are weeping and groaning
because He no longer accepts the offering
or receives it favorably from your hand.
14 Yet you say, “Why?”
Because Adonai bears witness
between you and the wife of your youth,
whom you have treated deceitfully.
Yet she had been your companion
and your wife by covenant.
15 Did the One not make her with a remnant of Ruach?
Then what is the One seeking?
Offspring of God!
So protect your spirit—
do not betray the wife of your youth.
16 “For I hate[a] divorce,”
—says Adonai the God of Israel—
“and the one who covers his garment with injustice,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
So protect your spirit—do not act treacherously.
17 You wearied Adonai with your words.
Yet you say: “How did we weary Him?”
When you say: “Everyone doing evil is good in the sight of Adonai, and He delights in them.” Or, “Where is the God of justice?”
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:16 Lit. He hates.
Malachi 2
New International Version
Malachi 2
New International Version
Additional Warning to the Priests
2 “And now, you priests, this warning is for you.(A) 2 If you do not listen,(B) and if you do not resolve to honor(C) my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse(D) on you, and I will curse your blessings.(E) Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.
3 “Because of you I will rebuke your descendants[a]; I will smear on your faces the dung(F) from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.(G) 4 And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi(H) may continue,” says the Lord Almighty. 5 “My covenant was with him, a covenant(I) of life and peace,(J) and I gave them to him; this called for reverence(K) and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction(L) was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked(M) with me in peace(N) and uprightness,(O) and turned many from sin.(P)
7 “For the lips of a priest(Q) ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger(R) of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.(S) 8 But you have turned from the way(T) and by your teaching have caused many to stumble;(U) you have violated the covenant(V) with Levi,”(W) says the Lord Almighty. 9 “So I have caused you to be despised(X) and humiliated(Y) before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality(Z) in matters of the law.”(AA)
Breaking Covenant Through Divorce
10 Do we not all have one Father[b]?(AB) Did not one God create us?(AC) Why do we profane the covenant(AD) of our ancestors by being unfaithful(AE) to one another?
11 Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable(AF) thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves(AG) by marrying(AH) women who worship a foreign god.(AI) 12 As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove(AJ) him from the tents of Jacob[c](AK)—even though he brings an offering(AL) to the Lord Almighty.
13 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears.(AM) You weep and wail(AN) because he no longer looks with favor(AO) on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.(AP) 14 You ask,(AQ) “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness(AR) between you and the wife of your youth.(AS) You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.(AT)
15 Has not the one God made you?(AU) You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.[d](AV) So be on your guard,(AW) and do not be unfaithful(AX) to the wife of your youth.
16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,(AY)” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”[e](AZ) says the Lord Almighty.
So be on your guard,(BA) and do not be unfaithful.
Breaking Covenant Through Injustice
17 You have wearied(BB) the Lord with your words.
“How have we wearied him?” you ask.(BC)
By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased(BD) with them” or “Where is the God of justice?(BE)”
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:3 Or will blight your grain
- Malachi 2:10 Or father
- Malachi 2:12 Or 12 May the Lord remove from the tents of Jacob anyone who gives testimony in behalf of the man who does this
- Malachi 2:15 The meaning of the Hebrew for the first part of this verse is uncertain.
- 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,”
Tree of Life Version (TLV)
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.