Breaking Covenant Through Blemished Sacrifices

⁶ “A son honors his father,^(A) and a slave his master.^(B) If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect^(C) due me?” says the Lord Almighty.^(D)

“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.

“But you ask,^(E) ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’

⁷ “By offering defiled food^(F) on my altar.

“But you ask,^(G) ‘How have we defiled you?’

“By saying that the Lord’s table^(H) is contemptible. ⁸ When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals,^(I) is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased^(J) with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.^(K)

⁹ “Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings^(L) from your hands, will he accept^(M) you?”—says the Lord Almighty.

¹⁰ “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors,^(N) so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased^(O) with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept^(P) no offering^(Q) from your hands. ¹¹ My name will be great^(R) among the nations,^(S) from where the sun rises to where it sets.^(T) In every place incense^(U) and pure offerings^(V) will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty.

¹² “But you profane it by saying, ‘The Lord’s table^(W) is defiled,’ and, ‘Its food^(X) is contemptible.’ ¹³ And you say, ‘What a burden!’^(Y) and you sniff at it contemptuously,^(Z)” says the Lord Almighty.

“When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices,^(AA) should I accept them from your hands?”^(AB) says the Lord. ¹⁴ “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal^(AC) to the Lord. For I am a great king,^(AD)” says the Lord Almighty,^(AE) “and my name is to be feared^(AF) among the nations.^(AG)

²⁰ When you were slaves to sin,^(A) you were free from the control of righteousness.^{(B) 21} What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!^{(C) 22} But now that you have been set free from sin^(D) and have become slaves of God,^(E) the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.^{(F) 23} For the wages of sin is death,^(G) but the gift of God is eternal life^(H) in^[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.