Malachi 1
EasyEnglish Bible
God has loved Jacob but not Esau
1 This is the message that the Lord told to Malachi.[a] Malachi knew that he must tell this message to the Israelites.
2 The Lord says, ‘I have loved you.’
But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’[b]
The Lord says, ‘I chose to love Jacob and his descendants. Esau was Jacob's brother. 3 But I have not loved Esau and his descendants.[c]
Instead, I have caused trouble for Esau. I caused Esau's mountains to become a wilderness. Nobody uses that land any longer. Now there are only jackals in the land that belongs to Esau.’
4 Esau's descendants in Edom may say, ‘They have destroyed our towns, but we will build our houses again.’
But the Lord Almighty says, ‘They may build again, but I will knock everything down. People will call Edom, “The Evil Land”.[d] They will call them, “The Nation that the Lord is angry with for ever”. 5 You will see with your own eyes what I will do to them. Then you will say, “The Lord has great power, even beyond Israel's borders.” ’
The priests do not respect God
6 The Lord Almighty says this to the priests:
‘A son respects his father. A servant respects his master. If I am really your father and your master, why do you not respect me? You are my priests, but you insult my name.[e]
But then you ask, “What have we done to insult your name?”
7 You insult my name when you offer unclean sacrifices to me on my altar.
But you ask, “How have we offered unclean sacrifices to you?”
You have shown that you do not respect the Lord's altar as important.[f] 8 You offer blind animals as a sacrifice to me. You know that is wrong. You offer to me animals that cannot walk or animals that are ill. That is also a wrong thing to do. You would not give gifts like that to your city's ruler. If you did, he would surely not accept them. He would not be happy with your gifts.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
9 ‘Now you ask me to be kind to you. You want me to forgive you. But when you offer unclean animals as gifts to me, I will not be happy with your gifts.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
10 ‘It would be better if one of you shut the temple doors! Then you would not be able to offer useless sacrifices on my altar. I am not happy with you. I will not accept any more gifts from you.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
11 ‘People in every nation of the whole world will respect my name. People everywhere will offer incense and pure sacrifices to worship me. They will all know that I am great.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
12 ‘But you priests insult my name. You say that the Lord's altar is not special. You think that the food which you offer to me has no value. 13 You also say, “It is too much trouble to serve the Lord.” You think that you are too important to serve me.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
‘You offer to me animals that cannot walk or that are ill. You have even robbed other people to get some of these animals. Do you think that I will accept these unclean animals from you? Will I be happy with them?’
That is what the Lord says.
14 ‘You may promise to offer to me a valuable male animal from among your sheep. But then you change your mind. Instead, you offer to me an animal that has no value. I will surely punish you when you cheat me like that. Remember that I am a great king. People of all nations in the world respect my name with fear.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
Footnotes
- 1:1 When we write Lord like this, it is a special name for God. Sometimes people write it as ‘Yahweh’, or as ‘Jehovah’. It is his own name that he told Moses. See Exodus 3:14. It means ‘I am who I am’. This shows that God has always been there and he always will be there.
- 1:2 God says that he loves the Israelites because they are his special people.
- 1:3 Esau and Jacob were brothers who were twins. Esau was born first. So he should have received God's special blessing. But Esau sold his blessing to Jacob.
- 1:4 The people of Edom were Esau's descendants. They lived in the mountains. Then powerful enemies fought them. The Edomites had to leave their homes. Nobody lived there any longer.
- 1:6 When an Israelite spoke about God's name, he was speaking about God himself. So to insult the name of God was to show no respect for God himself.
- 1:7 The Israelites gave gifts as sacrifices to God. God told them in his Law how they should do that. They brought their gifts to the priests, who then made the sacrifices. Malachi says that the people and the priests were trying to cheat God. The gifts that they offered were not good and pure in the way that God said they should be.
Malachi 1
Lexham English Bible
1 An oracle.[a] The word of Yahweh to Israel through[b] Malachi.[c]
An Oracle Against Edom
2 “I have loved you,” says Yahweh, but you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is Esau not Jacob’s brother?” declares[d] Yahweh. “I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated. I have made his[e] mountain ranges a desolation, and given his inheritance to the jackals of the desert.” 4 If Edom says, “We are shattered, but we will return and rebuild the ruins,” Yahweh of hosts says this: “They may build, but I will tear down; and they will be called a territory of wickedness, and the people with whom Yahweh is angry forever.” 5 Your eyes will see this, and you will say, “Yahweh is great beyond the borders[f] of Israel.”
An Oracle Against the Temple Priesthood
6 “A son honors his father, and a slave his master;[g] but if I am a father, where is my honor, and if I am a master,[h] where is my reverence?” says Yahweh of hosts to you, O priests, who despise[i] my name. “But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ 7 You are presenting defiled food on my altar! But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ By saying that the table of Yahweh is despised! 8 When you offer a blind animal for sacrifice, is that not wrong?[j] And when you offer the lame and the one who is ill, is that not wrong?[k] Present it, please, to your governor! Will he be pleased with you? Will he show you favor?”[l] says Yahweh of hosts. 9 So then, implore the favor of God[m] so that he will be gracious to us. “This is what you have done.[n] Will he show favor to any of you?”[o] says Yahweh of hosts. 10 “Who also among you will shut the temple doors so that you will not kindle fire in vain on my altar? I take no pleasure in you,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and I will not accept[p] an offering from your hand. 11 From the rising of the sun to its setting, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is being presented to my name, and a pure offering. For my name is great among the nations,” says Yahweh of hosts. 12 “But you are profaning it by saying the table of the Lord is defiled, and its fruit—its food[q]—is despised! 13 And you say, ‘Look! This is a weariness,’ and you sniff with disdain at it,” says Yahweh of hosts. “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the one that is sick—this you bring as the offering! Should I accept it[r] from your hand?” says Yahweh. 14 “Cursed is the one who cheats, who has in his flock a male and vows it, but instead sacrifices a blemished one to the Lord! For I am a great king,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and my name is awesome among the nations.”
Footnotes
- Malachi 1:1 Literally “A burden”
- Malachi 1:1 Literally “by the hand of”
- Malachi 1:1 The name “Malachi” means “my messenger” in Hebrew
- Malachi 1:2 Literally “declaration of”
- Malachi 1:3 That is, “Esau’s”
- Malachi 1:5 Hebrew “boundary”
- Malachi 1:6 Hebrew “masters”
- Malachi 1:6 Hebrew “masters”
- Malachi 1:6 Literally “despisers of”
- Malachi 1:8 Or “is there no wrong?”
- Malachi 1:8 Or “is there no wrong?”
- Malachi 1:8 Literally “Will he lift your face?”
- Malachi 1:9 Literally “appease, please, the face of God”
- Malachi 1:9 Literally “From your hand was this”
- Malachi 1:9 Literally “will he lift up from you a face”
- Malachi 1:10 Literally “I will not take pleasure in”
- Malachi 1:12 The Hebrew here is difficult; “its food” may function to explain “its fruit”
- Malachi 1:13 Literally “take pleasure in it”
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