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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

  1. Malachi 1:1 Literally “A burden”
  2. Malachi 1:1 Literally “by the hand of”
  3. Malachi 1:1 The name “Malachi” means “my messenger” in Hebrew
  4. Malachi 1:2 Literally “declaration of”
  5. Malachi 1:3 That is, “Esau’s”
  6. Malachi 1:5 Hebrew “boundary”
  7. Malachi 1:6 Hebrew “masters”
  8. Malachi 1:6 Hebrew “masters”
  9. Malachi 1:6 Literally “despisers of”
  10. Malachi 1:8 Or “is there no wrong?”
  11. Malachi 1:8 Or “is there no wrong?”
  12. Malachi 1:8 Literally “Will he lift your face?”
  13. Malachi 1:9 Literally “appease, please, the face of God”
  14. Malachi 1:9 Literally “From your hand was this”
  15. Malachi 1:9 Literally “will he lift up from you a face”
  16. Malachi 1:10 Literally “I will not take pleasure in”
  17. Malachi 1:12 The Hebrew here is difficult; “its food” may function to explain “its fruit”
  18. Malachi 1:13 Literally “take pleasure in it”
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Malachi 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible

The Lord’s Love for Israel

1 An oracle:(A) The word of the Lord(B) to Israel through(C) Malachi.[a]

2 “I have loved you,”(D) says the Lord.

But you ask: “How have You loved us?”

“Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?”(E) This is the Lord’s declaration. “Even so, I loved Jacob, 3 but I hated Esau.(F) I turned his mountains into a wasteland, and gave his inheritance to the desert jackals.”(G)

4 Though Edom says: “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild[b] the ruins,” the Lord of Hosts says this: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called a wicked country(H) and the people the Lord has cursed[c] forever.(I) 5 Your own eyes will see this, and you yourselves will say, ‘The Lord is great, even beyond[d] the borders of Israel.’(J)

Disobedience of the Priests

6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?(K) says Yahweh of Hosts to you priests, who despise My name.”

Yet you ask: “How have we despised Your name?”

7 “By presenting defiled food on My altar.”

You ask: “How have we defiled You?”(L)

When you say: “The Lord’s table is contemptible.”(M)

8 “When you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present a lame or sick animal, is it not wrong?(N) Bring it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the Lord of Hosts. 9 “And now ask for God’s favor. Will He be gracious to us?(O) Since this has come from your hands, will He show any of you favor?”(P) asks the Lord of Hosts. 10 “I wish one of you would shut the temple doors,(Q) so you would no longer kindle a useless fire on My altar!(R) I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Hosts, “and I will accept(S) no offering from your hands.(T)

11 “For My name will be great among the nations,(U) from the rising of the sun to its setting. Incense[e] and pure offerings will be presented in My name in every place because My name will be great among the nations,”[f] says Yahweh of Hosts.

12 But you are profaning it(V) when you say: “The Lord’s table is defiled, and its product, its food, is contemptible.” 13 You also say: “Look, what a nuisance!” “And you scorn[g] it,”[h](W) says the Lord of Hosts. “You bring stolen,[i](X) lame, or sick animals. You bring this as an offering! Am I to accept that from your hands?” asks the Lord.

14 “The deceiver is cursed who has an acceptable male in his flock and makes a vow but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord.(Y) For I am a great King,” says Yahweh of Hosts, “and My name[j] will be feared among the nations.

Footnotes

  1. Malachi 1:1 = My Messenger
  2. Malachi 1:4 Or will return and build
  3. Malachi 1:4 Or Lord is angry with
  4. Malachi 1:5 Or great over
  5. Malachi 1:11 Or Burnt offerings
  6. Malachi 1:11 Or is great . . . are presented . . . is great
  7. Malachi 1:13 Lit blow at
  8. Malachi 1:13 Ancient Jewish tradition reads Me
  9. Malachi 1:13 Or injured
  10. Malachi 1:14 Or Because I am . . . Yahweh of Hosts, My name
Close NABRE

Malachi 1
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 1

1 [a]An oracle. The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.

Israel Preferred to Edom

2 (A)I love you, says the Lord;
    but you say, “How do you love us?”
3 [b](B)Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?—oracle of the Lord.
    I loved Jacob, but rejected Esau;
I made his mountains a waste,
    his heritage a desert for jackals.
4 (C)If Edom says, “We have been crushed,
    but we will rebuild the ruins,”
Thus says the Lord of hosts:
    They indeed may build, but I will tear down,
And they shall be called “territory of wickedness,”
    the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.
5 (D)Your own eyes will see it, and you will say,
    “Great is the Lord, even beyond the territory of Israel.”

Offense in Sacrifice and Priestly Duty

6 (E)A son honors his father,
    and a servant fears his master;
If, then, I am a father,
    where is the honor due to me?
And if I am a master,
    where is the fear due to me?
So says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests,
    who disdain my name.
But you ask, “How have we disdained your name?”
7     By offering defiled food on my altar!
You ask, “How have we defiled it?”
    By saying that the table of the Lord may be disdained!
8 [c](F)When you offer a blind animal for sacrifice,
    is there no wrong in that?
When you offer a lame or sick animal,
    is there no wrong in that?
Present it to your governor!
    Will he be pleased with you—or show you favor?
    says the Lord of hosts.
9 So now implore God’s favor, that he may have mercy on us!
    You are the ones who have done this;
Will he show favor to any of you?
    says the Lord of hosts.
10 [d]Oh, that one of you would just shut the temple gates
    to keep you from kindling fire on my altar in vain!
I take no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts;
    and I will not accept any offering from your hands!
11 (G)From the rising of the sun to its setting,
    my name is great among the nations;
Incense offerings are made to my name everywhere,
    and a pure offering;
For my name is great among the nations,
    says the Lord of hosts.
12 But you profane it by saying
    that the Lord’s table is defiled,
    and its food may be disdained.
13 You say, “See what a burden this is!”
    and you exasperate me, says the Lord of hosts;
You bring in what is mutilated, or lame, or sick;
    you bring it as an offering!
Will I accept it from your hands?
    says the Lord.
14 Cursed is the cheat who has in his flock an intact male,
    and vows it, but sacrifices to the Lord a defective one instead;
For a great king am I, says the Lord of hosts,
    and my name is feared among the nations.

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 See note on Zec 9:1.
  2. 1:3–5 The thought passes from the person Esau to his descendants, Edom, and from the person Jacob to his descendants, Israel; cf. Gn 25:21–23. In the New Testament, Paul uses this passage as an example of God’s freedom of choice in calling the Gentiles to faith (Rom 9:13).
  3. 1:8 The sacrificial offering of a lame, sick, or blind animal was forbidden in the law (Lv 22:17–25; Dt 17:1).
  4. 1:10–11 The imperfect sacrifices offered by the people of Judah are displeasing to the Lord. Kindling fire on my altar: kindle the altar fire for sacrifice. In contrast, the Lord is pleased with the sacrifices offered by other peoples in other places (the rising of the sun: the far east; its setting: the far west). Since the people of other nations could not be expected to know the Lord’s name as did the people of Judah, the rhetorical purpose of this statement is to shame the latter. Incense offerings: in the ancient world, the hallmark of an offering made to a god was the smoke it produced on an altar. In the Old Testament, this was true not only of animals (Lv 8:20–21) but also of incense (Ex 30:7), suet (Lv 3:11), and grain offerings (Lv 6:8). In a Christian interpretation of Mal 1:10–11, the “pure offering” of Mal 1:11 is seen as a reference to sacrifice in the Messianic Age. The Council of Trent endorsed this interpretation (DS 1724).
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