Malachi 2
New Living Translation
A Warning to the Priests
2 “Listen, you priests—this command is for you! 2 Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you have not taken my warning to heart. 3 I will punish your descendants and splatter your faces with the manure from your festival sacrifices, and I will throw you on the manure pile. 4 Then at last you will know it was I who sent you this warning so that my covenant with the Levites can continue,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
5 “The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and that is what I gave them. This required reverence from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 They passed on to the people the truth of the instructions they received from me. They did not lie or cheat; they walked with me, living good and righteous lives, and they turned many from lives of sin.
7 “The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 8 But you priests have left God’s paths. Your instructions have caused many to stumble into sin. You have corrupted the covenant I made with the Levites,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 9 “So I have made you despised and humiliated in the eyes of all the people. For you have not obeyed me but have shown favoritism in the way you carry out my instructions.”
A Call to Faithfulness
10 Are we not all children of the same Father? Are we not all created by the same God? Then why do we betray each other, violating the covenant of our ancestors?
11 Judah has been unfaithful, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. The men of Judah have defiled the Lord’s beloved sanctuary by marrying women who worship idols. 12 May the Lord cut off from the nation of Israel[a] every last man who has done this and yet brings an offering to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
13 Here is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure. 14 You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.
15 Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his.[b] And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce!”[c] says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,[d]” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”
17 You have wearied the Lord with your words.
“How have we wearied him?” you ask.
You have wearied him by saying that all who do evil are good in the Lord’s sight, and he is pleased with them. You have wearied him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”
Footnotes
- 2:12 Hebrew from the tents of Jacob. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.
- 2:15 Or Didn’t the one Lord make us and preserve our life and breath? or Didn’t the one Lord make her, both flesh and spirit? The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 2:16a Hebrew For he hates divorcing.
- 2:16b Hebrew to cover one’s garment with violence.
Malachi 2
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Warning to the Priests
2 “Therefore, this decree(A) is for you priests: 2 If you don’t listen, and if you don’t take it to heart(B) to honor My name,” says Yahweh of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings.(C) In fact, I have already begun to curse them because you are not taking it to heart.
3 “Look, I am going to rebuke your descendants,(D) and I will spread animal waste[a] over your faces, the waste from your festival sacrifices,(E) and you will be taken away with it. 4 Then you will know that I sent you this decree so My covenant with Levi(F) may continue,” says the Lord of Hosts. 5 “My covenant with him was one of life and peace,(G) and I gave these to him; it called for reverence, and he revered Me and stood in awe of My name.(H) 6 True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing wrong was found on his lips. He walked with Me(I) in peace and fairness and turned many from sin.(J) 7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts.(K)
8 “You, on the other hand, have turned from the way.(L) You have caused many to stumble(M) by your instruction. You have violated[b] the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of Hosts. 9 “So I in turn have made you despised(N) and humiliated before all the people because you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in your instruction.”(O)
Judah’s Marital Unfaithfulness
10 Don’t all of us have one Father?(P) Didn’t one God create us?(Q) Why then do we act treacherously against one another,(R) profaning(S) the covenant of our fathers?(T) 11 Judah has acted treacherously, and a detestable(U) thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned(V) the Lord’s sanctuary,[c](W) which He loves,(X) and has married the daughter of a foreign god.[d](Y) 12 To the man who does this, may the Lord cut off(Z) any descendants[e][f](AA) from the tents of Jacob, even if they present an offering to the Lord of Hosts.
13 And this is another thing you do: you cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning,(AB) because He no longer respects your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.(AC)
14 Yet you ask, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been a witness(AD) between you and the wife of your youth.(AE) You have acted treacherously against her, though she was your marriage partner(AF) and your wife by covenant.(AG) 15 Didn’t the one God make us with a remnant of His life-breath? And what does the One seek?[g] A godly offspring. So watch yourselves carefully,[h](AH) and do not act treacherously against the wife of your youth.
16 “If he hates(AI) and divorces his wife,(AJ)” says the Lord God of Israel, “he[i] covers his garment with injustice,”(AK) says the Lord of Hosts. Therefore, watch yourselves carefully,[j] and do not act treacherously.
Judgment at the Lord’s Coming
17 You have wearied the Lord(AL) with your words.
Yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?”
When you say, “Everyone who does what is evil is good in the Lord’s sight, and He is pleased with them,”(AM) or “Where is the God of justice?”(AN)
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:3 Dung or entrails
- Malachi 2:8 Lit corrupted
- Malachi 2:11 Or profaned what is holy to the Lord
- Malachi 2:11 = a woman who worshiped a foreign god
- Malachi 2:12 One Hb ms, LXX, DSS read off one witnessing or answering
- Malachi 2:12 Lit off one waking or answering; Hb obscure
- Malachi 2:15 Or Did the One not make them? So their flesh and spirit belong to Him, or No one who does this even has a remnant of the Spirit in him; Hb obscure
- Malachi 2:15 Lit So guard yourselves in your spirit
- Malachi 2:16 Or The Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce and the one who
- Malachi 2:16 Lit Therefore, guard yourselves in your spirit
Malaquías 2
La Palabra (España)
Contraste con el sacerdocio de Leví
2 A vosotros, pues, sacerdotes se dirige esta amonestación: 2 Si no estáis atentos y no os proponéis de corazón el honrar mi nombre —dice el Señor del universo—, enviaré maldición sobre vosotros y convertiré en maldición vuestras bendiciones. De hecho, ya he decidido convertirlas en maldición porque ninguno de vosotros toma en consideración este aviso. 3 Mirad, he decidido apartaros del sacerdocio y echaros a la cara los excrementos de vuestras celebraciones religiosas, con los que también vosotros seréis barridos. 4 Así reconoceréis que soy yo el que os dirijo esta amonestación para salvaguardar mi alianza con Leví —dice el Señor del universo—. 5 Mi alianza le ofrecía vida y paz, y se las otorgué para que me respetara; y, en efecto, respetó y reverenció mi nombre. 6 La enseñanza de su boca fue verdadera, y en sus labios nunca se halló maldad; la concordia y la rectitud caracterizaron su conducta respecto a mí, y consiguió que muchos se arrepintieran de sus culpas. 7 Y es que un sacerdote debe atesorar sabiduría, y de su boca se espera que salga la enseñanza, pues es un mensajero del Señor del universo. 8 Sin embargo, vosotros os desviasteis del camino, hicisteis tropezar a muchos con vuestra enseñanza y quebrantasteis la alianza de Leví —dice el Señor del universo—. 9 Así, pues, yo haré que todo el pueblo os considere despreciables y viles, ya que ninguno de vosotros observa mis preceptos ni sois imparciales al aplicar la ley.
Reproches contra la infidelidad
10 ¿No tenemos todos un mismo Padre? ¿No nos creó un mismo Dios? ¿Por qué, pues, traiciona cada uno a su hermano, incumpliendo la alianza que Dios hizo con nuestros antepasados? 11 Judá ha cometido traición; en Israel y en Jerusalén se han hecho cosas aborrecibles, pues Judá ha profanado el santuario amado por el Señor al permitir matrimonios con mujeres que adoran a dioses extranjeros. 12 Que el Señor extirpe de la nación israelita a quien hace tal cosa, al instigador, al que la realiza y a quien luego presenta ofrendas al Señor del universo. 13 Pero es que todavía añadís más: cubrís el altar del Señor de lágrimas, llanto y gemidos porque él ya no acepta con agrado vuestras ofrendas. 14 “¿Por qué sucede así?” —os preguntáis—. Pues porque el Señor es testigo de que tú has sido infiel a la esposa de tu juventud, la esposa y compañera con quien te comprometiste. 15 ¿No ha hecho Dios un solo ser, un cuerpo animado por el espíritu? ¿Y qué es lo que busca este único ser? Pues una descendencia concedida por Dios. Así que cuidad vuestro espíritu y no traicionéis a la esposa de vuestra juventud. 16 Pues el que repudia a su esposa porque ha dejado de amarla —dice el Señor, Dios de Israel— se comporta de forma violenta, —dice el Señor del universo—. Así pues, cuidad vuestro espíritu y no seáis infieles.
Anuncio del juicio del Señor
17 Vosotros habéis hastiado al Señor con vuestras palabras, y aún preguntáis: “¿En qué forma lo hemos hastiado?”. Lo habéis hecho al afirmar que quien obra mal agrada y complace al Señor, y también al preguntar: “¿Dónde está el Dios que hace justicia?”.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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La Palabra, (versión española) © 2010 Texto y Edición, Sociedad Bíblica de España