Malachi 2
Lexham English Bible
2 “And so then, O priests, this command is for you: 2 If you will not listen, and if you will not take it to heart[a] to give glory to my name,” says Yahweh of hosts, “then I will send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings; moreover I have already cursed them because you are not taking it to heart.[b] 3 Look! I am going to rebuke your offspring,[c] and I will scatter offal on your faces, the offal of your religious feasts, and you will be carried to it.[d]
4 “Then you will know that I have sent to you this command, that my covenant with Levi continues,”[e] says Yahweh of hosts. 5 “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. This required reverence, and he revered[f] me and stood in awe before[g] my name. 6 The instruction of truth[h] was in his mouth, and wickedness was not found on his lips. In peace and in uprightness[i] he walked with me, and he brought back many from sin.[j] 7 For the lips of the priest should guard knowledge, and they should seek instruction[k] from his mouth, for he is the messenger of Yahweh of hosts. 8 But you, you have turned from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction;[l] you have ruined the covenant of Levi,” says Yahweh of hosts. 9 “And in turn I have made you despised and humbled before all the people, inasmuch as you are not keeping[m] my way, but are favoring your own instruction.”[n]
Yahweh Hates Faithlessness
10 Do we not all have[o] one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we unfaithful to one another,[p] profaning the covenant of our ancestors?[q] 11 Judah has been faithless, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. Judah has profaned the sanctuary of Yahweh which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign[r] god. 12 May Yahweh cut off from the tents of Jacob the man who does this, the one who is awake and who answers, and the one who brings an offering to Yahweh of hosts!
13 And this you do as well:[s] you cover the altar of Yahweh with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because he[t] no longer regards the offering[u] or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 But you ask, “For what reason?”[v] Because Yahweh stands as a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have been unfaithful, even though she is your marriage partner and your wife by covenant.[w] 15 Did not one God make them?[x] But a remnant of the spirit is his.[y] And what does the one God desire? An offspring of God.[z] You must be attentive to[aa] your spirit, and you must not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce,”[ab] says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “and he who covers his clothing with violence,” says Yahweh of hosts. “You must be attentive to[ac] your spirit and you must not be unfaithful.”
17 You have wearied Yahweh with your words, but you ask, “With what have we wearied him?” You have done so when you say,[ad] “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight[ae] of Yahweh, and in them he delights,” or “Where is the God of justice?”
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:2 Literally, “place it on your heart”
- Malachi 2:2 Literally “you are not placing it on your heart”
- Malachi 2:3 Literally “for you the offspring”
- Malachi 2:3 The Hebrew is difficult. The subject is indefinite, and “it” likely refers to a refuse or waste pile
- Malachi 2:4 Literally “be”
- Malachi 2:5 Or “feared”
- Malachi 2:5 Literally “from the face of”
- Malachi 2:6 Or “law of truth”
- Malachi 2:6 Or “rectitude,” or “fairness”
- Malachi 2:6 Or “iniquity”
- Malachi 2:7 Or “law”
- Malachi 2:8 Or “the law”
- Malachi 2:9 Or “observing”
- Malachi 2:9 Literally “lifting faces in the instruction/law”
- Malachi 2:10 Literally “Is for all of us not”
- Malachi 2:10 Literally “each man to his brother”
- Malachi 2:10 Or “fathers”
- Malachi 2:11 Or “pagan”
- Malachi 2:13 Literally “a second time”
- Malachi 2:13 Yahweh
- Malachi 2:13 Literally “there is no longer turning to the offering”
- Malachi 2:14 Literally “Because of what?”
- Malachi 2:14 Literally “the wife of your covenant”
- Malachi 2:15 Literally “Not one did he make”
- Malachi 2:15 The meaning of this sentence is difficult; literally “And a remnant of the spirit to him”
- Malachi 2:15 Or “a godly offspring”
- Malachi 2:15 Literally “You must keep watch on”
- Malachi 2:16 Hebrew “sending away”
- Malachi 2:16 Literally “You must keep watch on”
- Malachi 2:17 Literally “at your saying”
- Malachi 2:17 Literally “eyes”
Malachi 2
The Message
Desecrating the Holiness of God
2 1-3 “And now this indictment, you priests! If you refuse to obediently listen, and if you refuse to honor me, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, in worship, then I’ll put you under a curse. I’ll exchange all your blessings for curses. In fact, the curses are already at work because you’re not serious about honoring me. Yes, and the curse will extend to your children. I’m going to plaster your faces with rotting garbage, garbage thrown out from your feasts. That’s what you have to look forward to!
4-6 “Maybe that will wake you up. Maybe then you’ll realize that I’m indicting you in order to put new life into my covenant with the priests of Levi, the covenant of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. My covenant with Levi was to give life and peace. I kept my covenant with him, and he honored me. He stood in reverent awe before me. He taught the truth and did not lie. He walked with me in peace and uprightness. He kept many out of the ditch, kept them on the road.
7-9 “It’s the job of priests to teach the truth. People are supposed to look to them for guidance. The priest is the messenger of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. But you priests have abandoned the way of priests. Your teaching has messed up many lives. You have corrupted the covenant of priest Levi. God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so. And so I am showing you up for who you are. Everyone will be disgusted with you and avoid you because you don’t live the way I told you to live, and you don’t teach my revelation truly and impartially.”
10 Don’t we all come from one Father? Aren’t we all created by the same God? So why can’t we get along? Why do we desecrate the covenant of our ancestors that binds us together?
11-12 Judah has cheated on God—a sickening violation of trust in Israel and Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the holiness of God by falling in love and running off with foreign women, women who worship alien gods. God’s curse on those who do this! Drive them out of house and home! They’re no longer fit to be part of the community no matter how many offerings they bring to God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
13-15 And here’s a second offense: You fill the place of worship with your whining and sniveling because you don’t get what you want from God. Do you know why? Simple. Because God was there as a witness when you spoke your marriage vows to your young bride, and now you’ve broken those vows, broken the faith-bond with your vowed companion, your covenant wife. God, not you, made marriage. His Spirit inhabits even the smallest details of marriage. And what does he want from marriage? Children of God, that’s what. So guard the spirit of marriage within you. Don’t cheat on your spouse.
16 “I hate divorce,” says the God of Israel. God-of-the-Angel-Armies says, “I hate the violent dismembering of the ‘one flesh’ of marriage.” So watch yourselves. Don’t let your guard down. Don’t cheat.
17 You make God tired with all your talk.
“How do we tire him out?” you ask.
By saying, “God loves sinners and sin alike. God loves all.” And also by saying, “Judgment? God’s too nice to judge.”
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