Malachi 2
New International Version
Additional Warning to the Priests
2 “And now, you priests, this warning is for you.(A) 2 If you do not listen,(B) and if you do not resolve to honor(C) my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse(D) on you, and I will curse your blessings.(E) Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.
3 “Because of you I will rebuke your descendants[a]; I will smear on your faces the dung(F) from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.(G) 4 And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi(H) may continue,” says the Lord Almighty. 5 “My covenant was with him, a covenant(I) of life and peace,(J) and I gave them to him; this called for reverence(K) and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction(L) was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked(M) with me in peace(N) and uprightness,(O) and turned many from sin.(P)
7 “For the lips of a priest(Q) ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger(R) of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.(S) 8 But you have turned from the way(T) and by your teaching have caused many to stumble;(U) you have violated the covenant(V) with Levi,”(W) says the Lord Almighty. 9 “So I have caused you to be despised(X) and humiliated(Y) before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality(Z) in matters of the law.”(AA)
Breaking Covenant Through Divorce
10 Do we not all have one Father[b]?(AB) Did not one God create us?(AC) Why do we profane the covenant(AD) of our ancestors by being unfaithful(AE) to one another?
11 Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable(AF) thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves(AG) by marrying(AH) women who worship a foreign god.(AI) 12 As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove(AJ) him from the tents of Jacob[c](AK)—even though he brings an offering(AL) to the Lord Almighty.
13 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears.(AM) You weep and wail(AN) because he no longer looks with favor(AO) on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.(AP) 14 You ask,(AQ) “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness(AR) between you and the wife of your youth.(AS) You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.(AT)
15 Has not the one God made you?(AU) You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.[d](AV) So be on your guard,(AW) and do not be unfaithful(AX) to the wife of your youth.
16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,(AY)” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”[e](AZ) says the Lord Almighty.
So be on your guard,(BA) and do not be unfaithful.
Breaking Covenant Through Injustice
17 You have wearied(BB) the Lord with your words.
“How have we wearied him?” you ask.(BC)
By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased(BD) with them” or “Where is the God of justice?(BE)”
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:3 Or will blight your grain
- Malachi 2:10 Or father
- Malachi 2:12 Or 12 May the Lord remove from the tents of Jacob anyone who gives testimony in behalf of the man who does this
- Malachi 2:15 The meaning of the Hebrew for the first part of this verse is uncertain.
- Malachi 2:16 Or “I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “because the man who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,”
Malachi 2
New American Standard Bible
Priests to Be Disciplined
2 “And now, this commandment is for you, the priests. 2 If you do (A)not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,” says the Lord of armies, “then I will send the (B)curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have (C)cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart. 3 Behold, I am going to (D)rebuke your [a]descendants, and I will (E)spread [b]dung on your faces, the [c]dung of your (F)feasts; and you will be taken away [d]with it. 4 Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, [e]so that My (G)covenant may [f]continue with Levi,” says the Lord of armies. 5 “My covenant with him was one of life and (H)peace, and I gave them to him as an object of [g]reverence; so he [h](I)revered Me and was in awe of My name. 6 [i](J)True instruction was in his mouth and injustice was not found on his lips; he walked (K)with Me in peace and justice, and he (L)turned many back from wrongdoing. 7 For the lips of a priest should maintain (M)knowledge, and people should (N)seek [j]instruction from his mouth; for he is the (O)messenger of the Lord of armies. 8 But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to (P)stumble [k]by the instruction; you have (Q)ruined the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of armies. 9 “So (R)I also have made you despised and of (S)low reputation [l]in the view of all the people, since you are not keeping My ways but are showing (T)partiality in the [m]instruction.”
Sin in the Family
10 Do we not all have (U)one Father? (V)Is it not one God who has created us? Why do we deal (W)treacherously, each against his brother so as to profane the (X)covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has dealt (Y)treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has (Z)profaned the sanctuary of the Lord [n]which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 As for the man who does this, may the (AA)Lord eliminate from the tents of Jacob everyone who is awake and answers, or who (AB)presents [o]an offering to the Lord of armies.
13 And this is [p]another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and sighing, because He (AC)no longer gives attention to the [q]offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the (AD)wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt (AE)treacherously, though she is your marriage companion and your wife by covenant. 15 [r]But not one has (AF)done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And [s]why the one? He was seeking a (AG)godly offspring. Be careful then about your spirit, and see that none of you deals (AH)treacherously against the wife of your youth. 16 “For [t]I hate [u](AI)divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and [v]him who covers his garment with (AJ)violence,” says the Lord of armies. “So be careful about your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”
17 You have (AK)wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “(AL)Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He (AM)delights in them,” or, “(AN)Where is the God of (AO)justice?”
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:3 Lit seed
- Malachi 2:3 Or vomit
- Malachi 2:3 Or vomit
- Malachi 2:3 Lit to
- Malachi 2:4 Or to be My covenant with
- Malachi 2:4 Lit be
- Malachi 2:5 Or fear
- Malachi 2:5 Or feared
- Malachi 2:6 Or Law of truth
- Malachi 2:7 Or the Law
- Malachi 2:8 Or in the Law
- Malachi 2:9 Lit to
- Malachi 2:9 Or law
- Malachi 2:11 Or in that he has loved and married
- Malachi 2:12 Or a grain offering
- Malachi 2:13 Lit a second
- Malachi 2:13 Or grain offering
- Malachi 2:15 Or Did He not make one, although He had the remnant
- Malachi 2:15 Or what did the one do while he was seeking
- Malachi 2:16 Lit He hates
- Malachi 2:16 Lit sending away
- Malachi 2:16 Lit he covers
Malachi 2
Good News Translation
2 The Lord Almighty says to the priests, “This command is for you: 2 You must honor me by what you do. If you will not listen to what I say, then I will bring a curse on you. I will put a curse on the things you receive for your support. In fact, I have already put a curse on them, because you do not take my command seriously. 3 I will punish your children and rub your faces in the dung of the animals you sacrifice—and you will be taken out to the dung heap. 4 (A)Then you will know that I have given you this command, so that my covenant with the priests, the descendants of Levi, will not be broken.
5 (B)“In my covenant I promised them life and well-being, and this is what I gave them, so that they might respect me. In those days they did respect and fear me. 6 They taught what was right, not what was wrong. They lived in harmony with me; they not only did what was right themselves, but they also helped many others to stop doing evil. 7 It is the duty of priests to teach the true knowledge of God. People should go to them to learn my will, because they are the messengers of the Lord Almighty.
8 “But now you priests have turned away from the right path. Your teaching has led many to do wrong. You have broken the covenant I made with you. 9 So I, in turn, will make the people of Israel despise you because you do not obey my will, and when you teach my people, you do not treat everyone alike.”
The People's Unfaithfulness to God
10 Don't we all have the same father? Didn't the same God create us all? Then why do we break our promises to one another, and why do we despise the covenant that God made with our ancestors? 11 The people of Judah have broken their promise to God and done a horrible thing in Jerusalem and all over the country. They have defiled the Temple which the Lord loves. Men have married women who worship foreign gods. 12 May the Lord remove from the community of Israel those who did this, and never again let them participate in the offerings our nation brings to the Lord Almighty.[a]
13 This is another thing you do. You drown the Lord's altar with tears, weeping and wailing because he no longer accepts the offerings you bring him. 14 You ask why he no longer accepts them. It is because he knows you have broken your promise to the wife you married when you were young. She was your partner, and you have broken your promise to her, although you promised before God that you would be faithful to her. 15 Didn't God make you one body and spirit with her?[b] What was his purpose in this? It was that you should have children who are truly God's people. So make sure that none of you breaks his promise to his wife. 16 “I hate divorce,” says the Lord God of Israel. “I hate it when one of you does such a cruel thing to his wife. Make sure that you do not break your promise to be faithful to your wife.”
The Day of Judgment Is Near
17 You have tired the Lord out with your talk. But you ask, “How have we tired him?” By saying, “The Lord Almighty thinks all evildoers are good; in fact he likes them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God who is supposed to be just?”
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:12 One ancient translation May … Almighty; Hebrew unclear.
- Malachi 2:15 Probable text Didn't God … her; Hebrew unclear.
玛拉基书 2
Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified)
严责祭司违命负约
2 “众祭司啊,这诫命是传给你们的。 2 万军之耶和华说:你们若不听从,也不放在心上,将荣耀归于我的名,我就使咒诅临到你们,使你们的福分变为咒诅。因你们不把诫命放在心上,我已经咒诅你们了。 3 我必斥责你们的种子,又把你们牺牲的粪抹在你们的脸上,你们要与粪一同除掉。 4 你们就知道我传这诫命给你们,使我与利未[a]所立的约可以常存。这是万军之耶和华说的。 5 我曾与他立生命和平安的约,我将这两样赐给他,使他存敬畏的心,他就敬畏我,惧怕我的名。 6 真实的律法在他口中,他嘴里没有不义的话。他以平安和正直与我同行,使多人回头离开罪孽。 7 祭司的嘴里当存知识,人也当由他口中寻求律法,因为他是万军之耶和华的使者。 8 你们却偏离正道,使许多人在律法上跌倒。你们废弃我与利未所立的约。这是万军之耶和华说的。 9 所以我使你们被众人藐视,看为下贱,因你们不守我的道,竟在律法上瞻徇情面。”
责犹大背约崇邪
10 我们岂不都是一位父吗?岂不是一位神所造的吗?我们各人怎么以诡诈待弟兄,背弃了神与我们列祖所立的约呢? 11 犹大人行事诡诈,并且在以色列和耶路撒冷中行一件可憎的事,因为犹大人亵渎耶和华所喜爱的圣洁[b],娶侍奉外邦神的女子为妻。 12 凡行这事的,无论何人[c],就是献供物给万军之耶和华,耶和华也必从雅各的帐篷中剪除他。 13 你们又行了一件这样的事:使前妻叹息哭泣的眼泪遮盖耶和华的坛,以致耶和华不再看顾那供物,也不乐意从你们手中收纳。
责其行诈虐妻
14 你们还说:“这是为什么呢?”因耶和华在你和你幼年所娶的妻中间做见证。她虽是你的配偶,又是你盟约的妻,你却以诡诈待她。 15 虽然神有灵的余力能造多人,他不是单造一人吗?为何只造一人呢?乃是他愿人得虔诚的后裔。所以当谨守你们的心,谁也不可以诡诈待幼年所娶的妻。 16 耶和华以色列的神说:“休妻的事和以强暴待妻的人,都是我所恨恶的。所以当谨守你们的心,不可行诡诈。这是万军之耶和华说的。”
责其烦言渎主
17 你们用言语烦琐耶和华,你们还说:“我们在何事上烦琐他呢?”因为你们说“凡行恶的,耶和华眼看为善,并且他喜悦他们”,或说“公义的神在哪里呢?”。
Malachi 2
King James Version
2 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.
4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.
5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.
6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.
7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.
9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.
10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
11 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.
12 The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts.
13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
16 For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
17 Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
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