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 Jehovah of hosts, then will I send the 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 rebuke ^[a]your seed, and will spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your feasts; and ye shall be taken away ^[b]with it. ⁴ And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant may be with Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts. ⁵ My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him that he might fear; and he feared me, and stood in awe of my name. ⁶ The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned 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 Jehovah of hosts. ⁸ But ye are turned aside out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble in the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith Jehovah 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 had respect of persons in the law.