Malachi 2:1-9

International Children’s Bible

Rules for Priests

2 “Priests, this command is for you. ² Listen to me. Pay attention to what I say. Honor my name,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies. “If you don’t, I will send a curse on you. I will curse your blessings. I have already cursed them because you don’t pay attention to what I say.

³ “I will punish your descendants. I will smear your faces with the garbage from your feasts. And you will be thrown away with it. ⁴ Then you will know why I am giving you this command. It is so that my agreement with Levi will continue,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies. ⁵ “My agreement for priests was with the tribe of Levi. I promised them life and peace. And I gave these to them so they would honor me. They did honor me and fear me. ⁶ They taught the true teachings. They spoke no lies. With peace and honesty they did what I said they should do. They kept many people from sinning.

⁷ “A priest should teach what he knows. People should learn the teachings from him because he is the messenger of the Lord of heaven’s armies. ⁸ But you priests have stopped obeying me. With your teachings you have caused many people to do wrong. You have broken the agreement with the tribe of Levi!” says the Lord of heaven’s armies. ⁹ “You have not been careful to do what I say. You take sides in court cases. So I have caused you to be hated and disgraced in front of everybody.”