Malachi 2:1-9
New English Translation
The Sacrilege of the Priestly Message
2 “Now, you priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you do not listen and take seriously[a] the need to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will send judgment[b] on you and turn your blessings into curses—indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart. 3 I am about to discipline your children[c] and will spread offal[d] on your faces,[e] the very offal produced at your festivals, and you will be carried away along with it. 4 Then you will know that I sent this commandment to you so that my covenant[f] may continue to be with Levi,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 5 “My covenant with him was designed to bring life and peace. I gave its statutes to him to fill him with awe, and he indeed revered me and stood in awe before me. 6 He taught what was true;[g] sinful words were not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and integrity, and he turned many people away from sin. 7 For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge of sacred things, and people should seek instruction from him[h] because he is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 8 You, however, have turned from the way. You have caused many to violate the law;[i] you have corrupted the covenant with Levi,”[j] says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 9 “Therefore, I have caused you to be ignored and belittled before all people to the extent that you are not following after me and are showing partiality in your[k] instruction.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Malachi 2:2 tn Heb “and if you do not place upon [the] heart”; KJV, NAB, NRSV “lay it to heart.”
- Malachi 2:2 tn Heb “the curse” (so NASB, NRSV); NLT “a terrible curse.”
- Malachi 2:3 tc The phrase “discipline your children” is disputed. The LXX and Vulgate suppose זְרוֹעַ (zeroaʿ, “arm”) for the MT זֶרַע (zeraʿ, “seed”; hence, “children”). Then, for the MT גֹעֵר (goʿer, “rebuking”) the same versions suggest גָּרַע (garaʿ, “take away”). The resulting translation is “I am about to take away your arm” (cf. NAB “deprive you of the shoulder”). However, this reading is unlikely. It is common for a curse (v. 2) to fall on offspring (see, e.g., Deut 28:18, 32, 41, 53, 55, 57), but a curse never takes the form of a broken or amputated arm. It is preferable to retain the reading of the MT here.
- Malachi 2:3 tn The Hebrew term פֶרֶשׁ (feresh, “offal”) refers to the entrails as ripped out in preparing a sacrificial victim (BDB 831 s.v. פֶּרֶשׁ). This graphic term has been variously translated: “dung” (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NLT); “refuse” (NKJV, NASB); “offal” (NEB, NIV).
- Malachi 2:3 sn See Zech 3:3-4 for similar coarse imagery which reflects cultic disqualification.
- Malachi 2:4 sn My covenant refers to the priestly covenant through Aaron and his grandson Phinehas (see Exod 6:16-20; Num 25:10-13; Jer 33:21-22). The point here is to contrast the priestly ideal with the disgraceful manner in which it was being carried out in postexilic times.
- Malachi 2:6 tn Heb “True teaching was in his mouth”; cf. NASB, NRSV “True instruction (doctrine NAB) was in his mouth.”
- Malachi 2:7 tn Heb “from his mouth” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).
- Malachi 2:8 tn The definite article embedded within בַּתּוֹרָה (battorah) may suggest that the Torah is in mind and not just “ordinary” priestly instruction, though it might refer to the instruction previously mentioned (v. 7).
- Malachi 2:8 tn Or “the Levitical covenant.”
- Malachi 2:9 tn Heb “in the instruction” (so NASB). The Hebrew article is used here as a possessive pronoun (cf. NRSV, NLT).
Malachi 2:1-9
Amplified Bible
Priests to Be Disciplined
2 “Now, O priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the Lord of hosts, “then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings [on the people]. Indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart. 3 Behold, I am going to rebuke your seed, and I will spread the refuse on your faces, the refuse from the festival offerings; and you will be taken away with it [in disgrace]. 4 Then you will know [without any doubt] that I have sent this [new] commandment to you (priests), that My covenant may continue with Levi [the priestly tribe],” says the Lord of hosts. 5 “My covenant with Levi was [one of] life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he [and the priests] feared Me and stood in reverent awe of My name. 6 True instruction was in Levi’s mouth and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from wickedness. 7 For the lips of the priest should guard and preserve knowledge [of My law], and the people should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 8 But as for you [priests], you have turned from the way and you have caused many to stumble by your instruction [in the law]. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. 9 “So I have also made you despised and abased before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality [to people] in [your administration of] the law.”
Read full chapterNET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
