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.”
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- 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
New Living Translation
A Warning to the Priests
2 “Listen, you priests—this command is for you! 2 Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you have not taken my warning to heart. 3 I will punish your descendants and splatter your faces with the manure from your festival sacrifices, and I will throw you on the manure pile. 4 Then at last you will know it was I who sent you this warning so that my covenant with the Levites can continue,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
5 “The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and that is what I gave them. This required reverence from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 They passed on to the people the truth of the instructions they received from me. They did not lie or cheat; they walked with me, living good and righteous lives, and they turned many from lives of sin.
7 “The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 8 But you priests have left God’s paths. Your instructions have caused many to stumble into sin. You have corrupted the covenant I made with the Levites,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 9 “So I have made you despised and humiliated in the eyes of all the people. For you have not obeyed me but have shown favoritism in the way you carry out my instructions.”
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