Malachi 2:5

Malachi 2:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)“My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.
• English Standard Version (ESV)My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“My covenant was with him, one of life and peace, And I gave them to him that he might fear Me; So he feared Me And was reverent before My name.

Context of Malachi 2:5

3“Look, I am going to rebuke your descendants, and I will spread animal waste over your faces, the waste from your festival sacrifices, and you will be taken away with it. 4Then you will know that I sent you this decree, so that my covenant with Levi may continue,” says the Lord of Armies. “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave these to him; it called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and integrity and turned many from iniquity. 7For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should desire instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Armies.

Malachi 2:5 word by word

בְּרִיתִ֣י׀ הָיְתָ֣ה אִתּ֗וֹ הַֽחַיִּים֙ וְהַ֨שָּׁל֔וֹם וָאֶתְּנֵֽם־ל֥וֹ מוֹרָ֖א וַיִּֽירָאֵ֑נִי וּמִפְּנֵ֥י שְׁמִ֖י נִחַ֥ת הֽוּא׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• My covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
• was with him of lifeחַיִּיםchay · lifeH2416
• and peaceשָׁלוֹםshâlôm shâlôm · peaceH7965
• and I gaveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• the fearמוֹרָאmôrâ' môrâ' môrâh · fearH4172
• wherewith he fearedיָרֵאyârê' · to fear: revereH3372
• me, and was afraidחָתַתchâthath · to to be dismayedH2865
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: becauseH6440
• my nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034

Cross-references for Malachi 2:5

• Numbers 3:45“Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle. The Levites belong to me; I am the Lord.
• Numbers 8:15After that the Levites may come to serve at the tent of meeting, once you have ceremonially cleansed them and presented them as a presentation offering.
• Numbers 16:9Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelite community to bring you near to himself, to perform the work at the Lord’s tabernacle, and to stand before the community to minister to them?
• Numbers 18:8Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Look, I have put you in charge of the contributions brought to me. As for all the holy offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute.
• Numbers 25:12Therefore declare: I grant him my covenant of peace.
• Deuteronomy 33:8He said about Levi: Your Thummim and Urim belong to your faithful one; you tested him at Massah and contended with him at the Waters of Meribah.
• Psalms 106:30But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped.
• Ezekiel 34:25“‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate dangerous creatures from the land, so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.
• Ezekiel 37:26I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a permanent covenant with them. I will establish and multiply them and will set my sanctuary among them forever.
• Exodus 32:26And Moses stood at the camp’s entrance and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him.

Commentaries on Malachi 2:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5My covenant was with him of life and peace - These are the two grand blessings given to men by the New Covenant, which was shadowed by the Old. To man, excluded from the favor of God, and sentenced to death because of sin, God gave ברית berith, a covenant sacrifice, and this secured life - exemption from the death deserved by transgressors; communication of that inward spiritual life given by Christ, and issuing in that eternal life promised to all his…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5My covenant was with him life and peace; - literally “the life and the peace;” that, which alone is true “life and peace.” The covenant was not with Levi himself, but with Aaron, his representative, with whom the covenant was made in the desert, as is indeed here expressed; and, in him, with all his race after him, who succeeded him in his office; as, when it is said, that 1 Chronicles 6:49, “Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of burnt-offering,”…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-9Malachi’s second message confirms the Lord as God and father of Israel. God alone deserves true worship. The first part (Malachi 1:6–14) shows how the Israelites dishonored God despite his fatherly care and great power. The second part (Malachi 2:1–9) warns the priests of Judah against sacrificing sick and defective animals and criticizes them for not teaching God’s instructions (2:6–8).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-95-9. He describes the promises, and also the conditions of the covenant; Levi's observance of the conditions and reward (compare Nu 25:11-13, Phinehas' zeal); and on the other hand the violation of the conditions, and consequent punishment of the present priests. "Life" here includes the perpetuity implied in Nu 25:13, "everlasting priesthood." "Peace" is specified both here and there. Maurer thus explains it; the Hebrew is, literally, "My covenant was…Read the comment

Topics related to Malachi 2:5

• Adultery
• Covenant
• Levites
• Peace

In the dictionaries

• Corrupt
• Profane
• Wherein
• Awe
• Malachi
• Peace
• Priests and Levites

Commentaries on Malachi 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings