Malachi 2:3

Malachi 2:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.
• New International Version (NIV)“Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will smear on your faces the dung from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Behold, I will rebuke your descendants And spread refuse on your faces, The refuse of your solemn feasts; And one will take you away with it.

Context of Malachi 2:3

1The Lord Almighty says this to the priests: 2‘Listen carefully to what I say to you. You must respect my name properly. If not, I will punish you. I will no longer bless you but I will curse you. I am already doing that because you do not respect my name as you should. I will punish your descendants. When you offer an animal as a sacrifice at your festivals, I will cover your faces with its dirty bits. Then they will throw you away with all the other dirty bits. Those are the bits that I cannot accept as clean.’ 4The Lord Almighty says, ‘When I punish you like that, you will know that I have warned you. Then the covenant that I made with Levi and his descendants, the priests, can continue. 5I promised to give them a good life with many blessings. Levi received what I promised to him. He served me and he respected me, as a priest should do.

Malachi 2:3 word by word

הִנְנִ֨י גֹעֵ֤ר לָכֶם֙ אֶת־הַזֶּ֔רַע וְזֵרִ֤יתִי פֶ֙רֶשׁ֙ עַל־פְּנֵיכֶ֔ם פֶּ֖רֶשׁ חַגֵּיכֶ֑ם וְנָשָׂ֥א אֶתְכֶ֖ם אֵלָֽיו׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Behold, I will corruptגָּעַרgâ‛ar · to rebukeH1605
• your seedזֶ֫רַעzera‛ · seed: childrenH2233
• and spreadזָרָהzârâh · to scatterH2219
• dungפֶּ֫רֶשׁperesh · fæcal matterH6569
• upon your facesפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
• of your solemn feastsחַגchag châg · feastH2282
• shall take you awayנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: bearH5375

Cross-references for Malachi 2:3

• Joel 1:17The seeds under the earth are dry. The places where they were stored have fallen down. Someone has broken them up because the seed does not grow.
• Malachi 2:9‘So I have caused all the people to insult you. They no longer respect you, because you do not obey my rules. When you teach my people, you are kind to some of them but you cheat others.’
• 1 Samuel 2:29But you and your sons do not respect the sacrifices that I have commanded people to offer in my house. Eli, you give more honour to your sons than you give to me. Your family eat all the best parts of the offerings that the Israelites bring to me. You have all become fat!”
• 1 Kings 14:10Because of this, I will bring great trouble to Jeroboam's family. I will kill every male among his descendants in Israel, whoever they are. I will completely destroy Jeroboam's family, like someone burns a heap of rubbish!
• 2 Kings 9:36They went back and they told Jehu. He said, ‘The Lord told his servant, Elijah from Tishbe, that this would happen. He said, “Dogs will eat Jezebel's dead body on the ground in Jezreel.
• Job 20:7But he will disappear for ever, like dung that people throw away. His friends will ask, “Where is he?”
• Psalms 83:10You destroyed them at Endor. Their bodies remained on the ground, like dirt.
• Jeremiah 8:2They will leave the bones all over the ground, under the sun, the moon and the stars. Those were the gods that my people loved. They served them and they worshipped them. Nobody will take their bones and bury them again. They will lie on the ground, like dung.
• Nahum 3:6I will throw dirt at you. I will do with you like you were nothing. And I will make everyone ashamed of you.
• Luke 14:35You would not even put it on your field. It cannot make the soil good. You would just throw it away. You have ears. So listen well to what I say.’
• 1 Corinthians 4:13When people say bad things against us, we answer with kind words. We have become like dirty things that people throw away. That is still true, even today.

Commentaries on Malachi 2:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Behold, I will corrupt your seed - So as to render it unfruitful. Newcome translates, - "I will take away from you the shoulder." This was the part that belonged to the priest, Leviticus 7:32; Deuteronomy 18:3. Spread dung upon your faces - Instead of receiving a sacrifice at your hands, I will throw your offerings back into your faces. Here God shows his contempt for them and their offerings.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Lo, I will rebuke the seed for your sake - oi. e., that it should not grow. He who worketh by His sustaining will all the operations of nature, would at His will withhold them. Neither priests nor Levites cultivated the soil; yet, since the tithes were assigned to them, the diminution of the harvest affected them. The meal-offering too was a requisite part of the sacrifice. (See also Joel 1:13; Joel 2:14.) And spread dung upon your phaces, the dung o of…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. 33. corrupt, &c.--literally, "rebuke," answering to the opposite prophecy of blessing (Mal 3:11), "I will rebuke the devourer." To rebuke the seed is to forbid its growing. your--literally, "for you"; that is, to your hurt. dung of ... solemn feasts--The dung in the maw of the victims sacrificed on the feast days; the maw was the perquisite of the priests (De 18:3), which gives peculiar point to the threat here. You shall get the dung of the maw as your…Read the comment

Topics related to Malachi 2:3

• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Corrupt
• Profane
• Wherein
• Dung; Dung Gate
• Malachi
• 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