New American Standard Bible 2020

Malachi 2

Priests to Be Disciplined

1“And now, this commandment is for you, the priests. 2If you do 1not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,” says the Lord of armies, “then I will send the 2curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have 3cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart. 3Behold, I am going to 4rebuke your 5descendants, and I will 6spread 7dung on your faces, the 8dung of your 9feasts; and you will be taken away 10with it. 4Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, 11so that My 12covenant may 13continue with Levi,” says the Lord of armies. 5“My covenant with him was one of life and 14peace, and I gave them to him as an object of 15reverence; so he 16 17revered Me and was in awe of My name. 6 18 19True instruction was in his mouth and injustice was not found on his lips; he walked 20with Me in peace and justice, and he 21turned many back from wrongdoing. 7For the lips of a priest should maintain 22knowledge, and people should 23seek 24instruction from his mouth; for he is the 25messenger of the Lord of armies. 8But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to 26stumble 27by the instruction; you have 28ruined the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of armies. 9“So 29I also have made you despised and of 30low reputation 31in the view of all the people, since you are not keeping My ways but are showing 32partiality in the 33instruction.”

Sin in the Family

10Do we not all have 34one Father? 35Is it not one God who has created us? Why do we deal 36treacherously, each against his brother so as to profane the 37covenant of our fathers? 11Judah has dealt 38treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has 39profaned the sanctuary of the Lord 40which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12As for the man who does this, may the 41Lord eliminate from the tents of Jacob everyone who is awake and answers, or who 42presents 43an offering to the Lord of armies.

13And this is 44another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and sighing, because He 45no longer gives attention to the 46offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the 47wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt 48treacherously, though she is your marriage companion and your wife by covenant. 15 49But not one has 50done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And 51why the one? He was seeking a 52godly offspring. Be careful then about your spirit, and see that none of you deals 53treacherously against the wife of your youth. 16“For 54I hate 55 56divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and 57him who covers his garment with 58violence,” says the Lord of armies. “So be careful about your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

17You have 59wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “60Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He 61delights in them,” or, “62Where is the God of 63justice?”

Notes

1. Malachi 2:2 Lev 26:14, 15; Deut 28:15 ↩
2. Malachi 2:2 Deut 28:16-20 ↩
3. Malachi 2:2 Mal 3:9 ↩
4. Malachi 2:3 Lev 26:16; Deut 28:38 ↩
5. Malachi 2:3 Lit seed ↩
6. Malachi 2:3 Nah 3:6 ↩
7. Malachi 2:3 Or vomit ↩
8. Malachi 2:3 Or vomit ↩
9. Malachi 2:3 Ex 29:14 ↩
10. Malachi 2:3 Lit to ↩
11. Malachi 2:4 Or to be My covenant with ↩
12. Malachi 2:4 Num 3:11-13, 45; 18:21; Neh 13:29; Mal 3:1 ↩
13. Malachi 2:4 Lit be ↩
14. Malachi 2:5 Num 25:12 ↩
15. Malachi 2:5 Or fear ↩
16. Malachi 2:5 Or feared ↩
17. Malachi 2:5 Num 25:7, 8, 13 ↩
18. Malachi 2:6 Or Law of truth ↩
19. Malachi 2:6 Ps 119:142, 151, 160 ↩
20. Malachi 2:6 Deut 33:8, 9; Ps 37:37 ↩
21. Malachi 2:6 Jer 23:22 ↩
22. Malachi 2:7 Lev 10:11; Neh 8:7 ↩
23. Malachi 2:7 Num 27:21; Deut 17:8-11; Jer 18:18; Ezek 7:26 ↩
24. Malachi 2:7 Or the Law ↩
25. Malachi 2:7 Hag 1:13 ↩
26. Malachi 2:8 Jer 18:15 ↩
27. Malachi 2:8 Or in the Law ↩
28. Malachi 2:8 Num 25:12, 13; Neh 13:29; Ezek 44:10 ↩
29. Malachi 2:9 Nah 3:6 ↩
30. Malachi 2:9 Ezek 7:26 ↩
31. Malachi 2:9 Lit to ↩
32. Malachi 2:9 Deut 1:17; Mic 3:11 ↩
33. Malachi 2:9 Or law ↩
34. Malachi 2:10 Is 63:16; 64:8; Jer 31:9; 1 Cor 8:6; Eph 4:6 ↩
35. Malachi 2:10 Acts 17:24f ↩
36. Malachi 2:10 Jer 9:4, 5 ↩
37. Malachi 2:10 Ex 19:4-6; 24:3, 7, 8 ↩
38. Malachi 2:11 Jer 3:7-9 ↩
39. Malachi 2:11 Ezra 9:1, 2 ↩
40. Malachi 2:11 Or in that he has loved and married ↩
41. Malachi 2:12 Ezek 24:21; Hos 9:12 ↩
42. Malachi 2:12 Mal 1:10, 13 ↩
43. Malachi 2:12 Or a grain offering ↩
44. Malachi 2:13 Lit a second ↩
45. Malachi 2:13 Jer 11:14; 14:12 ↩
46. Malachi 2:13 Or grain offering ↩
47. Malachi 2:14 Is 54:6 ↩
48. Malachi 2:14 Jer 9:2; Mal 3:5 ↩
49. Malachi 2:15 Or Did He not make one, although He had the remnant ↩
50. Malachi 2:15 Gen 2:24; Matt 19:4, 5 ↩
51. Malachi 2:15 Or what did the one do while he was seeking ↩
52. Malachi 2:15 Ruth 4:12; 1 Sam 2:20 ↩
53. Malachi 2:15 Ex 20:14; Lev 20:10 ↩
54. Malachi 2:16 Lit He hates ↩
55. Malachi 2:16 Lit sending away ↩
56. Malachi 2:16 Deut 24:1; Matt 5:31; 19:6-8 ↩
57. Malachi 2:16 Lit he covers ↩
58. Malachi 2:16 Ps 73:6; Is 59:6 ↩
59. Malachi 2:17 Is 43:22, 24 ↩
60. Malachi 2:17 Is 5:20; Zeph 1:12 ↩
61. Malachi 2:17 Job 9:24 ↩
62. Malachi 2:17 2 Pet 3:4 ↩
63. Malachi 2:17 Is 5:19; Jer 17:15 ↩

Priests to Be Disciplined

Sin in the Family

Notes

Commentaries on Malachi 2