New American Standard Bible 2020
Malachi 2:16
16“For 1I hate 23divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and 4him who covers his garment with 5violence,” says the Lord of armies. “So be careful about your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”
Malachi 2:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
- New International Version (NIV)“The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless."
- New King James Version (NKJV)“For the Lord God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one’s garment with violence,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously.”
Context of Malachi 2:16
14Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your marriage companion and your wife by covenant. 15But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And why the one? He was seeking a godly offspring. Be careful then about your spirit, and see that none of you deals treacherously against the wife of your youth. “For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with violence,” says the Lord of armies. “So be careful about your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.” 17You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”
Read all of Malachi 2Malachi 2:16 word by word
כִּֽי־שָׂנֵ֣א שַׁלַּ֗ח אָמַ֤ר יְהוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְכִסָּ֤ה חָמָס֙ עַל־לְבוּשׁ֔וֹ אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥ם בְּרוּחֲכֶ֖ם וְלֹ֥א תִבְגֹּֽדוּ׃ סRead the interlinear
- I hateשָׂנֵאώânê' · to hateH8130
- divorceשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: divorceH7971
- saysאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- the Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- him who coversכָּסָהkâsâh · to coverH3680
- his garmentלְבוּשׁlebûsh lebûsh · clothingH3830
- violenceחָמָסchâmâs · violenceH2555
- of armiesצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
- So beשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: obeyH8104
- about your spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
- that you do not dealבָּגַדbâgad · to act treacherouslyH898
Cross-references for Malachi 2:16
- Deuteronomy 24:1“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, that he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her away from his house,
- Isaiah 50:1This is what the Lord says: “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your wrongdoings, And for your wrongful acts your mother was sent away.
- Matthew 5:31“Now it was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away is to give her a certificate of divorce’;
- Matthew 19:3Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?”
- Mark 10:2And some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began questioning Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife.
- Luke 16:18“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.
- Proverbs 28:13One who conceals his wrongdoings will not prosper, But one who confesses and abandons them will find compassion.
- Isaiah 28:20The bed is too short on which to stretch out, And the blanket is too small to wrap oneself in.
- Isaiah 59:6Their webs will not become clothing, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of wrongdoing, And an act of violence is in their hands.
- Micah 7:2The godly person has perished from the land, And there is no upright person among mankind. All of them lie in wait for bloodshed; Each of them hunts the other with a net.
Commentaries on Malachi 2:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16For the Lord - hateth putting away - He abominates all such divorces, and him that makes them. Covereth violence with his garment - And he also notes those who frame idle excuses to cover the violence they have done to the wives of their youth, by putting them away, and taking others in their place, whom they now happen to like better, when their own wives have been worn down in domestic services.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16He hateth putting away - oHe had allowed it “for the hardness of their hearts,” yet only in the one case of some extreme bodily foulness discovered upon marriage, and which the woman, knowing the law, concealed at her own peril. Not subsequent illness or any consequences of it, however loathsome (as leprosy), were a ground of divorce, but only this concealed foulness, which the husband “found” upon marriage. The capricious tyrannical divorce, God saith…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-17Verses 10-17 Corrupt practices are the fruit of corrupt principles; and he who is false to his God, will not be true to his fellow mortals. In contempt of the marriage covenant, which God instituted, the Jews put away the wives they had of their own nation, probably to make room for strange wives. They made their lives bitter to them; yet, in the sight of others, they pretend to be tender of them. Consider she is thy wife; thy own; the nearest relation…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16hate: God dislikes a broken promise (see Malachi 1:3; Hosea 9:15). This is fitting because God's relationship with people is based on faithfulness, and he expected the same from Israel (Exodus 34:6; Deuteronomy 7:9). To divorce (literally send away) means to force a marriage partner to leave. Malachi wanted to address the misuse of divorce laws (see Deuteronomy 24:1–4). covers his garment with violence: Cruelty involves acts of violence or wrongdoing…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-1610-16. Reproof of those who contracted marriages with foreigners and repudiated their Jewish wives. 10. Have we not all one father?--Why, seeing we all have one common origin, "do we deal treacherously against one another" ("His brother" being a general expression implying that all are "brethren" and sisters as children of the same Father above (1Th 4:3-6), and so including the wives so injured)? namely, by putting away our Jewish wives, and taking…Read the comment
Topics related to Malachi 2:16
In the dictionaries
Notes
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
New American Standard Bible 2020 — © 1960–2020 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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