Malachi 1:7

Malachi 1:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible.
• New International Version (NIV)“By offering defiled food on my altar. “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ “By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible.
• English Standard Version (ESV)By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, 'How have we polluted you?' By saying that the Lord's table may be despised.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“You offer defiled food on My altar, But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’

Context of Malachi 1:7

5Your eyes will see it, and then you will say, ‘May the Lord be magnified even beyond the border of Israel!’” 6“A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects his master. If I am your father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The Lord who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, ‘How have we made light of your name?’ You are offering improper sacrifices on my altar, yet you ask, ‘How have we offended you?’ By treating the table of the Lord as if it is of no importance! 8For when you offer blind animals as a sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer the lame and sick, is that not wrong as well? Indeed, try offering them to your governor! Will he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the Lord who rules over all. 9But now plead for God’s favor that he might be gracious to us. “With this kind of offering in your hands, how can he be pleased with you?” asks the Lord who rules over all.

Malachi 1:7 word by word

מַגִּישִׁ֤ים עַֽל־מִזְבְּחִי֙ לֶ֣חֶם מְגֹאָ֔ל וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֖ם בַּמֶּ֣ה גֵֽאַלְנ֑וּךָ בֶּאֱמָרְכֶ֕ם שֻׁלְחַ֥ן יְהוָ֖ה נִבְזֶ֥ה הֽוּא׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Ye offerנָגַשׁnâgash · to approach: bringH5066
• pollutedגָּאַלgâ'al · to defileH1351
• breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · foodH3899
• upon mine altarמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
• and ye sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• The tableשֻׁלְחָןshûlchân · tableH7979
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• contemptibleבָּזָהbâzâh · to despiseH959

Cross-references for Malachi 1:7

• Leviticus 2:11“‘No grain offering which you present to the Lord can be made with yeast, for you must not offer up in smoke any yeast or honey as a gift to the Lord.
• Leviticus 21:6“‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts, the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy.
• Deuteronomy 15:21If they have any kind of blemish – lameness, blindness, or anything else – you may not offer them as a sacrifice to the Lord your God.
• Malachi 1:12“But you are profaning it by saying that the table of the Lord is common and its offerings despicable.
• 1 Samuel 2:15Even before they burned the fat, the priest’s attendant would come and say to the person who was making the sacrifice, “Hand over some meat for the priest to roast! He won’t take boiled meat from you, but only raw.”
• Ezekiel 41:22The altar was of wood, 5¼ feet high, with its length 3½ feet; its corners, its length, and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.”
• 1 Corinthians 10:21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot take part in the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
• 1 Corinthians 11:21For when it is time to eat, everyone proceeds with his own supper. One is hungry and another becomes drunk.

Commentaries on Malachi 1:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Ye offer polluted bread - The priests, probably to ingratiate themselves with the people, took the refuse beasts, etc., and offered them to God; and thus the sacrificial ordinances were rendered contemptible.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Offering polluted bread upon Mine altar - This, continuing on the words, “despisers of My Name,”, is the answer to their question, “Wherein have we despised Thy Name?” “Bread” might stand, in itself, either for the showbread, or for the מנחה minchāh meal-offering, which was the necessary accompaniment of sacrifices and sometimes the whole. But here the “polluted bread” cannot be the showbread, since this was not put upon the altar, but upon its own…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-14Verses 6-14 We may each charge upon ourselves what is here charged upon the priests. Our relation to God, as our Father and Master, strongly obliges us to fear and honour him. But they were so scornful that they derided reproof. Sinners ruin themselves by trying to baffle their convictions. Those who live in careless neglect of holy ordinances, who attend on them without reverence, and go from them under no concern, in effect say, The table of the Lord is…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7defiled food on my table: Ceremonial uncleanness or contamination made an object or person unfit for worship ceremonies to the Lord. In this case, defilement happened by ignoring the laws about acceptable animal sacrifices (Leviticus 22:17–25; Deuteronomy 15:21).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. ye offer, &c.--God's answer to their challenge (Mal 1:6), "Wherein have we despised?" polluted bread--namely, blemished sacrifices (Mal 1:8, 13, 14; De 15:21). So "the bread of thy God" is used for "sacrifices to God" (Le 21:8). polluted thee--that is, offered to thee "polluted bread." table of the Lord--that is, the altar (Eze 41:22) (not the table of showbread). Just as the sacrificial flesh is called "bread." contemptible--(Mal 1:12, 13). Ye…Read the comment

Topics related to Malachi 1:7

• Hypocrisy
• Infidelity
• Minister, Christian
• Presumption
• Table
• Unbelief

In the dictionaries

• Altar
• Abomination
• Defile; Defilement
• Malachi
• Pollution
• Table
• Tithe

Commentaries on Malachi 1

• 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
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings