New Living Translation
Malachi 2:16
16“For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”
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
14You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows. 15Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.” 17You have wearied the Lord with your words. “How have we wearied him?” you ask. You have wearied him by saying that all who do evil are good in the Lord’s sight, and he is pleased with them. You have wearied him by asking, “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
Words taken from the KJV.
- For the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- the Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- that he hatethשָׂנֵאώânê' · to hateH8130
- putting awayשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: divorceH7971
- coverethכָּסָהkâsâh · to coverH3680
- violenceחָמָסchâmâs · violenceH2555
- with his garmentלְבוּשׁlebûsh lebûsh · clothingH3830
- of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
- therefore take heedשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: guardH8104
- to your spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
- that ye deal not treacherouslyבָּגַדbâgad · to act treacherouslyH898
Cross-references for Malachi 2:16
- Deuteronomy 24:1“Suppose a man marries a woman but she does not please him. Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house.
- Isaiah 50:1This is what the Lord says: “Was your mother sent away because I divorced her? Did I sell you as slaves to my creditors? No, you were sold because of your sins. And your mother, too, was taken because of your sins.
- Matthew 5:31“You have heard the law that says, ‘A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce.’
- Matthew 19:3Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
- Mark 10:2Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?”
- Luke 16:18“For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
- Proverbs 28:13People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.
- Isaiah 28:20The bed you have made is too short to lie on. The blankets are too narrow to cover you.
- Isaiah 59:6Their webs can’t be made into clothing, and nothing they do is productive. All their activity is filled with sin, and violence is their trademark.
- Micah 7:2The godly people have all disappeared; not one honest person is left on the earth. They are all murderers, setting traps even for their own brothers.
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
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 Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries