Revised Literal Translation
Malachi 2:16
16For Yhwh, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith Yhwh of Armies: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.12
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 ye say, Wherefore? because Yhwh hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. 15And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For Yhwh, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith Yhwh of Armies: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously. 17Ye have wearied Yhwh with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of Yhwh, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
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
- For Yhwhיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · 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 Armiesצָבָאtsâbâ' 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 24:1When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
- Isaiah 50:1Thus saith Yhwh, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
- Matthew 5:31It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
- Matthew 19:3The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
- Mark 10:2And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.
- Luke 16:18Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
- Proverbs 28:13He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
- Isaiah 28:20For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
- Isaiah 59:6Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.
- Micah 7:2The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother 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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries