Chapter
1 2 3 4
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Malachi chapter 2

English Standard Version

New International Version

New American Standard Bible

Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

King James Version

1And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. 2If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. 3Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it. 4And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. 5My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. 6The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. 7For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 8But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. 9Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. 10Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. 12The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts.
New King James Version

1“And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you will not hear, And if you will not take it to heart, To give glory to My name,” Says the Lord of hosts, “I will send a curse upon you, And I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, Because you do not take it to heart. 3“Behold, I will rebuke your descendants And spread refuse on your faces, The refuse of your solemn feasts; And one will take you away with it. 4Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, That My covenant with Levi may continue,” Says the Lord of hosts. 5“My covenant was with him, one of life and peace, And I gave them to him that he might fear Me; So he feared Me And was reverent before My name. 6 The law of truth was in his mouth, And injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, And turned many away from iniquity. 7“For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 8But you have departed from the way; You have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” Says the Lord of hosts. 9“Therefore I also have made you contemptible and base Before all the people, Because you have not kept My ways But have shown partiality in the law.” 10 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another By profaning the covenant of the fathers? 11Judah has dealt treacherously, And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, For Judah has profaned The Lord’s holy institution which He loves: He has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob The man who does this, being awake and aware, Yet who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts! 13And this is the second thing you do: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, With weeping and crying; So He does not regard the offering anymore, Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. 14Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant. 15But did He not make them one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. 16“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.” 17 You have wearied the Lord with your words; Yet you say, “In what way 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?”

What does Malachi chapter 2 mean?

Malachi has a nuanced structure which is easily lost when looking at chapter and verse divisions. There are three main lessons delivered by Malachi, a name which literally means "My messenger." These lessons are divided into two halves. The focus of the first and second half of each lesson are mirror images of each other, so Malachi takes the form of a wave, flowing back and forth through ideas. Malachi is also unique among Old Testament prophets for taking the form of a dialogue, where God accuses Israel of specific sins, and Israel responds with doubt.

Chapter 2 (through verse 9) completes the first of Malachi's three messages, which is directed at the priests. They have been offering diseased, flawed, or unclean animals as sacrifices (Malachi 1:7–8). This is not only against the Old Testament Law, it is profoundly insulting to God. Israel's spiritual leaders know what to do, but they find it too much trouble (Malachi 1:13). As a result, God warns them that He will be honored properly, even by the—supposedly—unclean Gentiles (Malachi 1:11).

This passage completes God's oracle to the priests with a more personal threat. Insulting the name of God through disobedience and arrogance is to slight God Himself. If the priests continue to do as they have done, God will humiliate them in the eyes of the people (Malachi 2:9). He will remove them from office and allow them to be completely defiled by their own attitudes. This is phrased in rather graphic terms, with the metaphor of God smearing animal wastes on their faces (Malachi 2:3).

While this may seem harsh, the true penalty for "profaning" the name of God was supposed to be death (Numbers 18:32). So, even in judgment, God is showing mercy to those who abuse Him. The Old Testament priests were supposed to teach the people about God, as His messengers (Malachi 2:7). So, what Malachi—literally, "My messenger"— warns them about is very serious, indeed.

The second of Malachi's three messages begins in verse 10. As with Malachi's other lessons, this one begins with an accusation. Unlike the other charges, however, Israel gives no particular answer to this claim. Malachi's criticism here is that Israel is being unfaithful, to each other. Israelite men are divorcing their Jewish wives and marrying pagan women (Malachi 2:11,14).

Marrying those who reject God is blasphemy in and of itself. Adding to this national epidemic is the fact that the men of Israel are not only marrying those who worship false gods, they are breaking their commitments to Israelite women in order to do so. In this passage, God expresses absolute hatred for divorce (Malachi 2:16). The Bible is clear that God's laws regarding divorce are in no way a sign of acceptance. Rather, they are a necessity brought on by our own hard hearts (Matthew 19:8).

Sadly, the people of Israel are numb to their own sin. Worse, they blame God for the consequences of their own actions. They break God's laws, then complain that God has not blessed them (Malachi 2:17). They ignore His warnings, and grumble when He does not protect them from their own mistakes. This takes the form of a very arrogant, very dangerous question: "Where is the God of justice?" As Malachi will explain in chapters 3 and 4, God's justice is certainly coming, so Israel ought to be careful what they wish for.
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