Malachi 2
2
The Priests Do Not Teach the LORD’s Word Correctly
1“And now, you priests, this warning is for you. 2If you won’t listen and if you won’t consider giving honor to my name,” says the Lord of Armies, “then I’ll send a curse on you, and I’ll curse the blessings you give. Yes, I’ve already cursed them because you don’t carefully consider this.
3“I’m going to punish your descendants. I’m going to spread excrement on your faces, the excrement from your festival sacrifices. You will be discarded with it. 4Then you will know that I sent you this warning so that my promise #2:4 Or “covenant.” to Levi will continue,” says the Lord of Armies. 5“I promised Levi life and peace. I gave them to him so that he would respect me. He respected me and stood in awe of my name. 6The teaching that came from his mouth was true. Nothing unjust was found on his lips. He lived with me in peace and honesty and turned many people away from sin.
7“A priest’s lips should preserve knowledge. Then, because he is the messenger for the Lord of Armies, people will seek instruction from his mouth.
8“But you have turned from the ⌞correct⌟ path and caused many to stumble over my teachings. You have corrupted the promise made to Levi,” says the Lord of Armies. 9“So I have made you disgusting, and I have humiliated you in front of all the people, because you have not followed my ways. You have been unfair when ⌞applying⌟ my teachings.”
The People Break Their Marriage Vows
10Don’t all of us have the same father? Hasn’t the same God created us? Why are we unfaithful to each other? And why do we dishonor the promise given to our ancestors? 11Judah has been unfaithful! A disgusting thing has been done in Israel and Jerusalem. Judah has dishonored the holy place that the Lord loves and has married a woman who worships a foreign god. 12May the Lord exclude anyone who does this, whoever he may be. May he exclude them from Jacob’s tents and from bringing offerings to the Lord of Armies.
13Here is another thing you do: You cover the Lord’s altar with tears. You moan and groan because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them from you.
14But you ask, “Why ⌞aren’t our offerings accepted⌟?” It is because the Lord is a witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been unfaithful. Yet, she is your companion, the wife of your marriage vows. 15Didn’t ⌞God⌟ make you one? Your flesh and spirit belong to him. And what does the same ⌞God⌟ look for but godly descendants? So be careful not to be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
16“I hate divorce,” says the Lord God of Israel. “I hate the person who covers himself with violence,” says the Lord of Armies. “Be careful not to be unfaithful.”
17You have tried the patience of the Lord with your words.
But you ask, “How have we tried his patience?”
When you say, “Everyone who does evil is considered good by the Lord. He is pleased with them,” or “Where is the God of justice?”
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Malachi 2: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Malachi 2
2
1The LORD Almighty says to the priests, “This command is for you: 2You must honour me by what you do. If you will not listen to what I say, then I will bring a curse on you. I will put a curse on the things you receive for your support. In fact, I have already put a curse on them, because you do not take my command seriously. 3I will punish your children and rub your faces in the dung of the animals you sacrifice — and you will be taken out to the dunghill. 4#Num 3.11–13Then you will know that I have given you this command, so that my covenant with the priests, the descendants of Levi, will not be broken.
5 #
Num 25.12
“In my covenant I promised them life and well-being, and this is what I gave them, so that they might respect me. In those days they did respect and fear me. 6They taught what was right, not what was wrong. They lived in harmony with me; they not only did what was right themselves, but they also helped many others to stop doing evil. 7It is the duty of priests to teach the true knowledge of God. People should go to them to learn my will, because they are the messengers of the LORD Almighty.
8“But now you priests have turned away from the right path. Your teaching has led many to do wrong. You have broken the covenant I made with you. 9So I, in turn, will make the people of Israel despise you because you do not obey my will, and when you teach my people, you do not treat everyone alike.”
The People's Unfaithfulness to God
10Don't we all have the same father? Didn't the same God create us all? Then why do we break our promises to one another, and why do we despise the covenant that God made with our ancestors? 11The people of Judah have broken their promise to God and done a horrible thing in Jerusalem and all over the country. They have defiled the Temple which the LORD loves. Men have married women who worship foreign gods. 12May the LORD remove from the community of Israel those who did this, and never again let them participate in the offerings our nation brings to the LORD Almighty.#2.12 One ancient translation May… Almighty; Hebrew unclear.
13This is another thing you do. You drown the LORD's altar with tears, weeping and wailing because he no longer accepts the offerings you bring him. 14You ask why he no longer accepts them. It is because he knows you have broken your promise to the wife you married when you were young. She was your partner, and you have broken your promise to her, although you promised before God that you would be faithful to her. 15Didn't God make you one body and spirit with her?#2.15 Probable text Didn't God… her; Hebrew unclear. What was his purpose in this? It was that you should have children who are truly God's people. So make sure that none of you breaks his promise to his wife. 16“I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel. “I hate it when one of you does such a cruel thing to his wife. Make sure that you do not break your promise to be faithful to your wife.”
The Day of Judgement is Near
17You have tired the LORD out with your talk. But you ask, “How have we tired him?” By saying, “The LORD Almighty thinks all evildoers are good; in fact he likes them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God who is supposed to be just?”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.