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Malachi 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Malachi 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 2
1 And now, priests, this commandment is for you:
If you do not listen,
2 (A)And if you do not take to heart
giving honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts,
I will send a curse upon you
and your blessing I will curse.
In fact, I have already cursed it,
because you do not take it to heart.
3 I will rebuke your offspring;
I will spread dung on your faces,
Dung from your feasts,
and will carry you to it.
4 You should know that I sent you this commandment
so that my covenant with Levi might endure,
says the Lord of hosts.
5 (B)My covenant with him was the life and peace which I gave him,
and the fear he had for me,
standing in awe of my name.
6 (C)Reliable instruction was in his mouth,
no perversity was found upon his lips;
He walked with me in integrity and uprightness,
and turned many away from evil.
7 (D)For a priest’s lips preserve knowledge,
and instruction is to be sought from his mouth,
because he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
8 But you have turned aside from the way,
and have caused many to stumble by your instruction;
You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,[a]
says the Lord of hosts.
9 I, therefore, have made you contemptible
and base before all the people,
For you do not keep my ways,
but show partiality in your instruction.
Marriage and Divorce
10 [b](E)Have we not all one father?
Has not one God created us?
Why, then, do we break faith with each other,
profaning the covenant of our ancestors?
11 (F)Judah has broken faith; an abominable thing
has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem.
Judah has profaned the Lord’s holy place, which he loves,
and has married a daughter of a foreign god.[c]
12 May the Lord cut off from the man who does this
both witness and advocate from the tents of Jacob,
and anyone to bring an offering to the Lord of hosts!
13 This also you do: the altar of the Lord you cover
with tears, weeping, and groaning,
Because the Lord no longer takes note of your offering
or accepts it favorably from your hand.
14 (G)And you say, “Why?”—
Because the Lord is witness
between you and the wife of your youth
With whom you have broken faith,
though she is your companion, your covenanted wife.[d]
15 (H)Did he not make them one, with flesh and spirit?
And what does the One require? Godly offspring!
You should be on guard, then, for your life,
and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.
16 For I hate divorce,
says the Lord, the God of Israel,
And the one who covers his garment with violence,
says the Lord of hosts.
You should be on guard, then, for your life,
and you must not break faith.
Purification and Just Judgment
17 You have wearied the Lord with your words,
yet you say, “How have we wearied him?”
By saying, “All evildoers
are good in the sight of the Lord,
And he is pleased with them,”
or “Where is the just God?”
Footnotes
- 2:8 The covenant of Levi: not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible. The covenant with Phinehas the grandson of Aaron (Nm 25:11–13) and the Blessing of Levi (Dt 33:8–11) may lie in the background.
- 2:10–16 Intermarriage of Israelites with foreigners was forbidden according to Dt 7:1–4. After the exile, attempts were made to enforce this law (Ezr 9–10). Foreign marriages are here portrayed as a covenantal violation (v. 10). They were all the more reprehensible when they were accompanied by the divorce of Israelite wives (vv. 14–16), and God finds their sacrifices unacceptable (vv. 13–14). In Mk 10:2–12, Jesus forbids divorce; in Mt 19:3–12, this ideal is maintained with the provision that unlawful marriage may be grounds for divorce (see 1 Cor 7:10–16). You should be on guard, then, for your life: a warning of punishment for failure to obey God (cf. Dt 4:9; Jos 23:11; Jer 17:21).
- 2:11 Daughter of a foreign god: this unusual phrase connotes a woman who does not share the same father/creator (v. 10), since she does not share the same covenant.
- 2:14 Companion…covenanted wife: the Hebrew word haberet signifies an equal, a partner. This woman, in contrast to the daughter of a foreign god, shares with her husband the same covenant with the Lord.
Malachi 2
New International Version
Malachi 2
New International Version
Additional Warning to the Priests
2 “And now, you priests, this warning is for you.(A) 2 If you do not listen,(B) and if you do not resolve to honor(C) my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse(D) on you, and I will curse your blessings.(E) Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.
3 “Because of you I will rebuke your descendants[a]; I will smear on your faces the dung(F) from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.(G) 4 And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi(H) may continue,” says the Lord Almighty. 5 “My covenant was with him, a covenant(I) of life and peace,(J) and I gave them to him; this called for reverence(K) and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction(L) was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked(M) with me in peace(N) and uprightness,(O) and turned many from sin.(P)
7 “For the lips of a priest(Q) ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger(R) of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.(S) 8 But you have turned from the way(T) and by your teaching have caused many to stumble;(U) you have violated the covenant(V) with Levi,”(W) says the Lord Almighty. 9 “So I have caused you to be despised(X) and humiliated(Y) before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality(Z) in matters of the law.”(AA)
Breaking Covenant Through Divorce
10 Do we not all have one Father[b]?(AB) Did not one God create us?(AC) Why do we profane the covenant(AD) of our ancestors by being unfaithful(AE) to one another?
11 Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable(AF) thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves(AG) by marrying(AH) women who worship a foreign god.(AI) 12 As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove(AJ) him from the tents of Jacob[c](AK)—even though he brings an offering(AL) to the Lord Almighty.
13 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears.(AM) You weep and wail(AN) because he no longer looks with favor(AO) on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.(AP) 14 You ask,(AQ) “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness(AR) between you and the wife of your youth.(AS) You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.(AT)
15 Has not the one God made you?(AU) You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.[d](AV) So be on your guard,(AW) and do not be unfaithful(AX) to the wife of your youth.
16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,(AY)” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”[e](AZ) says the Lord Almighty.
So be on your guard,(BA) and do not be unfaithful.
Breaking Covenant Through Injustice
17 You have wearied(BB) the Lord with your words.
“How have we wearied him?” you ask.(BC)
By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased(BD) with them” or “Where is the God of justice?(BE)”
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:3 Or will blight your grain
- Malachi 2:10 Or father
- Malachi 2:12 Or 12 May the Lord remove from the tents of Jacob anyone who gives testimony in behalf of the man who does this
- Malachi 2:15 The meaning of the Hebrew for the first part of this verse is uncertain.
- Malachi 2:16 Or “I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “because the man who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,”
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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