Malachi 2:1–3:7
“And so then, O priests, this command is for you: 2 If you will not listen, and if you will not ⌊take it to heart⌋a to give glory to my name,” says Yahweh of hosts, “then I will send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings; moreover I have already cursed them because ⌊you are not taking it to heart⌋.b 3 Look! I am going to rebuke ⌊your offspring⌋,c and I will scatter offal on your faces, the offal of your religious feasts, and you will be carried to it.d
4 “Then you will know that I have sent to you this command, that my covenant with Levi ⌊continues⌋,”e says Yahweh of hosts. 5 “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. This required reverence, and he reveredf me and stood in awe ⌊before⌋g my name. 6 The instruction of truthh was in his mouth, and wickedness was not found on his lips. In peace and in uprightnessi he walked with me, and he brought back many from sin.j 7 For the lips of the priest should guard knowledge, and they should seek instructionk from his mouth, for he is the messenger of Yahweh of hosts. 8 But you, you have turned from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction;l you have ruined the covenant of Levi,” says Yahweh of hosts. 9 “And in turn I have made you despised and humbled before all the people, inasmuch as you are not keepingm my way, but are ⌊favoring your own instruction⌋.”n
10 ⌊Do we not all have⌋o one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we unfaithful ⌊to one another⌋,p profaning the covenant of our ancestors?q 11 Judah has been faithless, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. Judah has profaned the sanctuary of Yahweh which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreignr god. 12 May Yahweh cut off from the tents of Jacob the man who does this, the one who is awake and who answers, and the one who brings an offering to Yahweh of hosts!
13 And this you do ⌊as well⌋:s you cover the altar of Yahweh with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because het ⌊no longer regards the offering⌋u or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 But you ask, “⌊For what reason⌋?”v Because Yahweh stands as a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have been unfaithful, even though she is your marriage partner and ⌊your wife by covenant⌋.w 15 ⌊Did not one God make them?⌋x But a remnant of the spirit is his.y And what does the one God desire? An offspring of God.z ⌊You must be attentive to⌋a your spirit, and you must not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce,”b says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “and he who covers his clothing with violence,” says Yahweh of hosts. “⌊You must be attentive to⌋c your spirit and you must not be unfaithful.”
17 You have wearied Yahweh with your words, but you ask, “With what have we wearied him?” You have done so ⌊when you say⌋,d “Everyone who does evil is good in the ⌊sight⌋e of Yahweh, and in them he delights,” or “Where is the God of justice?”
3 “Look! I am going to send my messenger,a and he will prepareb the way ⌊before me⌋.c And the Lord whom you are seeking will come suddenly to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you are taking pleasure—look!—he is about to come,” says Yahweh of hosts. 2 And who can endure the day of his coming? And who is the one who can stand ⌊when he appears⌋?d For he is like a refiner’s fire, like launderers’ alkali.e 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the children of Levi, and he will refine them like gold and like silver, and they will present to Yahweh offeringsf in righteousness. 4 And the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Yahweh, like in the days of old and like in former years.
5 “Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear ⌊falsely⌋,g and against the oppressors of the hired worker with his wages, the widow and the orphan, and ⌊the abusers of⌋h the alien,i and yet do not fear me,” says Yahweh of hosts.
6 “For I, Yahweh, have not changed,j and you, O children of Jacob, have not perished.k 7 From the days of your ancestorsl you have turned aside from my rules, and have not keptm them! Return to me and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of hosts, “but you say, ‘How shall we return?’