Malachi 2

CHAPTER 2

I Will Curse Your Blessings

¹“And now this commandment is for you, O priests.

²“If you do ^anot listen, and if you do not set it upon your heart to give ¹honor to My name,” says Yahweh of hosts, “then I will send the ^bcurse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have ^ccursed them already because you are not setting it upon your heart.

³“Behold, I am going to ^arebuke your seed, and I will ^bspread ¹refuse on your faces, the ²refuse of your ^cfeasts; and you will be taken away ³with it.

⁴“Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, ¹that My ^acovenant may ²continue with Levi,” says Yahweh of hosts.

⁵“My covenant with him was one of life and ^apeace, and I gave them to him as something to be ¹feared; so he ^bfeared Me and stood in ²awe of My name.

⁶“^1aInstruction of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked ^bwith Me in peace and uprightness, and he ^cturned many back from iniquity.

⁷“For the lips of a priest should keep ^aknowledge, and ¹men should ^bseek ²instruction from his mouth; for he is the ^cmessenger of Yahweh of hosts.

⁸“But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to ^astumble ¹by the instruction; you have ^2bcorrupted the covenant of Levi,” says Yahweh of hosts.

⁹“So ^aI also have made you despised and ^blow ¹before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing ^cpartiality in the ²instruction.

Judah Profaned Yahweh’s Sanctuary

¹⁰“Do we not all have ^aone father? ^bHas not one God created us? Why do we deal ^ctreacherously each against his brother so as to profane the ^dcovenant of our fathers?

¹¹“Judah has dealt ^atreacherously, and an abomination has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has ^bprofaned the sanctuary of Yahweh ¹which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god.

¹²“As for the man who does this, may ^aYahweh cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers or who ^bpresents ¹an offering to Yahweh of hosts.

¹³“And this is a second thing you do: you cover the altar of Yahweh with tears, with weeping, and with groaning because He ^ano longer regards the ¹offering or receives it as acceptable from your hand.

¹⁴“But you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because Yahweh has been a witness between you and the ^awife of your youth, against whom you have dealt ^btreacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

¹⁵“¹But not one has ^adone so, even one who has a remnant of the Spirit. And ²what did that one do while he was seeking a ^bgodly seed? Be careful then to keep your spirit, and let no one deal ^ctreacherously against the wife of your youth.

¹⁶“For ¹I hate ^2adivorce,” says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “and ³him who covers his garment with ^4bwrong,” says Yahweh of hosts. “Be careful then to keep your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

¹⁷You have ^awearied Yahweh with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “^bEveryone who does evil is good in the sight of Yahweh, and He ^cdelights in them,” or, “^dWhere is the God of ^ejustice?”