Malachi 1–2

Chapter 1

God’s Love for Jacob

¹The ^1aoracle of the word of the Lord to ^bIsrael through ²Malachi.

²“I have ^aloved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I ^bhave loved Jacob;

³but I have hated Esau, and I have ^amade his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”

⁴Though Edom says, “We have been ^abeaten down, but we will ^1breturn and build up the ruins”; thus says the Lord of hosts, “They may ^cbuild, but I will tear down; and men will call them the ²wicked territory, and the people ³toward whom the Lord is indignant ^dforever.”

⁵Your eyes will see this and you will say, “^aThe Lord ¹be magnified beyond the ²border of Israel!”

Sin of the Priests

⁶“ ‘A son ^ahonors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a ^bfather, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My ¹respect?’ says the Lord of hosts to you, O ^cpriests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

⁷“You are presenting ^adefiled ^1bfood upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The ^ctable of the Lord is to be despised.’

⁸“But when you present the ^ablind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? ¹Why not offer it to your ^bgovernor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the Lord of hosts.

⁹“But now ¹will you not ^aentreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? ²With such an offering on your part, will He ^breceive any of you kindly?” says the Lord of hosts.

¹⁰“Oh that there were one among you who would ^ashut the ¹gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of hosts, “^bnor will I accept an offering from ²you.

¹¹“For from the ^arising of the sun even to its setting, ^bMy name will be ^cgreat among the nations, and in every place ^dincense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be ^egreat among the nations,” says the Lord of hosts.

¹²“But you are ^aprofaning it, in that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’

¹³“You also say, ‘¹My, how ^atiresome it is!’ And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says the Lord of hosts, “and you bring what was taken by ^brobbery and what is ^clame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I ^dreceive that from your hand?” says the Lord.

¹⁴“But cursed be the ^aswindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a ^bblemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great ^cKing,” says the Lord of hosts, “and My name is ^1dfeared among the ²nations.”

Chapter 2

Priests to Be Disciplined

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

²“If you do ^anot listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,” says the Lord 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 taking it to heart.

³“Behold, I am going to ^arebuke your ¹offspring, and I will ^bspread ²refuse on your faces, the refuse 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 the Lord of hosts.

⁵“My covenant with him was one of life and ^apeace, and I gave them to him as an object of ¹reverence; so he ^2brevered Me and stood in awe of My name.

⁶“^1aTrue instruction 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 preserve ^aknowledge, and ¹men should ^bseek ²instruction from his mouth; for he is the ^cmessenger of the Lord 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 the Lord of hosts.

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

Sin in the Family

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 committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has ^bprofaned the sanctuary of the Lord ¹which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god.

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

¹³“This is ¹another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He ^ano longer regards the ²offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.

¹⁴“Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord 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 who has a remnant of the Spirit. And ²what did that one do while he was seeking a ^bgodly ³offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal ^ctreacherously against the wife of your youth.

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

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