Malachi 2:3

Footnotes

1. 3 The phrase “discipline your children” is disputed. The and suppose זְרוֹעַ (zéroa’, “arm”) for the זֶרַע (zera’, “seed”; hence, “children”). Then, for the גֹעֵר (go’er, “rebuking”) the same versions suggest גָּרַע (gara’, “take away”). The resulting translation is “I am about to take away your arm” (cf. “deprive you of the shoulder”). However, this reading is unlikely. It is common for a curse (v. 2) to fall on offspring (see, e.g., Deut 28:18, 32, 41, 53, 55, 57), but a curse never takes the form of a broken or amputated arm. It is preferable to retain the reading of the here.
2. 4 The Hebrew term פֶרֶשׁ (feresh, “offal”) refers to the entrails as ripped out in preparing a sacrificial victim ( 831 פֶּרֶשׁ). This graphic term has been variously translated: “dung” (, , , ); “refuse” (, ); “offal” (, ).
3. 5 See Zech 3:3–4 for similar coarse imagery which reflects cultic disqualification.