Additional Warning to the Priests

2 “And now, you priests, this warning is for you.v 2 If you do not listen,w and if you do not resolve to honorx my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a cursey on you, and I will curse your blessings.z Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.

3 “Because of you I will rebuke your descendantsa; I will smear on your faces the dunga from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.b 4 And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levic may continue,” says the Lord Almighty. 5 “My covenant was with him, a covenantd of life and peace,e and I gave them to him; this called for reverencef and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instructiong was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walkedh with me in peacei and uprightness,j and turned many from sin.k

7 “For the lips of a priestl ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messengerm of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.n 8 But you have turned from the wayo and by your teaching have caused many to stumble;p you have violated the covenantq with Levi,”r says the Lord Almighty. 9 “So I have caused you to be despiseds and humiliatedt before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partialityu in matters of the law.”v