Malachi 2

Corrupt Priests

2“And now, O ^apriests, this commandment is for you.

^2bIf you will not hear,

And if you will not take it to heart,

To give glory to My name,”

Says the Lord of hosts,

“I will send a curse upon you,

And I will curse your blessings.

Yes, I have cursed them ^calready,

Because you do not take it to heart.

³“Behold, I will rebuke your descendants

And spread ^drefuse on your faces,

The refuse of your solemn feasts;

And one will ^etake you away ¹with it.

⁴Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you,

That My covenant with Levi may continue,”

Says the Lord of hosts.

⁵“My ^fcovenant was with him, one of life and peace,

And I gave them to him ^gthat he might fear Me;

So he feared Me

And was reverent before My name.

^6hThe ²law of truth was in his mouth,

And ³injustice was not found on his lips.

He walked with Me in peace and equity,

And ⁱturned many away from iniquity.

⁷“For ^jthe lips of a priest should keep knowledge,

And people should seek the law from his mouth;

^kFor he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

⁸But you have departed from the way;

You ^lhave caused many to stumble at the law.

^mYou have corrupted the covenant of Levi,”

Says the Lord of hosts.

⁹“Therefore ⁿI also have made you contemptible and base

Before all the people,

Because you have not kept My ways

But have shown ^opartiality in the law.”

Treachery of Infidelity

^10pHave we not all one Father?

^qHas not one God created us?

Why do we deal treacherously with one another

By profaning the covenant of the fathers?

¹¹Judah has dealt treacherously,

And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem,

For Judah has ^rprofaned

The Lord’s holy institution which He loves:

He has married the daughter of a foreign god.

¹²May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob

The man who does this, being ⁴awake and aware,

Yet ^swho brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!

¹³And this is the second thing you do:

You cover the altar of the Lord with tears,

With weeping and crying;

So He does not regard the offering anymore,

Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.

¹⁴Yet you say, “For what reason?”

Because the Lord has been witness

Between you and ^tthe wife of your youth,

With whom you have dealt treacherously;

^uYet she is your companion

And your wife by covenant.

¹⁵But ^vdid He not make them one,

Having a remnant of the Spirit?

And why one?

He seeks ^wgodly offspring.

“Therefore take heed to your spirit,

And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.

¹⁶“For ^xthe Lord God of Israel says

That He hates divorce,

For it covers one’s garment with violence,”

Says the Lord of hosts.

Therefore take heed to your spirit,

That you do not deal treacherously.”

^17yYou have wearied the Lord with your words;

“Yet you say,

“In what way have we wearied Him?”

In that you say,

^z“Everyone who does evil

Is good in the sight of the Lord,

And He delights in them,”

Or, “Where is the God of justice?”