Malachi 2

Corrupt Priests

1 And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. And now, O priests, this commandment is for you.2 If 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 already, Because you do not take it to heart.3 Behold, I will rebuke your descendants And spread refuse on your faces, The refuse of your solemn feasts; And one will take you away with it.4 Then 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 covenant was with him, one of life and peace, And I gave them to him that he might fear Me; So he feared Me And was reverent before My name.6 The law of truth was in his mouth, And injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, And turned many away from iniquity.7 For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.8 But you have departed from the way; You have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, Says the Lord of hosts.9 Therefore I also have made you contemptible and base Before all the people, Because you have not kept My ways But have shown partiality in the law.

Treachery of Infidelity

10 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another By profaning the covenant of the fathers?11 Judah has dealt treacherously, And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, For Judah has profaned The Lords holy institution which He loves: He has married the daughter of a foreign god.12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob The man who does this, being awake and aware, Yet who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!13 And 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.14 Yet you say, For what reason? Because the Lord has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant.15 But did He not make them one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.16 For the Lord God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers ones garment with violence, Says the Lord of hosts. Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously.17 You have wearied the Lord with your words; Yet you say, In what way have we wearied Him? In that you say, Everyone who does evil Is good in the sight of the Lord, And He delights in them, Or, Where is the God of justice?

MALACHI 2

True and False Priests

1 I, the [Lord] All-Powerful, have something else to say to you priests. 2 You had better take seriously the need to honor my name. Otherwise, when you give a blessing, I will turn it into a curse. In fact, I have already done this, because you haven't taken to heart your duties as priests.

3 I will punish your descendants and rub your faces in the manure from your animal sacrifices, and then be done with you.t
4  t I am telling you this, so I can continue to keep my agreement with your ancestor Levi. 5 t I blessed him with a full life, as I had promised, and he kept his part of the agreement by honoring me and respecting my name.

6 He taught the truth and never told lies, and he led a lot of people to turn from sin, because he obeyed me and lived right.
7 You priests should be eager to spread knowledge, and everyone should come to you for instruction, because you speak for me, the [Lord] All-Powerful. 8 But you have turned your backs on me. Your teachings have led others to do sinful things, and you have broken the agreement I made with your ancestor Levi.

9 So I caused everyone to hate and despise you, because you disobeyed me and failed to treat all people alike.

A Broken Agreement

12 I pray that the [Lord] will no longer let those who are guilty belong to his people, even if they eagerly decide to offer the [Lord] a gift.t
13 And what else are you doing? You cry noisily and flood the [Lord]'s altar with your tears, because he isn't pleased with your offerings and refuses to accept them. 14 And why isn't God pleased? It's because he knows that each of you men has been unfaithful to the wife you married when you were young. You promised that she would be your partner, but now you have broken that promise. 15 Didn't God create you and your wife to become like one person?t And why did he do this? It was so you would have children, and then lead them to become God's people. Don't ever be unfaithful to your wife.

16 The [Lord] God All-Powerful of Israel hates anyone who is cruel enough to divorce his wife. So take care never to be unfaithful!

17 You have worn out the [Lord] with your words. And yet, you ask, “How did we do that?”
You did it by saying, “The [Lord] is pleased with evil and doesn't care about justice.”