Malachi 2New King James Version
Corrupt Priests
2 “And now, O(A)priests, this commandment is for you.
2 (B)If you will not hear,
And if you will not takeitto heart,
To give glory to My name,”
Says theLordof hosts,
“I will send a curse upon you,
And I will curse your blessings.
Yes, I have cursed them(C)already,
Because you do not takeitto heart.
3 “Behold, I will rebuke your descendants
And spread(D)refuse on your faces,
The refuse of your solemn feasts;
Andonewill(E)take you away[a]with it.
4 Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you,
That My covenant with Levi may continue,”
Says theLordof hosts.
5 “My(F)covenant was with him,oneof life and peace,
And I gave them to him(G)that he mightfearMe;
So he feared Me
And was reverent before My name.
6 (H)The[b]law of truth was in his mouth,
And[c]injustice was not found on his lips.
He walked with Me in peace and equity,
And(I)turned many away from iniquity.
7 “For(J)the lips of a priest should keep knowledge,
Andpeopleshould seek the law from his mouth;
(K)For he is the messenger of theLordof hosts.
8 But you have departed from the way;
You(L)have caused many to stumble at the law.
(M)You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,”
Says theLordof hosts.
9 “Therefore(N)I also have made you contemptible and base
Before all the people,
Because you have not kept My ways
But have shown(O)partiality in the law.”
Treachery of Infidelity
10 (P)Have we not all one Father?
(Q)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(R)profaned
TheLord’s holyinstitutionwhich He loves:
He has married the daughter of a foreign god.
12 May theLordcut off from the tents of Jacob
The man who does this, being[d]awake and aware,
Yet(S)who brings an offering to theLordof hosts!
13 And this is the second thing you do:
You cover the altar of theLordwith tears,
With weeping and crying;
So He does not regard the offering anymore,
Nor receiveitwith goodwill from your hands.
14 Yet you say, “For what reason?”
Because theLordhas been witness
Between you and(T)the wife of your youth,
With whom you have dealt treacherously;
(U)Yet she is your companion
And your wife by covenant.
15 But(V)did He not makethemone,
Having a remnant of the Spirit?
And why one?
He seeks(W)godly offspring.
Therefore take heed to your spirit,
And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.
16 “For(X)theLordGod of Israel says
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,”
Says theLordof hosts.
“Therefore take heed to your spirit,
That you do not deal treacherously.”
17 (Y)You have wearied theLordwith your words;
Yet you say,
“In what way have we weariedHim?”
In that you say,
(Z)“Everyone who does evil
Isgood in the sight of theLord,
And He delights in them,”
Or, “Whereisthe God of justice?”
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:3Lit.to it
- Malachi 2:6OrTrue instruction
- Malachi 2:6Orunrighteousness
- Malachi 2:12Talmud, Vg.teacher and student
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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