Malachi 1 - 2 — Legacy Standard Bible

Yahweh’s Love for Jacob

1The ¹^,^aoracle of the word of ²Yahweh to ^bIsrael by the hand of ³Malachi.

²“I have ^aloved you,” says Yahweh. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares Yahweh. “Yet I ^bhave loved Jacob; ³but I have hated Esau, and I have ^aset his mountains to be a desolation and his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.” ⁴Though Edom says, “We have been ^ademolished, but we will ¹^,^breturn and build up the waste places”; thus says Yahweh of hosts, “They may ^cbuild, but I will pull down; and men will call them a ²territory of wickedness, and the people ³toward whom Yahweh is indignant ^dforever.” ⁵And your eyes will see this, and you will say, “^aYahweh ¹be magnified beyond the ²territory of Israel!”

The Priests Defile Yahweh

⁶“‘A son ^ahonors his father, and a slave his master. Then if I am a ^bfather, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is the fear of Me?’ says Yahweh of hosts to you, O ^cpriests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ ⁷“You are presenting ^adefiled ¹^,^bfood upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The ^ctable of Yahweh is to be despised.’ ⁸“But when you present the ^ablind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Please, bring it near to your ^bgovernor! Would he accept you? Or would he lift up your face?” says Yahweh of hosts. ⁹“But now, ¹^,^aentreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us! With this thing which is from your hand, will He ^blift up any of your faces?” says Yahweh of hosts. ¹⁰“Oh that there were one among you who would ^ashut the ¹gates, that you might not light a fire on My altar in vain! I have no delight in you,” says Yahweh of hosts, “^bnor will I accept an offering from your hand. ¹¹“For from the ^arising of the sun even to its setting, ^bMy name will be ^cgreat among the nations, and in every place ^dincense is going to be presented to My name, as well as a grain offering that is clean; for My name will be ^egreat among the nations,” says Yahweh of hosts. ¹²“But you are ^aprofaning it, in that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’ ¹³“You also say, ‘Behold, how ^atiresome it is!’ And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and you bring what was taken by ^brobbery and what is ^clame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I ^daccept that from your hand?” says Yahweh. ¹⁴“But cursed be the ^aswindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a ¹^,^bblemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great ^cKing,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and My name is ²^,^dfeared among the ³nations.”

I Will Curse Your Blessings

2“And now this commandment is for you, O priests. ²“If you do ^anot listen, and if you do not set it upon your heart to give ¹honor to My name,” says Yahweh of hosts, “then I will send the ^bcurse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have ^ccursed them already because you are not setting it upon your heart. ³“Behold, I am going to ^arebuke your seed, and I will ^bspread ¹refuse on your faces, the ²refuse of your ^cfeasts; and you will be taken away ³with it. ⁴“Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, ¹that My ^acovenant may ²continue with Levi,” says Yahweh of hosts. ⁵“My covenant with him was one of life and ^apeace, and I gave them to him as something to be ¹feared; so he ^bfeared Me and stood in ²awe of My name. ⁶“¹^,^aInstruction of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked ^bwith Me in peace and uprightness, and he ^cturned many back from iniquity. ⁷“For the lips of a priest should keep ^aknowledge, and ¹men should ^bseek ²instruction from his mouth; for he is the ^cmessenger of Yahweh of hosts. ⁸“But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to ^astumble ¹by the instruction; you have ²^,^bcorrupted the covenant of Levi,” says Yahweh of hosts. ⁹“So ^aI also have made you despised and ^blow ¹before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing ^cpartiality in the ²instruction.

Judah Profaned Yahweh’s Sanctuary

¹⁰“Do we not all have ^aone father? ^bHas not one God created us? Why do we deal ^ctreacherously each against his brother so as to profane the ^dcovenant of our fathers? ¹¹“Judah has dealt ^atreacherously, and an abomination has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has ^bprofaned the sanctuary of Yahweh ¹which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god. ¹²“As for the man who does this, may ^aYahweh cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers or who ^bpresents ¹an offering to Yahweh of hosts.

¹³“And this is a second thing you do: you cover the altar of Yahweh with tears, with weeping, and with groaning because He ^ano longer regards the ¹offering or receives it as acceptable from your hand. ¹⁴“But you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because Yahweh has been a witness between you and the ^awife of your youth, against whom you have dealt ^btreacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. ¹⁵“¹But not one has ^adone so, even one who has a remnant of the Spirit. And ²what did that one do while he was seeking a ^bgodly seed? Be careful then to keep your spirit, and let no one deal ^ctreacherously against the wife of your youth. ¹⁶“For ¹I hate ²^,^adivorce,” says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “and ³him who covers his garment with ⁴^,^bwrong,” says Yahweh of hosts. “Be careful then to keep your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

¹⁷You have ^awearied Yahweh with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “^bEveryone who does evil is good in the sight of Yahweh, and He ^cdelights in them,” or, “^dWhere is the God of ^ejustice?”