The Lord Rebukes the Priests

Malachi 2

¹ "And now, _y O priests, _z this command is for you. ² _a If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send _b the curse upon you and I will curse _c your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. ³ Behold, _d I will rebuke your offspring, ₁ and _e spread dung on your faces, the _f dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it. ₂ ⁴ So shall you know that I have sent _g this command to you, that _h my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. ⁵ My covenant with him was one of life and _i peace, and I gave them to him. _j It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. ⁶ _k True instruction ₃ was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he _l turned many from iniquity. ⁷ For _m the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people ₄ should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. ⁸ But you have turned aside from the way. _n You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted _o the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, ⁹ and so _p I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but _q show partiality in your instruction."

1. Cross References
   Malachi 1:6
   "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, 'How have we despised your name?'
   
2. Cross References
   Malachi 2:4
   So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts.
   
3. Cross References
   Leviticus 26:14
   But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments.
   Deuteronomy 28:15
   But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.
   
4. Cross References
   Malachi 3:9
   You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.
   
5. Cross References
   Psalms 69:22
   Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
   
6. Cross References
   Joel 1:17
   The seed shrivels under the clods; the storehouses are desolate; the granaries are torn down because the grain has dried up.
   Haggai 2:17
   I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord.
   
7. Cross References
   Nahum 3:6
   I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle.
   
8. Cross References
   Exodus 29:14
   But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.
   
9. Cross References
   Malachi 2:1
   And now, O priests, this command is for you.
   
10. Cross References
    Malachi 2:8
    But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts.
    Numbers 25:12 - 13
    Therefore say, 'Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace.
    Nehemiah 13:29
    Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
    Numbers 3:45
    Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord.
    
11. Cross References
    Isaiah 54:10
    For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
    
12. Cross References
    Leviticus 16:2
    And the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.
    
13. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 33:10
    They shall teach Jacob your rules and Israel your law; they shall put incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
    
14. Cross References
    Daniel 12:3
    And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
    James 5:20
    Let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
    
15. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 17:9
    And you shall come to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall consult them, and they shall declare to you the decision.
    Leviticus 10:11
    And you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.
    
16. Cross References
    1 Samuel 2:17
    Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.
    Jeremiah 18:15
    But my people have forgotten me; they make offerings to false gods; they made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient roads, and to walk into side roads, not the highway.
    Ezekiel 22:26
    Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
    
17. Cross References
    Malachi 2:4
    So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts.
    
18. Cross References
    1 Samuel 2:30
    Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: 'I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,' but now the Lord declares: 'Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
    
19. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 1:17
    You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God's. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.
    Deuteronomy 16:19
    You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous.