Malachi 1 - 2
1
The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.
2
a "I have loved you," says the Lord. b But you say, "How have you loved us?" "Is not Esau c Jacob's brother?" declares the Lord. "Yet d I have loved Jacob
3
but Esau I have hated. e I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert."
4
If Edom says, "We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins," the Lord of hosts says, "They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called 'the wicked country,' and 'the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.'"
5
f Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, "Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!"
6
g "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am h a father, where is my honor? And if I am i a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. b But you say, 'How have we despised your name?'
7
j By offering polluted food upon my altar. b But you say, 'How have we polluted you?' By saying that k the Lord's table may be despised.
8
l When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts.
9
And now m entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, n will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts.
10
o Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, p and I will not accept an offering from your hand.
11
For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name q will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name q will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.
12
But you profane it when you say that r the Lord's table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised.
13
But you say, s 'What a weariness this is,' and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. t You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord.
14
Cursed be the cheat who has u a male in his flock, and v vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For w I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name x will be feared among the nations.
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, and e spread dung on your faces, the f dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.
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 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 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."
10
Have we not all r one Father? Has not s one God created us? Why then are we t faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
11
Judah has been t faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For u Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.
12
May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who v brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!
13
And this second thing you do. w You cover the Lord's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.
14
x But you say, "Why does he not?" Because the Lord y was witness between you and the wife of your youth, z to whom t you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
15
a Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? b Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be t faithless to the wife of your youth.
16
"For c the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and t do not be faithless."
17
d You have wearied the Lord with your words. x But you say, "How have we wearied him?" e By saying, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them." Or by asking, f "Where is the God of justice?"
-
Cross References
Deuteronomy 7:8
But it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Jeremiah 31:3
The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
-
Cross References
Malachi 2:14
But you say, "Why does he not?" Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
Malachi 2:17
You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, "How have we wearied him?" By saying, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them." Or by asking, "Where is the God of justice?
Malachi 3:7 - 8
From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, 'How shall we return?
Malachi 3:13
"Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, 'How have we spoken against you?'
-
Cross References
Amos 1:11
Thus says the Lord : "For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.
Obadiah 1:10
Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.
-
Cross References
Romans 9:13
As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 34:13
Thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nettles and thistles in its fortresses. It shall be the haunt of jackals, an abode for ostriches.
Jeremiah 49:10
But I have stripped Esau bare; I have uncovered his hiding places, and he is not able to conceal himself. His children are destroyed, and his brothers, and his neighbors; and he is no more.
Jeremiah 49:18
As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, no man shall dwell there, no man shall sojourn in her.
Ezekiel 35:3 - 4
And say to it, Thus says the Lord God : Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste.
Joel 3:19
Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
-
Cross References
Psalms 91:8
You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.
-
Cross References
Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
-
Cross References
Exodus 4:22
Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son.
Hosea 11:1
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
-
Cross References
Luke 6:46
Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?
-
Cross References
Malachi 1:2
I have loved you," says the Lord. But you say, "How have you loved us?" "Is not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the Lord. "Yet I have loved Jacob
-
Cross References
Malachi 1:8
When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 2:12
May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!
Malachi 3:3
He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.
-
Cross References
Malachi 1:2
I have loved you," says the Lord. But you say, "How have you loved us?" "Is not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the Lord. "Yet I have loved Jacob
-
Cross References
Malachi 1:12
But you profane it when you say that the Lord's table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised.
-
Cross References
Malachi 1:13
But you say, 'What a weariness this is,' and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord.
Leviticus 22:22
Animals blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or an itch or scabs you shall not offer to the Lord or give them to the Lord as a food offering on the altar.
-
Cross References
Zechariah 7:2
Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord.
-
Cross References
Deuteronomy 10:17
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 1:13
Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations - I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 1:11
What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord ; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.
Jeremiah 6:20
What use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
Amos 5:21
I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 2:2
It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it.
Isaiah 56:7
These I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
Isaiah 60:3
And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Isaiah 66:19
And I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 2:2
It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it.
Isaiah 56:7
These I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
Isaiah 60:3
And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Isaiah 66:19
And I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations.
-
Cross References
Malachi 1:7
By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, 'How have we polluted you?' By saying that the Lord 's table may be despised.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 43:23
You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you with frankincense.
Malachi 3:14
You have said, 'It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?
Micah 6:3
O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me!
-
Cross References
Malachi 1:8
When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts.
Leviticus 22:20
You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you.
-
Cross References
Exodus 12:5
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
-
Cross References
Leviticus 22:21
And when anyone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, to be accepted it must be perfect; there shall be no blemish in it.
-
Cross References
Zechariah 14:9
And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.
-
Cross References
Psalms 47:2
For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
Psalms 76:12
Who cuts off the spirit of princes, who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.
-
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?'
-
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.
-
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.
-
Cross References
Malachi 3:9
You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Cross References
Nahum 3:6
I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle.
-
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.
-
Cross References
Malachi 2:1
And now, O priests, this command is for you.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Cross References
1 Corinthians 8:6
Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
Ephesians 4:6
One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
-
Cross References
Acts 17:26
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 21:2
A stern vision is told to me; the traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, O Elam; lay siege, O Media; all the sighing she has caused I bring to an end.
Isaiah 24:16
From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One. But I say, "I waste away, I waste away. Woe is me! For the traitors have betrayed, with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.
Isaiah 33:1
Ah, you destroyer, who yourself have not been destroyed, you traitor, whom none has betrayed! When you have ceased to destroy, you will be destroyed; and when you have finished betraying, they will betray you.
-
Cross References
Malachi 2:10
Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
-
Cross References
Ezra 9:2
For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.
-
Cross References
Malachi 1:7
By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, 'How have we polluted you?' By saying that the Lord 's table may be despised.
-
Cross References
Zechariah 7:3
Saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, "Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?
-
Cross References
Malachi 1:2
I have loved you," says the Lord. But you say, "How have you loved us?" "Is not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the Lord. "Yet I have loved Jacob
-
Cross References
Malachi 3:5
Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
-
Cross References
Malachi 2:11
Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.
Isaiah 54:6
For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God.
-
Cross References
Malachi 2:10
Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
-
Cross References
Matthew 19:4 - 5
He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female.
Genesis 2:24
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
-
Cross References
Ezra 9:2
For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.
-
Cross References
Malachi 2:10
Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
-
Cross References
Matthew 5:32
But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Mark 10:9
What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.
Mark 10:11
And he said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.
Luke 16:18
Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
1 Corinthians 7:10
To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband
-
Cross References
Malachi 2:10
Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
-
Cross References
Isaiah 43:24
You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.
-
Cross References
Malachi 2:14
But you say, "Why does he not?" Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
-
Cross References
Malachi 3:15
And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.'
Isaiah 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
-
Cross References
Malachi 3:1
Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
2 Peter 3:4
They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.