Maleakhi 3:14

3:14 You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped ¹  by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord who rules over all? ² 

Maleakhi 2:8-9

2:8 You, however, have turned from the way. You have caused many to violate the law; ³  you have corrupted the covenant with Levi,” ⁴  says the Lord who rules over all. 2:9 “Therefore, I have caused you to be ignored and belittled before all people to the extent to which you are not following after me and are showing partiality in your ⁵  instruction.”

Maleakhi 3:1

3:1 “I am about to send my messenger, ⁶  who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord ⁷  you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger ⁸  of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Maleakhi 3:13

Resistance to the Lord through Self-sufficiency

3:13 “You have criticized me sharply,” ⁹  says the Lord, “but you ask, ‘How have we criticized you?’

Maleakhi 3:18

3:18 Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between ¹⁰  the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.

Maleakhi 3:5

3:5 “I ¹¹  will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, ¹²  and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, ¹³  who refuse to help ¹⁴  the immigrant ¹⁵  and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Maleakhi 3:9

3:9 You are bound for judgment ¹⁶  because you are robbing me – this whole nation is guilty. ¹⁷ 

Maleakhi 3:12

3:12 “All nations will call you happy, for you indeed will live in ¹⁸  a delightful land,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Maleakhi 1:5

1:5 Your eyes will see it, and then you will say, ‘May the Lord be magnified ¹⁹  even beyond the border of Israel!’”

Maleakhi 2:2

2:2 If you do not listen and take seriously ²⁰  the need to honor my name,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will send judgment ²¹  on you and turn your blessings into curses – indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart.

Maleakhi 1:13

1:13 You also say, ‘How tiresome it is.’ You turn up your nose at it,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and instead bring what is stolen, lame, or sick. You bring these things for an offering! Should I accept this from you?” ²²  asks the Lord.

Maleakhi 3:6

Resistance to the Lord through Selfishness

3:6 “Since, I, the Lord, do not go back on my promises, ²³  you, sons of Jacob, have not perished.

Maleakhi 2:14

2:14 Yet you ask, “Why?” The Lord is testifying against you on behalf of the wife you married when you were young, ²⁴  to whom you have become unfaithful even though she is your companion and wife by law. ²⁵ 

Maleakhi 4:2

4:2 But for you who respect my name, the sun of vindication ²⁶  will rise with healing wings, ²⁷  and you will skip about ²⁸  like calves released from the stall.

Maleakhi 1:12

1:12 “But you are profaning it by saying that the table of the Lord is common and its offerings ²⁹  despicable.

Maleakhi 3:7

3:7 From the days of your ancestors you have ignored ³⁰  my commandments ³¹  and have not kept them! Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord who rules over all. “But you say, ‘How should we return?’

Maleakhi 2:13

2:13 You also do this: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears ³²  as you weep and groan, because he no longer pays any attention to the offering nor accepts it favorably from you.

Maleakhi 1:8

1:8 For when you offer blind animals as a sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer the lame and sick, ³³  is that not wrong as well? Indeed, try offering them ³⁴  to your governor! Will he be pleased with you ³⁵  or show you favor?” asks the Lord who rules over all.

Maleakhi 1:10

1:10 “I wish that one of you would close the temple doors, ³⁶  so that you no longer would light useless fires on my altar. I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and I will no longer accept an offering from you.

Maleakhi 2:17

Resistance to the Lord through Self-deceit

2:17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” Because you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the Lord’s opinion, ³⁷  and he delights in them,” or “Where is the God of justice?”

Maleakhi 3:8

3:8 Can a person rob ³⁸  God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions! ³⁹ 

Maleakhi 1:7

1:7 You are offering improper sacrifices on my altar, yet you ask, ‘How have we offended you?’ By treating the table ⁴⁰  of the Lord as if it is of no importance!

Maleakhi 1:9

1:9 But now plead for God’s favor ⁴¹  that he might be gracious to us. ⁴²  “With this kind of offering in your hands, how can he be pleased with you?” asks the Lord who rules over all.

Maleakhi 2:4

2:4 Then you will know that I sent this commandment to you so that my covenant ⁴³  may continue to be with Levi,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Maleakhi 1:2

1:2 “I have shown love to you,” says the Lord, but you say, “How have you shown love to us?”

“Esau was Jacob’s brother,” the Lord explains, “yet I chose Jacob

Maleakhi 1:6

The Sacrilege of Priestly Service

1:6 “A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects ⁴⁴  his master. If I am your ⁴⁵  father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The Lord who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, ‘How have we made light of your name?’

Maleakhi 2:16

2:16 “I hate divorce,” ⁴⁶  says the Lord God of Israel, “and the one who is guilty of violence,” ⁴⁷  says the Lord who rules over all. “Pay attention to your conscience, and do not be unfaithful.”

Maleakhi 2:15

2:15 No one who has even a small portion of the Spirit in him does this. ⁴⁸  What did our ancestor ⁴⁹  do when seeking a child from God? Be attentive, then, to your own spirit, for one should not be disloyal to the wife he took in his youth. ⁵⁰ 

Maleakhi 4:4

Restoration through the Lord

4:4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, to whom at Horeb ⁵¹  I gave rules and regulations for all Israel to obey. ⁵² 

Maleakhi 2:1

The Sacrilege of the Priestly Message

2:1 “Now, you priests, this commandment is for you.

Maleakhi 2:3

2:3 I am about to discipline your children ⁵³  and will spread offal ⁵⁴  on your faces, ⁵⁵  the very offal produced at your festivals, and you will be carried away along with it.

Maleakhi 4:3

4:3 You will trample on the wicked, for they will be like ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Maleakhi 3:10

3:10 “Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse ⁵⁶  so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord who rules over all, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until there is no room for it all.

[3:14]  ¹ tn Heb “What [is the] profit”; NIV “What did we gain.”

[3:14]  ² sn The people’s public display of self-effacing piety has gone unrewarded by the Lord. The reason, of course, is that it was blatantly hypocritical.

[2:8]  ³ tn The definite article embedded within בַּתּוֹרָה (battorah) may suggest that the Torah is in mind and not just “ordinary” priestly instruction, though it might refer to the instruction previously mentioned (v. 7).

[2:8]  ⁴ tn Or “the Levitical covenant.”

[2:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the instruction” (so NASB). The Hebrew article is used here as a possessive pronoun (cf. NRSV, NLT).

[3:1]  ⁶ tn In Hebrew the phrase “my messenger” is מַלְאָכִי (mal’akhi), the same form as the prophet’s name (see note on the name “Malachi” in 1:1). However, here the messenger appears to be an eschatological figure who is about to appear, as the following context suggests. According to 4:5, this messenger is “Elijah the prophet,” whom the NT identifies as John the Baptist (Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2) because he came in the “spirit and power” of Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:11-12; Lk 1:17).

[3:1]  ⁷ tn Here the Hebrew term הָאָדוֹן (ha’adon) is used, not יְהוָה (yÿhvah, typically rendered Lord). Thus the focus is not on the Lord as the covenant God, but on his role as master.

[3:1]  ⁸ sn This messenger of the covenant may be equated with my messenger (that is, Elijah) mentioned earlier in the verse, or with the Lord himself. In either case the messenger functions as an enforcer of the covenant. Note the following verses, which depict purifying judgment on a people that has violated the Lord’s covenant.

[3:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “your words are hard [or “strong”] against me”; cf. NIV “said harsh things against me”; TEV, NLT “said terrible things about me.”

[3:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you will see between.” Cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “see the difference.”

[3:5]  ¹¹ tn The first person pronoun (a reference to the Lord) indicates that the Lord himself now speaks (see also v. 1). The prophet speaks in vv. 2-4 (see also 2:17).

[3:5]  ¹² tn Heb “those who swear [oaths] falsely.” Cf. NIV “perjurers”; TEV “those who give false testimony”; NLT “liars.”

[3:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “and against the oppressors of the worker for a wage, [the] widow and orphan.”

[3:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “those who turn aside.”

[3:5]  ¹⁵ tn Or “resident foreigner”; NIV “aliens”; NRSV “the alien.”

[3:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “cursed with a curse” that is, “under a curse” (so NIV, NLT, CEV).

[3:9]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase “is guilty” is not present in the Hebrew text but is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.

[3:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “will be” (so NAB, NRSV); TEV “your land will be a good place to live in.”

[1:5]  ¹⁹ tn Or “Great is the Lord” (so NAB; similar NIV, NRSV).

[2:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and if you do not place upon [the] heart”; KJV, NAB, NRSV “lay it to heart.”

[2:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “the curse” (so NASB, NRSV); NLT “a terrible curse.”

[1:13]  ²² tn Heb “from your hand,” a metonymy of part (the hand) for whole (the person).

[3:6]  ²³ tn Heb “do not change.” This refers to God’s ongoing commitment to his covenant promises to Israel.

[2:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the Lord is a witness between you and [between] the wife of your youth.”

[2:14]  ²⁵ sn Though there is no explicit reference to marriage vows in the OT (but see Job 7:13; Prov 2:17; Ezek 16:8), the term law (Heb “covenant”) here asserts that such vows or agreements must have existed. References to divorce documents (e.g., Deut 24:1-3; Jer 3:8) also presuppose the existence of marriage documents.

[4:2]  ²⁶ tn Here the Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah), usually translated “righteousness” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT; cf. NAB “justice”), has been rendered as “vindication” because it is the vindication of God’s people that is in view in the context. Cf. BDB 842 s.v. צְדָקָה 6; “righteousness as vindicated, justification, salvation, etc.”

[4:2]  sn The expression the sun of vindication will rise is a metaphorical way of describing the day of the Lord as a time of restoration when God vindicates his people (see 2 Sam 23:4; Isa 30:26; 60:1, 3). Their vindication and restoration will be as obvious and undeniable as the bright light of the rising sun.

[4:2]  ²⁷ sn The point of the metaphor of healing wings is unclear. The sun seems to be compared to a bird. Perhaps the sun’s “wings” are its warm rays. “Healing” may refer to a reversal of the injury done by evildoers (see Mal 3:5).

[4:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “you will go out and skip about.”

[1:12]  ²⁹ tn Heb “fruit.” The following word “food” in the Hebrew text (אָכְלוֹ, ’okhlo) appears to be an explanatory gloss to clarify the meaning of the rare word נִיב (niv, “fruit”; see Isa 57:19 Qere; נוֹב, nov, “fruit,” in Kethib). Cf. ASV “the fruit thereof, even its food.” In this cultic context the reference is to the offerings on the altar.

[3:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “turned aside from.”

[3:7]  ³¹ tn Or “statutes” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “decrees”; NLT “laws.”

[2:13]  ³² sn You cover the altar of the Lord with tears. These tears are the false tears of hypocrisy, not genuine tears of repentance. The people weep because the Lord will not hear them, not because of their sin.

[1:8]  ³³ sn Offerings of animals that were lame or sick were strictly forbidden by the Mosaic law (see Deut 15:21).

[1:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “it” (so NAB, NASB). Contemporary English more naturally uses a plural pronoun to agree with “the lame and sick” in the previous question (cf. NIV, NCV).

[1:8]  ³⁵ tc The LXX and Vulgate read “with it” (which in Hebrew would be הֲיִרְצֵהוּ, hayirtsehu, a reading followed by NAB) rather than “with you” of the MT (הֲיִרְצְךָ, hayirtsÿkha). The MT (followed here by most English versions) is to be preferred because of the parallel with the following phrase פָנֶיךָ (fanekha, “receive you,” which the present translation renders as “show you favor”).

[1:10]  ³⁶ sn The rhetorical language suggests that as long as the priesthood and people remain disobedient, the temple doors may as well be closed because God is not “at home” to receive them or their worship there.

[2:17]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.”

[3:8]  ³⁸ tc The LXX presupposes an underlying Hebrew text of עָקַב (’aqav, “deceive”), a metathesis of קָבַע (qava’, “rob”), in all four uses of the verb here (vv. 8-9). The intent probably is to soften the impact of “robbing” God, but the language of the passage is intentionally bold and there is no reason to go against the reading of the MT (which is followed here by most English versions).

[3:8]  ³⁹ sn The tithes and contributions mentioned here are probably those used to sustain the Levites (see Num 18:8, 11, 19, 21-24).

[1:7]  ⁴⁰ sn The word table, here a synonym for “altar,” has overtones of covenant imagery in which a feast shared by the covenant partners was an important element (see Exod 24:11). It also draws attention to the analogy of sitting down at a common meal with the governor (v. 8).

[1:9]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “seek the face of God.”

[1:9]  ⁴² tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav conjunction indicates purpose (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[2:4]  ⁴³ sn My covenant refers to the priestly covenant through Aaron and his grandson Phinehas (see Exod 6:16-20; Num 25:10-13; Jer 33:21-22). The point here is to contrast the priestly ideal with the disgraceful manner in which it was being carried out in postexilic times.

[1:6]  ⁴⁴ tn The verb “respects” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. It is understood by ellipsis (see “honors” in the preceding line).

[1:6]  ⁴⁵ tn The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification (also a second time before “master” later in this verse).

[2:16]  ⁴⁶ tc The verb שָׂנֵא (sane’) appears to be a third person form, “he hates,” which makes little sense in the context, unless one emends the following word to a third person verb as well. Then one might translate, “he [who] hates [his wife] [and] divorces her…is guilty of violence.” A similar translation is advocated by M. A. Shields, “Syncretism and Divorce in Malachi 2,10-16,” ZAW 111 (1999): 81-85. However, it is possible that the first person pronoun אָנֹכִי (’anokhi, “I”) has accidentally dropped from the text after כִּי (ki). If one restores the pronoun, the form שָׂנֵא can be taken as a participle and the text translated, “for I hate” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).

[2:16]  sn Though the statement “I hate divorce” may (and should) be understood as a comprehensive biblical principle, the immediate context suggests that the divorce in view is that of one Jewish person by another in order to undertake subsequent marriages. The injunction here by no means contradicts Ezra’s commands to Jewish men to divorce their heathen wives (Ezra 9–10).

[2:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “him who covers his garment with violence” (similar ASV, NRSV). Here “garment” is a metaphor for appearance and “violence” a metonymy of effect for cause. God views divorce as an act of violence against the victim.

[2:15]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and not one has done, and a remnant of the spirit to him.” The very elliptical nature of the statement suggests it is proverbial. The present translation represents an attempt to clarify the meaning of the statement (cf. NASB).

[2:15]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “the one.” This is an oblique reference to Abraham who sought to obtain God’s blessing by circumventing God’s own plan for him by taking Hagar as wife (Gen 16:1-6). The result of this kind of intermarriage was, of course, disastrous (Gen 16:11-12).

[2:15]  ⁵⁰ sn The wife he took in his youth probably refers to the first wife one married (cf. NCV “the wife you married when you were young”).

[4:4]  ⁵¹ sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (cf. Exod 3:1).

[4:4]  ⁵² tn Heb “which I commanded him in Horeb concerning all Israel, statutes and ordinances.”

[2:3]  ⁵³ tc The phrase “discipline your children” is disputed. The LXX and Vulgate suppose זְרוֹעַ (zÿroa’, “arm”) for the MT זֶרַע (zera’, “seed”; hence, “children”). Then, for the MT גֹעֵר (go’er, “rebuking”) the same versions suggest גָּרַע (gara’, “take away”). The resulting translation is “I am about to take away your arm” (cf. NAB “deprive you of the shoulder”). However, this reading is unlikely. It is common for a curse (v. 2) to fall on offspring (see, e.g., Deut 28:18, 32, 41, 53, 55, 57), but a curse never takes the form of a broken or amputated arm. It is preferable to retain the reading of the MT here.

[2:3]  ⁵⁴ tn The Hebrew term פֶרֶשׁ (feresh, “offal”) refers to the entrails as ripped out in preparing a sacrificial victim (BDB 831 s.v. פֶּרֶשׁ). This graphic term has been variously translated: “dung” (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NLT); “refuse” (NKJV, NASB); “offal” (NEB, NIV).

[2:3]  ⁵⁵ sn See Zech 3:3-4 for similar coarse imagery which reflects cultic disqualification.

[3:10]  ⁵⁶ tn The Hebrew phrase בֵּית הָאוֹצָר (bet ha’otsar, here translated “storehouse”) refers to a kind of temple warehouse described more fully in Nehemiah (where the term לִשְׁכָּה גְדוֹלָה [lishkah gÿdolah, “great chamber”] is used) as a place for storing grain, frankincense, temple vessels, wine, and oil (Neh 13:5). Cf. TEV “to the Temple.”