Malachi 1:8

Amplified Bible

"When you [priests] present the blind [animals] for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Offer such a thing [as a blind or lame or sick animal] to your governor [as a gift or as payment for your taxes]. Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you graciously?" says the LORD of hosts.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“When you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present a lame or sick animal, is it not wrong? Bring it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the Lord of Armies.

King James Version (1611)
And if hee offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not euill? and if yee offer the lame and sicke, is it not euill? offer it now vnto thy gouernour: will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person, saith the Lord of hostes?

King James Version
And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts.

English Standard Version
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.

New American Standard Bible
"And when you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not evil? Or when you present a lame or sick animal, is it not evil? So offer it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you, or would he receive you kindly?" says the LORD of armies.

New Century Version
When you bring blind animals as sacrifices, that is wrong. When you bring crippled and sick animals, that is wrong. Try giving them to your governor. Would he be pleased with you? He wouldn't accept you," says the Lord All-Powerful.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And if yee offer the blinde for sacrifice, it is not euill: and if ye offer the lame and sicke, it is not euill: offer it nowe vnto thy prince: will he be content with thee, or accept thy person, saieth the Lord of hostes?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?" says the LORD of hosts.

Legacy Standard Bible
But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Please, bring it near to your governor! Would he accept you? Or would he lift up your face?" says Yahweh of hosts.

Berean Standard Bible
"When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present the lame and sick ones, is it not wrong? Why not offer them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?" asks the LORD of Hosts.

Contemporary English Version
But isn't it wrong to offer animals that are blind, crippled, or sick? Just try giving those animals to your governor. That certainly wouldn't please him or make him want to help you.

Complete Jewish Bible
so that there's nothing wrong with offering a blind animal as a sacrifice, nothing wrong with offering an animal that's lame or sick. Try offering such an animal to your governor, and see if he will be pleased with you! Would he even receive you?" asks Adonai -Tzva'ot.

Darby Translation
And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Present it now unto thy governor: will he be pleased with thee? or will he accept thy person? saith Jehovah of hosts.

Easy-to-Read Version
You bring blind animals as sacrifices, and that is wrong. You bring sick and crippled animals for sacrifices, and that is wrong. Try giving those sick animals as a gift to your governor. Would he accept those sick animals? No, he would not accept them." This is what the Lord All-Powerful said.

George Lamsa Translation
And when you offer a blind animal to the altar, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick animals, is it not evil? Offer it now to your governor; will he be pleased with you or accept your person? says the LORD of hosts.

Good News Translation
When you bring a blind or sick or lame animal to sacrifice to me, do you think there's nothing wrong with that? Try giving an animal like that to the governor! Would he be pleased with you or grant you any favors?"

Lexham English Bible
When you offer a blind animal for sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer the lame and the one who is ill, is that not wrong? Present it, please, to your governor! Will he be pleased with you? Will he show you favor?" says Yahweh of hosts.

Literal Translation
And if you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Bring it now to your governor. Will he accept you or lift up your face? says Jehovah of Hosts.

American Standard Version
And when ye offer the blind for sacrifice, it is no evil! and when ye offer the lame and sick, it is no evil! Present it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee? or will he accept thy person? saith Jehovah of hosts.

Bible in Basic English
And when you give what is blind for an offering, it is no evil! and when you give what is damaged and ill, it is no evil! Give it now to your ruler; will he be pleased with you, or will you have his approval? says the Lord of armies.

Hebrew Names Version
When you offer the blind for sacrifice, isn't that evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, isn't that evil? Present it now to your governor! Will he be pleased with you? Or will he accept your person?" says the LORD of Hosts.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And when ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it no evil! And when ye offer the lame and sick, is it no evil! Present it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee? or will he accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
When ye bring the blinde for sacrifice, [you say] it is not euil: and when ye bring the lame and sicke, [you say] it is not euil: offer it nowe to thy prince, wyll he be content with thee, or accept thy person, saith the Lorde of hoastes?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
For if ye bring a blind victim for sacrifices, is it not evil? and if ye bring the lame or the sick, is it not evil? offer it now to thy ruler, and see if he will receive thee, if he will accept thy person, saith the Lord Almighty.

English Revised Version
And when ye offer the blind for sacrifice, it is no evil! and when ye offer the lame and sick, it is no evil! Present it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee? or will he accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.

World English Bible
When you offer the blind for sacrifice, isn't that evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, isn't that evil? Present it now to your governor! Will he be pleased with you? Or will he accept your person?" says Yahweh of Hosts.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
If ye offren a blynd beest to be sacrifisid, whether it is not yuel? And if ye offren a crokid and sike beeste, whether it is not yuel? Offre thou it to thi duyk, if it schal plese hym, ether if he schal resseyue thi face, seith the Lord of oostis.

Update Bible Version
And when you offer the blind for sacrifice, it is no evil! and when you offer the lame and sick, it is no evil! Present it now to your governor; will he be pleased with you? or will he accept your person? says Yahweh of hosts.

Webster's Bible Translation
And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, [is it] not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, [is it] not evil? offer it now to thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.

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

New King James Version
And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?" Says the LORD of hosts.

New Living Translation
When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn't that wrong? And isn't it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!" says the Lord of Heaven's Armies.

New Life Bible
When you bring a blind animal to the altar as My gift, is it not sinful? When you bring one that cannot walk, or one that is sick, is it not sinful? Why not bring it to your ruler? Would he be pleased with you? Would he receive it?" says the Lord of All.

New Revised Standard
When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not wrong? Try presenting that to your governor; will he be pleased with you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And when ye bring near the blind as a sacrifice, saying - No harm! or when ye bring near the lame or the sick saying - No harm! Offer it, I pray you, unto thy pasha, Will he accept thee? or lift up thy countenance? saith Yahweh of hosts.

Douay-Rheims Bible
If you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if you offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? offer it to thy prince, if he will be pleased with it, or if he will regard thy face, saith the Lord of hosts.

Revised Standard Version
When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that no evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that no evil? Present that to your governor; will he be pleased with you or show you favor? says the LORD of hosts.

Young's Literal Translation
And when ye bring nigh the blind for sacrifice, `There is no evil,' And when ye bring nigh the lame and sick, `There is no evil;' Bring it near, I pray thee, to thy governor -- Doth he accept thee? or doth he lift up thy face? Said Jehovah of Hosts.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf ye offre ye blynde, is not yt euell? And yf ye offre the lame and sick, is not that euell? Yee offre it vnto thy prynce, shal he be cotent with the, or accepte thy personne, sayeth the LORDE of hoostes?

Contextual Overview

⁶"'A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is the [reverent] fear and respect due Me?' says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise My name. But you say, 'How and in what way have we despised Your name?' ⁷"You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, 'How have we defiled You?' By thinking that the table of the LORD is contemptible and may be despised. ⁸"When you [priests] present the blind [animals] for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Offer such a thing [as a blind or lame or sick animal] to your governor [as a gift or as payment for your taxes]. Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you graciously?" says the LORD of hosts.⁹"But now will you not entreat God's favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering from your hand [as an imperfect animal for sacrifice], will He show favor to any of you?" says the LORD of hosts. ¹⁰"Oh, that there were even one among you [whose duty it is to minister to Me] who would shut the gates, so that you would not kindle fire on My altar uselessly [with an empty, worthless pretense]! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD of hosts, "nor will I accept an offering from your hand. ¹¹"For from the rising of the sun, even to its setting, My name shall be great among the nations. In every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name shall be great among the nations," says the LORD of hosts. ¹²"But you [priests] profane it when you say, 'The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.' ¹³"You also say, 'How tiresome this is!' And you disdainfully sniff at it," says the LORD of hosts, "and you bring what was taken by robbery, and the lame or the sick [animals]; this you bring as an offering! Should I receive it with pleasure from your hand?" says the LORD. ¹⁴"But cursed is the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows [to offer] it, but sacrifices to the Lord a blemished or diseased thing! For I am a great King," says the LORD of hosts, "and My name is to be [reverently and greatly] feared among the nations."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

if ye offer the blind: Malachi 1:14, Leviticus 22:19-25, Deuteronomy 15:21

for sacrifice: Heb. to sacrifice

or accept: Malachi 1:10, Malachi 1:13, Job 42:8, Psalms 20:3, Jeremiah 14:10, Hosea 8:13

Reciprocal: Genesis 4:7 - If thou doest well Exodus 12:5 - be without Leviticus 3:1 - without Leviticus 22:20 - General Leviticus 22:22 - Blind Leviticus 22:25 - the bread Numbers 18:30 - the best Deuteronomy 17:1 - General Deuteronomy 33:11 - accept Psalms 4:5 - Offer Ezekiel 45:15 - out of the fat Malachi 1:12 - ye have Malachi 3:8 - In Romans 2:22 - sacrilege

Cross-References

Genesis 1:5
And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Genesis 1:10
God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that this was good (pleasing, useful) and He affirmed and sustained it.

Genesis 1:13
And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

Genesis 1:19
And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

Genesis 1:23
And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

Genesis 1:31
God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good and He validated it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

Genesis 5:2
He created them male and female, and blessed them and named them Mankind at the time they were created.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, [is it] not evil?.... Certainly it is, according to the law in Leviticus 22:22 or, as Kimchi interprets it, when they bring to you a lamb that is blind for sacrifice to offer it up, ye say, this is not evil; but it is good to offer it up, because the table is contemptible. The sense is, that, however evil this may be in itself, according to them it was good enough to be offered up upon the altar; which proves that they despised the name of the Lord, offered polluted bread or sacrifice on his altar, and had his table in contempt:

and if ye offer the lame and sick, [is it] not evil? verily it is, by the law of God, which forbids the offering of such things, Leviticus 22:21 this was always observed, in all sacrifices under the law, that they were perfect, and without any blemish, whether of the flock, or of the herd; and this was strictly observed, even by the Heathens themselves: so Achilles, in Homer a, speaks of the perfect lambs and goats they offered in sacrifice; and particularly they were not to be lame, or to halt; such were reckoned choice and excellent sacrifices, which were larger and better fed than others; and which were not lame, nor diseased, nor sickly; for things future could not be known, they say, but from a sound victim b; for they pretended to have knowledge of them, by the entrails of the sacrifices. So Pliny c observes, that this is to be remarked, that calves brought to the altar on men's shoulders are not to be sacrificed; nor are the gods appeased by one that halts; in short, it is said d, whatever is not perfect and sound is not to be offered to them; and, besides these here mentioned in the text, there were many others, which the Jews especially observed, which rendered creatures unfit for sacrifice. Maimonides e reckons up no less than fifty blemishes, by reason of which the priests under the law might not offer a creature for sacrifice: no doubt but the laws of Moses concerning this matter had a respect to the pure, perfect, and spotless sacrifice of Christ, which the legal ones were typical of; and teach us this lesson, that, without a complete sacrifice, no atonement or satisfaction for sin could be made: or, it is not evil in your eyes, as Aben Ezra glosses it; which is the same as before:

offer it now unto thy governor; to Zerubbabel, who was governor of Judea at this time, Haggai 1:1 for they had no king. The meaning is, offer a lamb or any other creature that is blind, sick, and lame; make a present of it to him that had the government of them; make trial this way, and see how acceptable it would be to him:

will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts; will he thank thee for it, or have any respect to thee on account of it? but, on the contrary, will he not resent it as an affront to him? and if so it would be with an earthly prince, how can it be thought that to offer the blind, lame, and sick, should be acceptable to the King of kings, and Lord of lords?

a Iliad. I. 1. 66. b Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 12. c Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 45. d Scholia in Aristoph. Acharn. Act 3. Scen. 3. p. 409. e Hilchot Biath Hamikdash, c. 7. sect. 1. &c.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? - Others, “it is not evil,” as we should say, “there is no harm in it.” Both imply, alike, an utter unconsciousness on the part of the offerer, that it was evil: the one, in irony, that this was always their answer, “there is nothing amiss;” the other is an indignant question, “is there indeed nought amiss?” And this seems the most natural.

The sacrifice of the “blind” and “lame” was expressly forbidden in the law Deuteronomy 15:21, and the sick in manifold varieties of animal disease. “Whatever hath a blemish ye shall not offer Leviticus 22:22, blind or with limb broken, or wounded or mangy or scabby or scurfy.” Perfectness was an essential principle of sacrifice; whether, as in the daily sacrifice, or the sin or trespass-offerings, typical of the all-perfect Sacrifice, or in the whole-burnt-offering, of the entire self-oblation. But these knew better than God, what was fit for Him and them. His law was to be modified by circumstances. He would not be so particular (as people now say so often.)

Is it then fit to offer to God what under the very same circumstances man would not offer to man? Against these idle, ungrateful, covetous thoughts God saith,

“Offer it now unto thy governor.” He appeals to our own instinctive thought of propriety to our fellow creature, which may so often be a test to us. No one would think of acting to a fellow-creature, as they do to Almighty God. Who would make diligent preparation to receive any great one of the earth, and turn his back upon him, when come? Yet what else is the behavior of most Christians after holy communion? If thou wouldest not do this to a mortal man, who is but dust and ashes, how much less to God Almighty, the King of kings and Lord of lords! “The words are a reproof to those most negligent persons, who go through their prayers to God without fear, attention, reverence or feeling; but if they have to speak to some great man, prelate or prince, approach him with great reverence, speak carefully and distinctly and are in awe of him. Do not thou prefer the creature to the Creator, man to God, the servant to the Lord, and that Lord, so exalted and so Infinite.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Malachi 1:8. Offer it now unto thy governor — פחת pechath, a word signifying a lieutenant, or viceroy, among the Chaldeans, Syrians, and Persians; for neither at this time, nor ever after, was there a king in Israel.