Malachi 2:1

THE MESSAGE

"And now this indictment, you priests! If you refuse to obediently listen, and if you refuse to honor me, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, in worship, then I'll put you under a curse. I'll exchange all your blessings for curses. In fact, the curses are already at work because you're not serious about honoring me. Yes, and the curse will extend to your children. I'm going to plaster your faces with rotting garbage, garbage thrown out from your feasts. That's what you have to look forward to!

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Therefore, this decree is for you priests:

King James Version (1611)
And now, O yee Priests, this commaundement is for you.

King James Version
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.

English Standard Version
"And now, O priests, this command is for you.

New American Standard Bible
"And now, this commandment is for you, the priests.

New Century Version
"Priests, this command is for you.

Amplified Bible
"Now, O priests, this commandment is for you.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And now, O ye Priests, this commandement is for you.

Legacy Standard Bible
"And now this commandment is for you, O priests.

Berean Standard Bible
And now this decree is for you, O priests:

Contemporary English Version
I, the Lord All-Powerful, have something else to say to you priests.

Complete Jewish Bible
"Now, cohanim, this command is for you.

Darby Translation
And now, ye priests, this commandment is for you.

Easy-to-Read Version
"Priests, this rule is for you.

George Lamsa Translation
NOW therefore, O priests, this commandment is for you.

Good News Translation
The Lord Almighty says to the priests, "This command is for you:

Lexham English Bible
"And so then, O priests, this command is for you:

Literal Translation
And now, O priests, this command is to you.

American Standard Version
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.

Bible in Basic English
And now, O you priests, this order is for you.

Hebrew Names Version
"Now, you Kohanim, this mitzvah is for you.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And now, this commandment is for you, O ye priests.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And now O ye priestes this comaundement is for you.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And now, O priests, this commandment is to you.

English Revised Version
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.

World English Bible
"Now, you priests, this commandment is for you.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And now, A! ye preestis, this maundement is to you.

Update Bible Version
And now, O you priests, this commandment is for you.

Webster's Bible Translation
And now, O ye priests, this commandment [is] for you.

New English Translation
"Now, you priests, this commandment is for you.

New King James Version
"And now, O priests, this commandment is for you.

New Living Translation
"Listen, you priests—this command is for you!

New Life Bible
"And now, this word is for you, O religious leaders.

New Revised Standard
And now, O priests, this command is for you.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, therefore, for you, is this charge, O ye priests: -

Douay-Rheims Bible
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is to you.

Revised Standard Version
"And now, O priests, this command is for you.

Young's Literal Translation
And now, to you [is] this charge, O priests,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And now (o ye prestes) this commaundement toucheth you:

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"And now this commandment is for you, O priests.

Contextual Overview

¹"And now this indictment, you priests! If you refuse to obediently listen, and if you refuse to honor me, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, in worship, then I'll put you under a curse. I'll exchange all your blessings for curses. In fact, the curses are already at work because you're not serious about honoring me. Yes, and the curse will extend to your children. I'm going to plaster your faces with rotting garbage, garbage thrown out from your feasts. That's what you have to look forward to! ⁴"Maybe that will wake you up. Maybe then you'll realize that I'm indicting you in order to put new life into my covenant with the priests of Levi, the covenant of God -of-the-Angel-Armies. My covenant with Levi was to give life and peace. I kept my covenant with him, and he honored me. He stood in reverent awe before me. He taught the truth and did not lie. He walked with me in peace and uprightness. He kept many out of the ditch, kept them on the road. ⁷"It's the job of priests to teach the truth. People are supposed to look to them for guidance. The priest is the messenger of God -of-the-Angel-Armies. But you priests have abandoned the way of priests. Your teaching has messed up many lives. You have corrupted the covenant of priest Levi. God -of-the-Angel-Armies says so. And so I am showing you up for who you are. Everyone will be disgusted with you and avoid you because you don't live the way I told you to live, and you don't teach my revelation truly and impartially."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Malachi 1:6, Jeremiah 13:13, Lamentations 4:13, Hosea 5:1

Reciprocal: Leviticus 21:1 - Speak Leviticus 21:24 - Aaron 1 Samuel 2:12 - the sons Ezekiel 22:26 - priests Ezekiel 34:7 - General Hosea 4:6 - I will also reject Hosea 4:10 - they shall eat Malachi 3:3 - the sons

Cross-References

Genesis 1:1
First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don't see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.

Genesis 2:5
At the time God made Earth and Heaven, before any grasses or shrubs had sprouted from the ground— God hadn't yet sent rain on Earth, nor was there anyone around to work the ground (the whole Earth was watered by underground springs)— God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!

Genesis 2:8
Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.

2 Chronicles 2:12
He wrote on, "Blessed be the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, and who gave King David a son so wise, so knowledgeable and shrewd, to build a temple for God and a palace for himself. I've sent you Huram-Abi—he's already on his way—he knows the construction business inside and out. His mother is from Dan and his father from Tyre. He knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, in purple, violet, linen, and crimson textiles; he is also an expert engraver and competent to work out designs with your artists and architects, and those of my master David, your father.

Nehemiah 9:6
Then on the twenty-fourth day of this month, the People of Israel gathered for a fast, wearing burlap and faces smudged with dirt as signs of repentance. The Israelites broke off all relations with foreigners, stood up, and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their parents. While they stood there in their places, they read from the Book of The Revelation of God , their God, for a quarter of the day. For another quarter of the day they confessed and worshiped their God . A group of Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani—stood on the platform and cried out to God , their God, in a loud voice. The Levites Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, "On your feet! Bless God , your God, for ever and ever!" Blessed be your glorious name, exalted above all blessing and praise! You're the one, God , you alone; You made the heavens, the heavens of heavens, and all angels; The earth and everything on it, the seas and everything in them; You keep them all alive; heaven's angels worship you!

Psalms 33:6
The skies were made by God 's command; he breathed the word and the stars popped out. He scooped Sea into his jug, put Ocean in his keg.

Isaiah 42:5
God 's Message, the God who created the cosmos, stretched out the skies, laid out the earth and all that grows from it, Who breathes life into earth's people, makes them alive with his own life: "I am God . I have called you to live right and well. I have taken responsibility for you, kept you safe. I have set you among my people to bind them to me, and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations, To make a start at bringing people into the open, into light: opening blind eyes, releasing prisoners from dungeons, emptying the dark prisons. I am God . That's my name. I don't franchise my glory, don't endorse the no-god idols. Take note: The earlier predictions of judgment have been fulfilled. I'm announcing the new salvation work. Before it bursts on the scene, I'm telling you all about it."

Isaiah 45:18
God , Creator of the heavens— he is, remember, G od. Maker of earth— he put it on its foundations, built it from scratch. He didn't go to all that trouble to just leave it empty, nothing in it. He made it to be lived in. This God says: "I am God , the one and only. I don't just talk to myself or mumble under my breath. I never told Jacob, ‘Seek me in emptiness, in dark nothingness.' I am God . I work out in the open, saying what's right, setting things right. So gather around, come on in, all you refugees and castoffs. They don't seem to know much, do they— those who carry around their no-god blocks of wood, praying for help to a dead stick? So tell me what you think. Look at the evidence. Put your heads together. Make your case. Who told you, and a long time ago, what's going on here? Who made sense of things for you? Wasn't I the one? God ? It had to be me. I'm the only God there is— The only God who does things right and knows how to help. So turn to me and be helped—saved!— everyone, whoever and wherever you are. I am God , the only God there is, the one and only. I promise in my own name: Every word out of my mouth does what it says. I never take back what I say. Everyone is going to end up kneeling before me. Everyone is going to end up saying of me, ‘Yes! Salvation and strength are in God !'" All who have raged against him will be brought before him, disgraced by their unbelief. And all who are connected with Israel will have a robust, praising, good life in God !

Isaiah 65:17
"Pay close attention now: I'm creating new heavens and a new earth. All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain are things of the past, to be forgotten. Look ahead with joy. Anticipate what I'm creating: I'll create Jerusalem as sheer joy, create my people as pure delight. I'll take joy in Jerusalem, take delight in my people: No more sounds of weeping in the city, no cries of anguish; No more babies dying in the cradle, or old people who don't enjoy a full lifetime; One-hundredth birthdays will be considered normal— anything less will seem like a cheat. They'll build houses and move in. They'll plant fields and eat what they grow. No more building a house that some outsider takes over, No more planting fields that some enemy confiscates, For my people will be as long-lived as trees, my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work. They won't work and have nothing come of it, they won't have children snatched out from under them. For they themselves are plantings blessed by God , with their children and grandchildren likewise God -blessed. Before they call out, I'll answer. Before they've finished speaking, I'll have heard. Wolf and lamb will graze the same meadow, lion and ox eat straw from the same trough, but snakes—they'll get a diet of dirt! Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill anywhere on my Holy Mountain," says God .

Jeremiah 10:16
But the Portion-of-Jacob is the real thing. He put the whole universe together And pays special attention to Israel. His name? God -of-the-Angel-Armies!

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And now, O ye priests,.... That despised and profaned the name of the Lord; that suffered such corrupt and illegal sacrifices to be brought and offered up:

this commandment [is] for you: of giving glory to the name of God; of taking care of his worship; of teaching the people knowledge, and directing them in the way in which they should walk; as follows:

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And now this is My commandment unto you - , not a commandment, which He gave them, but a commandment in regard to them. As God said of old, upon obedience , “I will command My blessing unto you,” so now He would command what should reach them, but a curse. “He returns from the people to the priests, as the fountain of the evil, whose carelessness about things sacred he had rebuked before. Let the priests of the new law hear this rebuke of God, and conceive it dictated to them by the Holy Spirit to hear, from whom God rightly requires greater holiness, and so will punish them more grievously, if careless or scandalous in their office.” All Christians are, in some sense 1 Peter 2:9, “a royal, holy priesthood,” over and above the special “Christian priesthood;” as the Jews, over and above the special priesthood of Aaron, were a Exodus 19:6, “kingdom of priests.” What follows then belongs, in their degree, to them and their duties.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER II

The priests reproved for their unfaithfulness in their office,

for which they are threatened to be deprived of their share of

the sacrifice, (the shoulder,) and rewarded only with ignominy

and ordure, 1-3.

The degeneracy of the order is then complained of, and they are

again threatened, 4-9.

The rest of the chapter reproves the people for marrying

strange and idolatrous women; and multiplying divorces, with

all their consequent distress, in order to make way for such

illicit alliances, 10-17.

See Nehemiah 10:30; Nehemiah 13:27-30, &c.

NOTES ON CHAP. II