1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.
4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.
6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.
7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.
10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
11 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.
12 The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.
13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
1 And now, O ye priests, H3548 this commandment H4687 is for you.
2 If ye will not hear, H8085 and if ye will not lay H7760 it to heart, H3820 to give H5414 glory H3519 unto my name, H8034 saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 I will even send H7971 a curse H3994 upon you, and I will curse H779 your blessings: H1293 yea, I have cursed H779 them already, because ye do not lay H7760 it to heart. H3820
3 Behold, I will corrupt H1605 your seed, H2233 and spread H2219 dung H6569 upon your faces, H6440 even the dung H6569 of your solemn feasts; H2282 and one shall take you away H5375 with it.
4 And ye shall know H3045 that I have sent H7971 this commandment H4687 unto you, that my covenant H1285 might be with Levi, H3878 saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts. H6635
5 My covenant H1285 was with him of life H2416 and peace; H7965 and I gave H5414 them to him for the fear H4172 wherewith he feared H3372 me, and was afraid H2865 before H6440 my name. H8034
6 The law H8451 of truth H571 was in his mouth, H6310 and iniquity H5766 was not found H4672 in his lips: H8193 he walked H1980 with me in peace H7965 and equity, H4334 and did turn H7725 many H7227 away H7725 from iniquity. H5771
7 For the priest's H3548 lips H8193 should keep H8104 knowledge, H1847 and they should seek H1245 the law H8451 at his mouth: H6310 for he is the messenger H4397 of the LORD H3068 of hosts. H6635
8 But ye are departed H5493 out of the way; H1870 ye have caused many H7227 to stumble H3782 at the law; H8451 ye have corrupted H7843 the covenant H1285 of Levi, H3878 saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts. H6635
9 Therefore have I also made H5414 you contemptible H959 and base H8217 before all the people, H5971 according H6310 as ye have not kept H8104 my ways, H1870 but have been partial H5375 H6440 in the law. H8451
10 Have we not all one H259 father? H1 hath not one H259 God H410 created H1254 us? why do we deal treacherously H898 every man H376 against his brother, H251 by profaning H2490 the covenant H1285 of our fathers? H1
11 Judah H3063 hath dealt treacherously, H898 and an abomination H8441 is committed H6213 in Israel H3478 and in Jerusalem; H3389 for Judah H3063 hath profaned H2490 the holiness H6944 of the LORD H3068 which he loved, H157 and hath married H1166 the daughter H1323 of a strange H5236 god. H410
12 The LORD H3068 will cut off H3772 the man H376 that doeth H6213 this, the master H5782 and the scholar, H6030 out of the tabernacles H168 of Jacob, H3290 and him that offereth H5066 an offering H4503 unto the LORD H3068 of hosts. H6635
13 And this have ye done H6213 again, H8145 covering H3680 the altar H4196 of the LORD H3068 with tears, H1832 with weeping, H1065 and with crying out, H603 insomuch that he regardeth H6437 not the offering H4503 any more, or receiveth H3947 it with good will H7522 at your hand. H3027
14 Yet ye say, H559 Wherefore? H4100 Because the LORD H3068 hath been witness H5749 between thee and the wife H802 of thy youth, H5271 against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: H898 yet is she thy companion, H2278 and the wife H802 of thy covenant. H1285
15 And did not he make H6213 one? H259 Yet had he the residue H7605 of the spirit. H7307 And wherefore one? H259 That he might seek H1245 a godly H430 seed. H2233 Therefore take heed H8104 to your spirit, H7307 and let none deal treacherously H898 against the wife H802 of his youth. H5271
16 For the LORD, H3068 the God H430 of Israel, H3478 saith H559 that he hateth H8130 putting away: H7971 for one covereth H3680 violence H2555 with his garment, H3830 saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts: H6635 therefore take heed H8104 to your spirit, H7307 that ye deal not treacherously. H898
17 Ye have wearied H3021 the LORD H3068 with your words. H1697 Yet ye say, H559 Wherein have we wearied H3021 him? When ye say, H559 Every one that doeth H6213 evil H7451 is good H2896 in the sight H5869 of the LORD, H3068 and he delighteth H2654 in them; or, Where is the God H430 of judgment? H4941
1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith Jehovah of hosts, then will I send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
3 Behold, I will rebuke your seed, and will spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your feasts; and ye shall be taken away with it.
4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant may be with Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts.
5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him that he might fear; and he feared me, and stood in awe of my name.
6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many away from iniquity.
7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Jehovah of hosts.
8 But ye are turned aside out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble in the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts.
9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have had respect of persons in the law.
10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
11 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of Jehovah which he loveth, and hath married the daughter of a foreign god.
12 Jehovah will cut off, to the man that doeth this, him that waketh and him that answereth, out of the tents of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto Jehovah of hosts.
13 And this again ye do: ye cover the altar of Jehovah with tears, with weeping, and with sighing, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, neither receiveth it with good will at your hand.
14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because Jehovah hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously, though she is thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
15 And did he not make one, although he had the residue of the Spirit? And wherefore one? He sought a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
16 For I hate putting away, saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, and him that covereth his garment with violence, saith Jehovah of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
17 Ye have wearied Jehovah with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? In that ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of Jehovah, and he delighteth in them; or where is the God of justice?
1 And now, to you `is' this charge, O priests,
2 If ye hearken not, and if ye lay `it' not to heart, To give honour to My name, said Jehovah of Hosts, I have sent against you the curse, And I have cursed your blessings, Yea, I have also cursed it, Because ye are not laying `it' to heart.
3 Lo, I am pushing away before you the seed, And have scattered dung before your faces, Dung of your festivals, And it hath taken you away with it.
4 And ye have known that I have sent unto you this charge, For My covenant being with Levi, Said Jehovah of Hosts.
5 My covenant hath been with him of life and of peace, And I make them to him a fear, and he doth fear Me, And because of My name he hath been affrighted.
6 The law of truth hath been in his mouth, And perverseness hath not been found in his lips, In peace and in uprightness he walked with Me, And many he brought back from iniquity.
7 For the lips of a priest preserve knowledge, And law they do seek from his mouth, For a messenger of Jehovah of Hosts he `is'.
8 And ye, ye have turned from the way, Ye have caused many to stumble in the law, Ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, Said Jehovah of Hosts.
9 And I also, I have made you despised and low before all the people, Because ye are not keeping My ways, And are accepting persons in the law.
10 Have we not all one father? Hath not our God prepared us? Wherefore do we deal treacherously, Each against his brother, To pollute the covenant of our fathers?
11 Dealt treacherously hath Judah, And abomination hath been done in Israel, and in Jerusalem, For polluted hath Judah the holy thing of Jehovah, That He hath loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.
12 Cut off doth Jehovah the man who doth it, Tempter and tempted -- from the tents of Jacob, Even he who is bringing nigh a present to Jehovah of Hosts.
13 And this a second time ye do, Covering with tears the altar of Jehovah, With weeping and groaning, Because there is no more turning unto the present, Or receiving of a pleasing thing from your hand.
14 And ye have said, `Wherefore?' Because Jehovah hath testified between thee And the wife of thy youth, That thou hast dealt treacherously against her, And she thy companion, and thy covenant-wife.
15 And He did not make one `only', And He hath the remnant of the Spirit. And what `is' the one `alone'! He is seeking a godly seed. And ye have been watchful over your spirit, And with the wife of thy youth, None doth deal treacherously.
16 For `I' hate sending away, said Jehovah, God of Israel, And He `who' hath covered violence with his clothing, said Jehovah of Hosts, And ye have been watchful over your spirit, And ye do not deal treacherously.
17 Ye have wearied Jehovah with your words, And ye have said: `In what have we wearied Him?' In your saying: `Every evil-doer `is' good in the eyes of Jehovah, And in them He is delighting,' Or, `Where `is' the God of judgment?'
1 And now, ye priests, this commandment is for you.
2 If ye do not hear, and if ye do not lay [it] to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith Jehovah of hosts, I will even send the curse among you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have already cursed them, because ye do not lay [it] to heart.
3 Behold, I will rebuke your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, the dung of your feasts; and they shall take you away with it.
4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts.
5 My covenant with him was of life and peace, and I gave them to him that he might fear; and he feared me, and trembled before my name.
6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.
7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and at his mouth they seek the law; for he is the messenger of Jehovah of hosts.
8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts.
9 And I also have made you contemptible and base before all the people, because ye have not kept my ways, but have respect of persons in [administering] the law.
10 Have we not all one father? Hath not one ùGod created us? Why do we deal unfaithfully every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
11 Judah hath dealt unfaithfully, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the sanctuary of Jehovah which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange ùgod.
12 Jehovah will cut off from the tents of Jacob the man that doeth this, him that calleth and him that answereth; and him that offereth an oblation unto Jehovah of hosts.
13 And further ye do this: ye cover the altar of Jehovah with tears, with weeping, and with sighing, insomuch that he regardeth not the oblation any more, nor receiveth [it] with satisfaction at your hand.
14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because Jehovah hath been a witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt unfaithfully: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
15 And did not one make [them]? and the remnant of the Spirit was his. And wherefore the one? He sought a seed of God. Take heed then to your spirit, and let none deal unfaithfully against the wife of his youth,
16 (for I hate putting away, saith Jehovah the God of Israel;) and he covereth with violence his garment, saith Jehovah of hosts: take heed then to your spirit, that ye deal not unfaithfully.
17 Ye have wearied Jehovah with your words, and ye say, Wherein have we wearied [him]? In that ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of Jehovah, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
1 "Now, you priests, this commandment is for you.
2 If you will not listen, and if you will not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name," says Yahweh of Hosts, "then will I send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have cursed them already, because you do not lay it to heart.
3 Behold, I will rebuke your seed, and will spread dung on your faces, even the dung of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it.
4 You will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant may be with Levi," says Yahweh of Hosts.
5 "My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him who he might be reverent toward me; and he was reverent toward me, and stood in awe of my name.
6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many away from iniquity.
7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Yahweh of Hosts.
8 But you have turned aside out of the way. You have caused many to stumble in the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi," says Yahweh of Hosts.
9 "Therefore I have also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according to the way you have not kept my ways, but have had respect for persons in the law.
10 Don't we all have one father? Hasn't one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
11 Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the holiness of Yahweh which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.
12 Yahweh will cut off, to the man who does this, him who wakes and him who answers, out of the tents of Jacob, and him who offers an offering to Yahweh of Hosts.
13 This again you do: you cover the altar of Yahweh with tears, with weeping, and with sighing, because he doesn't regard the offering any more, neither receives it with good will at your hand.
14 Yet you say, 'Why?' Because Yahweh has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion, and the wife of your covenant.
15 Did he not make one, although he had the residue of the Spirit? Why one? He sought a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
16 For I hate divorce," says Yahweh, the God of Israel, "and him who covers his garment with violence!' says Yahweh of Hosts. "Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you don't deal treacherously.
17 You have wearied Yahweh with your words. Yet you say, 'How have we wearied him?' In that you say, 'Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of Yahweh, and he delights in them;' or 'Where is the God of justice?'
1 And now, O you priests, this order is for you.
2 If you will not give ear and take it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the Lord of armies, then I will send the curse on you and will put a curse on your blessing: truly, even now I have put a curse on it, because you do not take it to heart.
3 See, I will have your arm cut off, and will put waste on your faces, even the waste from your feasts; and you will be taken away with it.
4 And you will be certain that I have sent this order to you, so that it might be my agreement with Levi, says the Lord of armies.
5 My agreement with him was on my side life and peace, and I gave them to him; on his side fear, and he had fear of me and gave honour to my name.
6 True teaching was in his mouth, and no evil was seen on his lips: he was walking with me in peace and righteousness, turning numbers of people away from evil-doing.
7 For it is right for the priest's lips to keep knowledge, and for men to be waiting for the law from his mouth: for he is the servant sent from the Lord of armies.
8 But you are turned out of the way; you have made the law hard for numbers of people; you have made the agreement of Levi of no value, says the Lord of armies.
9 And so I have taken away your honour and made you low before all the people, even as you have not kept my ways, and have given no thought to me in using the law.
10 Have we not all one father? has not one God made us? why are we, every one of us, acting falsely to his brother, putting shame on the agreement of our fathers?
11 Judah has been acting falsely, and a disgusting thing has been done in Jerusalem; for Judah has made unclean the holy place of the Lord which is dear to him, and has taken as his wife the daughter of a strange god.
12 The Lord will have the man who does this cut off root and branch out of the tents of Jacob, and him who makes an offering to the Lord of armies.
13 And this again you do: covering the altar of the Lord with weeping and with grief, so that he gives no more thought to the offering, and does not take it with pleasure from your hand.
14 But you say, For what reason? Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your early years, to whom you have been untrue, though she is your friend and the wife to whom you have given your word.
15 ... So give thought to your spirit, and let no one be false to the wife of his early years.
16 For I am against the putting away of a wife, says the Lord, the God of Israel, and against him who is clothed with violent acts, says the Lord of armies: so give thought to your spirit and do not be false in your acts.
17 You have made the Lord tired with your words. And still you say, How have we made him tired? By your saying, Everyone who does evil is good in the eyes of the Lord, and he has delight in them; or, Where is God the judge?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Malachi 2
Commentary on Malachi 2 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The rebuke administered to the priests for their wicked doings is followed by an announcement of the punishment which they will bring upon themselves in case they should not observe the admonition, or render to the Lord the reverence due to His name when discharging the duties of their office. Malachi 2:1. “And now, ye priests, this commandment comes to you. Malachi 2:2. If ye do not hear and lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, saith Jehovah of hosts, I send against you the curse and curse your blessings, yea I have cursed them, because ye will not lay it to heart. Malachi 2:3. Behold I rebuke your arm, and scatter dung upon your face, the dung of your feasts, and they will carry you away to it. Malachi 2:4. And ye will perceive that I have sent this commandment to you, that it may be my covenant with Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts.” Malachi 2:1. introduces the threat; this is called mitsvâh , a command, not as a commission which the prophet received, for the speaker is not the prophet, but Jehovah Himself; nor as “instruction, admonition, or warning,” for mitsvâh has no such meaning. Mitsvâh is rather to be explained from tsivvâh in Nahum 1:14. The term command is applied to that which the Lord has resolved to bring upon a person, inasmuch as the execution or accomplishment is effected by earthly instruments by virtue of a divine command.
The reference is to the threat of punishment which follows in Malachi 2:2 and Malachi 2:3, but which is only to be carried out in case the priests do not hear and lay to heart, namely, the warning which the Lord has addressed to them through Malachi (Malachi 1:6-13), and sanctify His name by their service. If they shall not do this, God will send the curse against them, and that in two ways. In the first place He will curse their blessings; in fact, He has already done so. B e râkhōth , blessings, are obviously not the revenues of the priests, tithes, atonement-money, and portions of the sacrifices (L. de Dieu, Ros., Hitzig), but the blessings pronounced by the priests upon the people by virtue of their office. These God will curse, i.e., He will make them ineffective, or turn them into the very opposite. וגם ארותיה is not a simple, emphatic repetition, but ארותי is a perfect, which affirms that the curse has already taken effect. The emphatic v e gam , and also, and indeed, also requires this. The suffix ה attached to ארותי is to be taken distributively: “each particular blessing.” In the second place God will rebuke את־הזּרע , i.e., the seed. But since the priests did not practise agriculture, it is impossible to see how rebuking the seed, i.e., causing a failure of the corps, could be a punishment peculiar to the priests. We must therefore follow the lxx, Aquila, Vulg., Ewald, and others, and adopt the pointing הזּרע , i.e., the arm. Rebuking the arm does not mean exactly “laming the arm,” nor manifesting His displeasure in any way against the arm, which the priests raised to bless (Koehler). For it was not the arm but the hand that was raised to bless (Leviticus 9:22; Luke 24:50), and rebuking signifies something more than the manifestation of displeasure. It is with the arm that a man performs his business or the duties of his calling; and rebuking the arm, therefore, signifies the neutralizing of the official duties performed at the altar and in the sanctuary. Moreover, God will also deliver them up to the most contemptuous treatment, by scattering dung in their faces, namely, the dung of their feasts. Chaggı̄m , feasts, is used metonymically for festal sacrifices, or the sacrificial animals slain at the festivals (cf. Psalms 118:27). The dung of the sacrificial animals was to be carried away to an unclean place outside the camp and burned there, in the case of the sin-offerings, upon an ash-heap (Leviticus 4:12; Leviticus 16:27; Exodus 29:14). Scattering dung in the face was a sign and figurative description of the most ignominious treatment. Through the expression “dung of your festal sacrifices,” the festal sacrifices offered by these priests are described as being themselves dung; and the thought is this: the contempt of the Lord, which they show by offering blind or lame animals, or such as are blemished in other ways, He will repay to them by giving them up to the greatest ignominy. The threat is strengthened by the clause ונשׂא אתכם אליו , which has been interpreted, however, in different ways. The Vulgate, Luther (“and shall remain sticking to you”), Calvin, and others take peresh as the subject to נשׂא : “the dung will draw the priests to itself, so that they will also become dung.” But נשׂא has no such meaning; we must therefore leave the subject indefinite: they ( man ) will carry you away, or sweep you away to it, i.e., treat you as dung. When they should be treated in this ignominious manner, then would they perceive that the threatening had come from the Lord. “This commandment ( mitsvâh ) is the mitsvâh mentioned in Malachi 2:1. The infinitive clause which follows announces the purpose of God, in causing this threat to come to pass. But the explanation of these words is a disputed point, since we may either take b e rı̄thı̄ (my covenant) as the subject, or supply hammitsvâh (the commandment) from the previous clause. In the first case (“that my covenant may be with Levi”) the meaning could only be, that the covenant with Levi may continue. But although hâyâh does indeed mean to exist, it does not mean to continue, or be maintained. We must therefore take hammitsvâh as the subject, as Luther, Calvin, and others have done (“that it, viz., my purpose, may be my covenant with Levi”). Koehler adopts this, and has explained it correctly thus: “They will perceive that just as Jehovah has hitherto regulated His conduct towards Levi by the terms of His covenant, which was made with it at the time of its departure from Egypt, so will He henceforth let it be regulated by the terms of the decree of punishment which He has resolved upon now, so that this decree of punishment takes the place, as it were, of the earlier covenant.” Lēvı̄ is the tribe of Levi, which culminated in the priesthood. The attitude of God towards the priests is called a covenant, inasmuch as God placed them in a special relation to Himself by choosing them for the service of the sanctuary, which not only secured to them rights and promises, but imposed duties upon them, on the fulfilment of which the reception of the gifts of divine grace depended (vid., Deuteronomy 10:8-9; Deuteronomy 33:8-10; Numbers 18:1., Numbers 25:10.).
To explain and show the reason for this thought, the real nature of the covenant made with Levi is described in Malachi 2:5-7; and Malachi 2:8 and Malachi 2:9 then show how the priests have neutralized this covenant by forsaking the way of their fathers, so that God is obliged to act differently towards them now, and deliver them up to shame and ignominy. Malachi 2:5. “My covenant was with him life and salvation, and I lent them to him for fear, and he feared me and trembled before my name. Malachi 2:6. Law of truth was in his mouth and there was no perversity on his lips, he walked with me in salvation and integrity, and brought back many from guilt. Malachi 2:7. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and men seek law from his mouth, because he is a messenger of Jehovah.” In Malachi 2:5 החיּים והשּׁלום are the nominative of the predicate. “My covenant was with him life,” etc., means, my covenant consisted in this, that life and salvation were guaranteed and granted to him. The elliptical mode of explaining it, viz., “my covenant was a covenant of life and salvation,” gives the same sense, only there is no analogous example by which this ellipsis can be vindicated, since such passages as Numbers 25:12; Genesis 24:24, and Hosea 14:3, which Hitzig adduces in support of it, are either of a different character, or different in their meaning. Shâlōm , salvation (peace), is the sum of all the blessings requisite for wellbeing. Jehovah granted life and salvation to Levi, i.e., to the priesthood, for fear, viz., as the lever of the fear of God; and Levi, i.e., the priesthood of the olden time, responded to this divine intention. “He feared me.” Nichath is the niphal not of nâchath , he descended, i.e., humbled himself (Ewald, Reincke), but of châthath , to terrify, to shake, which is frequently met with in connection with (e.g., Deuteronomy 31:8; Joshua 1:9; Jeremiah 1:17). Hosea 14:5 and Hosea 14:6 state how Levi preserved this fear both officially and in life. Tōrath 'ĕmeth (analogous to mishpat 'ĕmeth in Zechariah 7:9) is instruction in the law consisting in truth. Truth, which had its roots in the law of Jehovah, was the rule not only of his own conduct, but also and more especially of the instruction which he had to give to the people (cf. Malachi 2:7). The opposite of 'ĕmeth is ‛avlâh , perversity, conduct which is not regulated by the law of God, but by selfishness or sinful self-interest. Grammatically considered, the feminine ‛avlâh is not the subject to נמצא , but is construed as the object: “they found not perversity” (cf. Ges. §143, 1, b ; Ewald, §295, b ). Thus he walked in peace (salvation) and integrity before God. B e shâlōm is not merely in a state of peace, or in peaceableness, nor even equivalent to בּלבב שׁלם (2 Kings 20:3), but according to Malachi 2:5, “equipped with the salvation bestowed upon him by God.” The integritas vitae is affirmed in בּמישׁור . הלך את־יי , to walk with Jehovah, denotes the most confidential intercourse with God, or walking as it were by the side of God (see at Genesis 5:22). Through this faithful discharge of the duties of his calling, Levi (i.e., the priesthood) brought many back from guilt or iniquity, that is to say, led many back from the way of sin to the right way, viz., to the fear of God (cf. Daniel 12:3). But Levi did nothing more than what the standing and vocation of the priest required. For the lips of the priest should preserve knowledge. דעת is the knowledge of God and of His will as revealed in the law. These the lips of the priest should keep, to instruct the people therein; for out of the mouth of the priest men seek tōrâh , law, i.e., instruction in the will of God, because he is a messenger of Jehovah to the people. מלאך , the standing epithet for the angels as the heavenly messengers of God, is here applied to the priests, as it is in Haggai 1:13 to the prophet. Whilst the prophets were extraordinary messengers of God, who proclaimed to the people the will and counsel of the Lord, the priests, by virtue of their office, were so to speak the standing or ordinary messengers of God. But the priests of that time had become utterly untrue to this vocation.
Malachi 2:8. “But ye have departed from the way, have made many to stumble at the law, have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts. Malachi 2:9. Thus I also make you despised and base with all the people, inasmuch as ye do not keep my ways, and respect person in the law.” הדּרך is the way depicted in Malachi 2:6 and Malachi 2:7, in which the priests ought to have walked. הכשׁלתּם בּתּורה does not mean “ye have caused to fall by instruction” (Koehler); for, in the first place, hattōrâh (with the article) is not the instruction or teaching of the priests, but the law of God; and secondly, ב with כּשׁל denotes the object against which a man stumbles and which causes him to fall. Hitzig has given the correct explanation: ye have made the law to many a מכשׁול , instead of the light of their way, through your example and through false teaching, as though the law allowed or commanded things which in reality are sin. In this way they have corrupted or overthrown the covenant with Levi. הלּוי , with the article, is not the patriarch Levi, but his posterity, really the priesthood, as the kernel of the Levites. Hence Jehovah also is no longer bound by the covenant, but withdraws from the priests what He granted to the Levi who was faithful to the covenant, viz., life and salvation (Malachi 2:5), and makes them contemptible and base with all the people. This is simply a just retribution for the fact, that the priests depart from His ways and have respect to men. Battōrâh , in the law, i.e., in the administration of the law, they act with partiality. For the fact itself compare Micah 3:11.
Malachi 2:10. “ Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? wherefore are we treacherous one towards another, to desecrate the covenant of our fathers? Malachi 2:11. Judah acts treacherously, and abomination has taken place in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has desecrated the sanctuary of Jehovah, which He loves, and marries the daughter of a strange god. Malachi 2:12. Jehovah will cut off, to the man that doeth this, wakers and answerers out of the tents of Jacob, and him that offereth sacrifices to Jehovah of hosts.” Malachi adopts the same course here as in the previous rebuke, and commences with a general clause, from which the wrongfulness of marriages with heathen women and of frivolous divorces necessarily followed. The one father, whom all have, is neither Adam, the progenitor of all men, nor Abraham, the father of the Israelitish nation, but Jehovah, who calls Himself the Father of the nation in Malachi 1:6. God is the Father of Israel as its Creator; not, however, in the general sense, according to which He made Israel the people of His possession. By the two clauses placed at the head, Malachi intends not so much to lay emphasis upon the common descent of all the Israelites, by virtue of which they form one united family in contrast with the heathen, as to say that all the Israelites are children of God, and as such spiritual brethren and sisters. Consequently every violation of the fraternal relation, such as that of which the Israelite was guilty who married a heathen woman, or put away an Israelitish wife, was also an offence against God, a desecration of His covenant. The idea that the expression “one father” refers to Abraham as the ancestor of the nation (Jerome, Calvin, and others), is precluded by the fact, that not only the Israelites, but also the Ishmaelites and Edomites were descended from Abraham; and there is no ground whatever for thinking of Jacob, because, although he had indeed given his name to Israel , he is never singled out as its ancestor. Nibhgad is the first pers. plur. imperf. kal , notwithstanding the fact that in other cases bâgad has cholem in the imperfect; for the niphal of this verb is never met with. The Israelite acted faithlessly towards his brother, both when he contracted a marriage with a heathen woman, and when he put away his Israelitish wife, and thereby desecrated the covenant of the fathers, i.e., the covenant which Jehovah made with the fathers, when He chose them from among the heathen, and adopted them as His covenant nation (Exodus 19:5-6; Exodus 24:8).
The reason for this rebuke is given in Malachi 2:11, in a statement of what has taken place. In order the more emphatically to describe this as reprehensible, bâg e dâh (hath dealt treacherously) is repeated and applied to the whole nation. Y e hūdâh (Judah), construed as a feminine, is the land acting in its inhabitants. Then what has taken place is described as תּועבה , abomination, like idolatry, witchcraft, and other grievous sins (cf. Deuteronomy 13:15; Deuteronomy 18:9.), in which the name Israel is intentionally chosen as the holy name of the nation, to indicate the contrast between the holy vocation of Israel and its unholy conduct. In addition to Israel as the national name (= Judah) Jerusalem is also mentioned, as is frequently the case, as the capital and centre of the nation. What has occurred is an abomination, because Judah desecrates קדשׁ יי , i.e., neither the holiness of Jehovah as a divine attribute, nor the temple as the sanctuary, still less the holy state of marriage, which is never so designated in the Old Testament, but Israel as the nation which Jehovah loved. Israel is called qōdesh , a sanctuary or holy thing, as עם קדושׁ , which Jehovah has chosen out of all nations to be His peculiar possession (Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 14:2; Jeremiah 2:3; Psalms 114:2; Ezra 9:2 : see Targ., Rashi, Ab. Ezra, etc.). Through the sin which it had committed, Judah, i.e., the community which had returned from exile, had profaned itself as the sanctuary of God, or neutralized itself as a holy community chosen and beloved of Jehovah (Koehler). To this there is appended, though not till the last clause, the statement of the abomination: Judah, in its individual members, has married the daughter of a strange god (cf. Ezra 9:2.; Nehemiah 13:23.). By the expression בּת אל נכר the person married is described as an idolatress ( bath , daughter = dependent). This involved the desecration of the holy calling of the nation. It is true that in the law it is only marriages with Canaanites that are expressly forbidden (Exodus 34:16; Deuteronomy 7:3), but the reason assigned for this prohibition shows, that all marriages with heathen women, who did not give up their idolatry, were thereby denounced as irreconcilable with the calling of Israel (see at 1 Kings 11:1-2). This sin may God punish by cutting off every one who commits it. This threat of punishment (Malachi 2:12) is indeed only expressed in the form of a wish, but the wish has been created by the impulse of the Holy Spirit. Very different and by no means satisfactory explanations have been given of the expression ער וענה , the waking one ( ער the participle of עוּר ) and the answering one, a proverbial description of the wicked man formed by the combination of opposites (on the custom of expressing totality by opposites, see Dietrich, Abhandlung zur hebr. Gramm. p. 201ff.), in which, however, the meaning of the word ער still continues a matter of dispute. The rabbinical explanation, which is followed by Luther, viz., teacher and scholar, is founded upon the meaning excitare given to the verb עוּר , and the excitans is supposed to be the teacher who stimulates by questioning and admonishing. But apart from all other reasons which tell against this explanation, it does not suit the context; for there is not a single word to indicate that the prophet is speaking only of priests who have taken foreign wives; on the contrary, the prophet accuses Judah and Jerusalem, and therefore the people generally, of being guilty of this sin. Moreover, it was no punishment to an Israelite to have no rabbi or teacher of the law among his sons. The words are at any rate to be taken more generally than this. The best established meaning is vigil et respondens , in which ער is taken transitively, as in Job 41:2 in the chethib , and in the Chaldee ער , watcher (Daniel 4:10-13 and Daniel 4:14-17), in the sense of vivus quisque . In this case the proverbial phrase would be taken from the night-watchman (J. D. Mich., Ros., Ges. Thes. p. 1004). It is no conclusive objection to this, that the words which follow, וּמגּישׁ מנחה , evidently stand upon the same line as ער וענה and must form part of the same whole, and therefore that ער וענה cannot of itself embrace the whole. For this conclusion is by no means a necessary one. If the two expressions referred to portions of the same whole, they could not well be separated from one another by מאהלי יעקב . Moreover, the limitation of ער וענה to the age of childhood founders upon the artificial interpretation which it is necessary to give to the two words. According to Koehler ער denotes the child in the first stage of its growth, in which it only manifests its life by occasionally waking up from its ordinary state of deep, death-like slumber, and ענה the more advanced child, which is able to speak and answer questions. But who would ever think of calling a child in the first weeks of its life, when it sleeps more than it wakes, a waker? Moreover, the sleep of an infant is not a “deep, death-like slumber.” The words “out of the tents of Jacob,” i.e., the houses of Israel, belong to יכרת . The last clause adds the further announcement, that whoever commits such abominations shall have no one to offer a sacrificial gift to the Lord. These words are not to be taken as referring to the priestly caste, as Hitzig supposes; but Jerome has given the correct meaning: “and whoever is willing to offer a gift upon the altar for men of this description.” The meaning of the whole verse is the following: “May God not only cut off every descendant of such a sinner out of the houses of Israel, but any one who might offer a sacrifice for him in expiation of his sin.”
Malachi 2:13. “And this ye do a second time: cover the altar of Jehovah with tears, with weeping and signs, so that He does not turn any more to the sacrifice, and accept the well-pleasing thing at your hand. Malachi 2:14. And ye say, Wherefore? Because Jehovah has been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, towards whom thou hast acted treacherously; whereas she is nevertheless thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. Malachi 2:15. And not one did so who had still a remnant of spirit. And what (did) the one? He sought seed of God. Therefore shall ye take heed for your spirit, and deal not faithlessly to the wife of thy youth. Malachi 2:16. For I hate divorce, saith Jehovah, the God of Israel; and he will cover wickedness over his garment, saith Jehovah of hosts. Thus shall ye take heed to your spirit, and not deal treacherously.” In these verses the prophet condemns a second moral transgression on the part of the people, viz., the putting away of their wives. By shēnı̄th (as a second thing, i.e., for the second time) this sin is placed in the same category as the sin condemned in the previous verses. Here again the moral reprehensibility of the sin is described in Malachi 2:11, before the sin itself is named. They cover the altar of Jehovah with tears, namely, by compelling the wives who have been put away to lay their trouble before God in the sanctuary. The inf. constr. introduces the more minute definition of זאת ; and בּכי ואנקה is a supplementary apposition to דּמעה ot , added to give greater force to the meaning. מאין עוד , so that there is no more a turning (of Jehovah) to the sacrifice, i.e., so that God does not graciously accept your sacrifice any more (cf. Numbers 16:15). The following infinitive ולקחת is also dependent upon מאין , but on account of the words which intervene it is attached with ל . רצון , the good pleasure or satisfaction, used as abstractum pro concreto for the well-pleasing sacrifice. Malachi 2:14. This sin also the persons addressed will not recognise. They inquire the reason why God will no more graciously accept their sacrifices, whereupon the prophet discloses their sin in the plainest terms. על־כּי = על־אשׁר , as in Deuteronomy 31:17; Judges 3:12, etc. The words, “because Jehovah was a witness between thee and the wife of thy youth,” cannot be understood as Ges., Umbreit, and Koehler assume, in accordance with Malachi 3:5, as signifying that Jehovah had interposed between them as an avenging witness; for in that case העיד would necessarily be construed with ב , but they refer to the fact that the marriage took place before the face of God, or with looking up to God; and the objection that nothing is known of any religious benediction at the marriage, or any mutual vow of fidelity, is merely an argumentum a silentio , which proves nothing. If the marriage was a b e rı̄th 'Elōhı̄m (a covenant of God), as described in Proverbs 2:17, it was also concluded before the face of God, and God was a witness to the marriage. With the expression “wife of thy youth” the prophet appeals to the heart of the husband, pointing to the love of his youth with which the marriage had been entered into; and so also in the circumstantial clause, through which he brings to the light the faithless treatment of the wife in putting her away: “Yet she was thy companion, who shared thy joy and sorrow, and the wife of thy covenant, with whom thou didst made a covenant for life.”
In Malachi 2:15 the prophet shows still further the reprehensible character of the divorce, by rebutting the appeal to Abraham's conduct towards Hagar as inapplicable. The true interpretation of this hemistich, which has been explained in very different, and to some extent in very marvellous ways, is obvious enough if we only bear in mind that the subordinate clause וּשׁאר רוּח לו , from its very position and from the words themselves, can only contain a more precise definition of the subject of the principal clause. The affirmation “a remnant of spirit is (was) to him” does not apply to God, but only to man, as L. de Dieu has correctly observed. Rūăch denote here, as in Numbers 27:18; Joshua 5:1; 1 Kings 10:5, not so much intelligence and consideration, as the higher power breathed into man by God, which determines that moral and religious life to which we are accustomed to give the name of virtue. By 'echâd (one), therefore, we cannot understand God, but only a man; and לא אחד (not any one = no one, not one man) is the subject of the sentence, whilst the object to עשׂה must be supplied from the previous sentence: “No man, who has even a remnant of reason, or of sense for right and wrong, has done,” sc. what ye are doing, namely, faithlessly put away the wife of his youth. To this there is appended the objection: “And what did the one do?” which the prophet adduces as a possible exception that may be taken to his statement, for the purpose of refuting it. The words וּמה האחד are elliptical, the verb עשׂה , which may easily be supplied from the previous clause, being omitted (cf. Ecclesiastes 2:12). האחד , not unus aliquis , but the well-known one, whom it was most natural to think of when the question in hand was that of putting away a wife, viz., Abraham, who put away Hagar, by whom he had begotten Ishmael, and who was therefore also his wife (Genesis 21). The prophet therefore replies, that Abraham sought to obtain the seed promised him by God, i.e., he dismissed Hagar, because God promised to give him the desired posterity, not in Ishmael through the maid Hagar, but through Sarah in Isaac, so that in doing this he was simply acting in obedience to the word of God (Genesis 21:12). After meeting this possible objection, Malachi warns his contemporaries to beware of faithlessly putting away their wives. The Vav before nishmartem is the Vav rel. , through which the perfect acquires the force of a cohortative as a deduction from the facts before them, as in ועשׂית in 1 Kings 2:6 (see Ewald, §342, c ). נשׁמר בּרוּחו is synonymous with נשׁמר בּנפשׁו in Jeremiah 17:21, and this is equivalent to נשׁמר לנפשׁו in Deuteronomy 4:15 and Joshua 23:11. The instrumental view of ב (“by means of the Spirit:” Koehler) is thus proved to be inadmissible. “Take heed to your spirit,” i.e., beware of losing your spirit. We need not take rūăch in a different sense here from that in which it is used in the clause immediately preceding; for with the loss of the spiritual and moral vis vitae , which has been received from God, the life itself perishes. What it is that they are to beware of is stated in the last clause, which is attached by the simple copula ( Vav ), and in which the address passes from the second person into the third, to express what is affirmed as applying to every man. This interchange of thou (in wife of thy youth) and he (in יבגּד ) in the same clause appears very strange to our mode of thought and speech; but it is not without analogy in Hebrew (e.g., in Isaiah 1:29; cf. Ewald, §319, a ), so that we have no right to alter יבגּד into תּבגּד , since the ancient versions and the readings of certain codices do not furnish sufficient critical authority for such a change. The subject in יבגּד is naturally thought of as indefinite: any one, men. This warning is accounted for in Malachi 2:16, first of all in the statement that God hates putting away. שׁלּח is the inf. constr. piel and the object to שׂנא : “the sending away (of a wife), divorce.” שׂנא is a participle, the pronominal subject being omitted, as in maggı̄d in Zechariah 9:12, because it may easily be inferred from the following words: אמר יי (saith the Lord of hosts). The thought is not at variance with Deuteronomy 24:1., where the putting away of a wife is allowed; for this was allowed because of the hardness of their hearts, whereas God desires that a marriage should be kept sacred (cf. Matthew 19:3. and the comm. on Deuteronomy 24:1-5). A second reason for condemning the divorce is given in the words וכסּה חמס על ל , which do not depend upon כּי שׂנא , but form a sentence co-ordinate to this. We may either render these words, “he (who puts away his wife) covers his garment with sin,” or “sin covers his garment.” The meaning is the same in either case, namely, that wickedness will adhere irremoveably to such a man. The figurative expression may be explained from the idea that the dress reflects the inward part of a man, and therefore a soiled garment is a symbol of uncleanness of heart (cf. Zechariah 3:4; Isaiah 64:5; Revelation 3:4; Revelation 7:14). With a repetition of the warning to beware of this faithlessness, the subject is brought to a close.
“Ye weary Jehovah with your words, and say, Wherewith do we weary? In that ye say, Every evil-doer is good in the eyes of Jehovah, and He takes pleasure in them, or where is the God of judgment?” The persons who are introduced as speaking here are neither the pious Israelites, who were not only pressed down by the weight of their heavy afflictions, but indignant at the prosperity of their godless countrymen, and were thus impelled to give utterance to despairing complaints, and doubts as to the justice of God (Theodoret); nor a middle class between the truly pious and perfectly godless, consisting of those who were led by a certain instinctive need to adopt the faith inherited from the fathers, and sought to fulfil the commandments of the moral law of God, but the foundations of whose faith and piety were not deep enough for them humbly to submit themselves to the marvellous ways of God, so that whenever the dealings of God did not correspond to their expectations, they lost their faith in Him and turned their backs upon Him (Koehler). The whole of the contents of this section are opposed to the first assumption. Those who murmured against God were, according to Malachi 3:7., such as had departed like the fathers from the law of God and defrauded God in the tithes and heave-offerings, and with whom those who feared God are contrasted in Malachi 2:16. Moreover, the reproach brought against them in Malachi 2:17, “Ye weary Jehovah with your words,” and in Malachi 3:13, “Your words put constraint upon me,” show that they do not belong to the righteous, who, while bending under the burden of temptation, appear to have raised similar complaints; as we read for example in Psalm 37; 49, 73. The second view is precluded by the absence, not only of every trace of the nation being divided into three classes, but also of every indication that those who murmured thus had endeavoured to fulfil the commandments of the moral law of God. The answer of the Lord to this murmuring is addressed to the whole nation as one which had departed from His commandments, and defrauded God with the tithes and sacrifices (Malachi 3:7-8). The judgment which they wanted to see would fall, according to Malachi 3:5, upon the sorcerers, adulterers, and other gross sinners; and in Malachi 3:16-18 the only persons distinguished from these are the truly righteous who remember the name of the Lord. It clearly follows from this, that the feelings expressed in Malachi 2:17 and Malachi 3:13 were not cherished by the whole nation without exception, but only by the great mass of the people, in contrast with whom the small handful of godly men formed a vanishing minority, which is passed over in the attack made upon the spirit prevailing in the nation. This disposition vents itself in the words: Every one who does evil is good in the eyes of God, and Jehovah takes pleasure in the wicked. By עשׂה רע the murmurers mean, not notorious sinners in their midst, but the heathen who enjoyed undisturbed prosperity. To give a reason for this fancy, they inquire, Where is the God of judgment? או , “or,” i.e., if this be not the case, as in Job 16:3; Job 22:11, why does not God punish the ungodly heathen? why does He not interpose as judge, if He has no pleasure in the wicked? Such speeches as these the prophet calls הוגע , a wearying of God (cf. Isaiah 43:23-24).