Mal 2 | ABEn | STEP | And now this commandment is to you, O priests.

Malachi 2

CHAPTER 2 The LORD Sends a Curse on the Priests

1 And now this commandment is to you, O priests. 2 If you should not hearken, and if you should not put it into your heart, to give glory to my name, says the lord almighty, then I will send upon you the curse, and I will accurse your blessing -- even I will curse it, and it will not be among you, for you put it not to your heart. 3 Behold, I separate to you the shoulder, and I will disperse dung of the large intestine upon your faces, dung of the large intestine of your holiday feasts; and I will take you away at the same time. 4 And you shall realize that I sent out to you this commandment, to be my covenant with the Levites, says the lord almighty. 5 My covenant was with him, the one of life and of peace; and I gave to him fear to fear me, and from the presence of my name to put him in readiness. 6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and injustice was not found in his lips. In peace he straightened out to go with me; and many he turned from iniquity. 7 For lips of priests shall guard knowledge, and [²the law ¹they shall seek] from his mouth; for [²a messenger ³of the lord ⁴almighty ¹he is]. 8 But you turned aside from the way, and you weakened many in following the law; you corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the lord almighty. 9 And I have given you over as ones being treated with contempt, and ones being disregarded among all the nations, because you guarded not my ways, but you took persons in the law. 10 Is there not [²father ¹one] of all of you? Did not [²God ¹one] create you? For what reason did you abandoned each his brother, to profane the covenant of your fathers? 11 Judah abandoned, and an abomination took place in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah profaned the holy things of the lord in which he loved, and applied unto alien gods. 12 The lord will utterly destroy the man doing these things, until whenever he should be humbled from out of the tents of Jacob, and from out of the ones bringing a sacrifice to the lord almighty. 13 And these things which I detested you did. You covered [⁴in tears ¹the ²altar ³of the lord] in weeping and moaning because of troubles, yet thinking it worthy to look upon your sacrifice, or to take as acceptable from out of your hands.

Treachery of Infidelity

14 And you said, For what reason? In that the lord testified between you and between the wife of your youth, whom you abandoned. And she is your partner, and the wife of your covenant. 15 But did he not [²good ¹do], even a vestige of his spirit? And you said, What other than a seed does God seek? But guard in your spirit, and the wife of your youth do not abandon! 16 But if by detesting, you should send her forth, says the lord God of Israel, then [²shall cover ¹impiety] over your thoughts, says the lord God almighty. And keep guard in your spirit, and in no way should you abandon them, 17 O ones provoking the lord with your words. And you said, [³in ⁴what ¹We provoked ²him]? In your saying, Every one doing wicked is good before the lord, and in them he thinks well of; and, Where is the God of righteousness?