Mal 2 | ESV | STEP | And now, O priests , this command is for you.

1 “And now, ^aO priests, ^bthis command is for you. 2 ^cIf you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send ^dthe curse upon you and I will curse ^eyour blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. 3 Behold, ^fI will rebuke your offspring, ^{▼▼Hebrew seed} and ^hspread dung on your faces, the ⁱdung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it. ^{▼▼Or to it} 4 So shall you know that I have sent ^kthis command to you, that ^lmy covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. 5 My covenant with him was one of life and ^mpeace, and I gave them to him. ⁿIt was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. 6 ^oTrue instruction ^{▼▼Or law; also verses 7, 8, 9} was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he ^qturned many from iniquity. 7 For ^rthe lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people ^{▼▼Hebrew they} should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 8 But you have turned aside from the way. ^tYou have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted ^uthe covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, 9 and so ^vI make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but ^wshow partiality in your instruction.”

Judah Profaned the Covenant

10 Have we not all ^xone Father? Has not ^yone God created us? Why then are we ^zfaithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has been ^aafaithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For ^abJudah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant ^{▼▼Hebrew any who wakes and answers} of the man who does this, who ^adbrings an offering to the Lord of hosts!

13 And this second thing you do. ^aeYou cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 ^afBut you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord ^agwas witness between you and the wife of your youth, ^ahto whom ^aiyou have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 ^ajDid he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? ^{▼▼Hebrew in it} And what was the one God ^{▼▼Hebrew the one} seeking? ^{▼▼Or And not one has done this who has a portion of the Spirit. And what was that one seeking?} ^anGodly offspring. So guard yourselves ^{▼▼Or So take care; also verse 16} in your spirit, and let none of you be ^apfaithless to the wife of your youth. 16 “For ^aqthe man who does not love his wife but divorces her, ^{▼▼Hebrew who hates and divorces} says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers ^{▼▼Probable meaning (compare Septuagint and Deuteronomy 24:1–4); or “The Lord, the God of Israel, says that he hates divorce, and him who covers} his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and ^atdo not be faithless.”

The Messenger of the Lord

17 ^auYou have wearied the Lord with your words. ^avBut you say, “How have we wearied him?” ^awBy saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, ^ax“Where is the God of justice?”