Malakias 2

1 Og nu udgaar følgende Paabud til eder, I Præster:

And now, O you priests, this order is for you.

2 Hvis I ikke adlyder og lægger eder paa Sinde at holde mit Navn i Ære, siger Hærskarers HERRE, saa sender jeg Forbandelse over eder og vender eders Velsignelse til Forbandelse, ja til Forbandelse, fordi I ikke lægger eder det paa Sinde.

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 Se, jeg afhugger Armen paa eder og kaster Skarn i Ansigtet paa eder, Skarnet fra eders Højtider, og eders Ofre oven i Købet;

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 og I skal kende, at jeg har sendt eder dette Paabud, fordi jeg har en Pagt med Levi, siger Hærskarers HERRE.

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 Min Pagt med ham var, at jeg skulde give ham Liv og Fred, og han skulde frygte mig og bæve for mit Navn;

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 Sandheds Lære var i hans Mund, Svig fandtes ikke paa hans Læber; i Fred og Sanddruhed vandrede han med mig, og mange holdt han fra Brøde.

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 Thi Præstens Læber vogter paa Kundskab, og Vejledning søger man af hans Mund; thi han er Hærskarers HERRES Sendebud.

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 Men I veg bort fra Vejen; mange har I bragt til Fald ved eders Vejledning, Levis Pagt har I ødelagt, siger Hærskarers HERRE.

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 Derfor har jeg ogsaa gjort eder ringeagtede og oversete af alt Folket, fordi I ikke tager Vare paa mine Veje eller bryder eder om Loven.

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 Har vi ikke alle en og samme Fader, er det ikke en og samme Gud, som har skabt os? Hvorfor er vi da troløse mod hverandre, saa vi vanhelliger vore Fædres Pagt?

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 Juda er troløst, og Vederstyggelighed øves i Israel og Jerusalem; thi Juda vanhelliger den Helligdom, HERREN elsker, og tager en fremmed Guds Datter til Ægte.

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 HERREN unddrage den Mand, som gør sligt, en til at vaage og svare i Jakobs Telte og en til at frembære Offergave for Hærskarers HERRE!

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 Og for det andet gør I dette: I hyller HERRENS Alter i Taarer, Graad og Klage, saa han ikke mere vender sig til Offergaven eller med Glæde modtager Gaver af eders Haand.

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 Og I spørger: »Hvorfor?« Fordi HERREN var Vidne mellem dig og din Ungdomshustru, mod hvem du har været troløs, skønt hun hører til dit Folk og deler din Tro.

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 Saaledes gør ingen, saa længe der er Aand i ham. Hvorledes har det sig med ham? Han ønsker Afkom for Gud. Saa tag Vare paa eders Aand, og ingen være troløs imod sin Ungdomshustru!

... So give thought to your spirit, and let no one be false to the wife of his early years.

16 Thi jeg hader Skilsmisse, siger HERREN, Israels Gud, og at man hyller sin Klædning i Uret, siger Hærskarers HERRE. Saa tag eder i Vare for eders Aands Skyld og vær ikke troløse!

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 I trætter HERREN med eders Ord. Og I spørger: »Hvorved trætter vi?« Ved at sige: »Enhver som gør ondt, er god i HERRENS Øjne; i dem har han Behag; hvor er ellers Dommens Gud?«

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?