Malachi 2

1 And now, this commandment is for you, O ye priests.

“And now this decree is for you, O priests:

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 out against you a curse, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I will curse the same, because ye do not lay it to heart.

If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already begun to curse them, because you are not taking it to heart.

3 Behold, I will destroy unto you the seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your festive offerings; and one shall take you away with it.

Behold, I will rebuke your descendants, and I will spread dung on your faces, the waste from your feasts, and you will be carried off with it.

4 And ye shall thereby know that I have sent out unto you this commandment, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.

Then you will know that I have sent you this commandment so that My covenant with Levi may continue,” says the LORD of Hosts.

5 My covenant was with him life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and because of my name he had dread.

“My covenant with him was one of life and peace, which I gave to him; it called for reverence, and he revered Me and stood in awe of My name.

6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and falsehood was not found on his lips: in peace and equity he walked with me, and many did he turn away from iniquity.

True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.

7 For the priest's lips are ever to keep knowledge, and the law are they to seek from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.

8 But ye are indeed departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble in the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of the Levite, saith the Lord of hosts.

But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts.

9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and low before all the people, in the same measure as ye do not keep my ways, but act with partiality in the law.

“So I in turn have made you despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not kept My ways, but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”

10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? [then] why shall we deal treacherously every man against his brother, to profane the covenant of our fathers?

Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why then do we break faith with one another so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?

11 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination hath been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the sanctuary of the Lord which he loveth, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.

Judah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the LORD’s beloved sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.

12 The Lord will cut off unto the man that doth this, son and grandson, out of the tents of Jacob, and him that bringeth near an offering unto the Lord of hosts.

As for the man who does this, may the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who is awake and aware—even if he brings an offering to the LORD of Hosts.

13 And this do ye secondly, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with loud complaint, so that he turneth not any more his regard to the offerings, nor receiveth it with favor at your hand.

And this is another thing you do: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and groaning, because He no longer regards your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.

14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast indeed dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.

Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

15 And not one doth so who hath a remnant of a [good] spirit; for what desireth such a one? he seeketh [to possess] a godly posterity: therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none of you deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.

Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

16 For he hateth putting away [the wife], so hath said the Lord the God of Israel, and him who covereth his garment with violence, so hath said the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, and deal not treacherously.

“For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.

17 Ye have wearied the Lord with your words: yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? By your saying, Every one that doth evil is good in the eyes of the Lord, and in them he findeth delight; or else, Where is the God of justice!

You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He delights,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”