Malachi 2

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

You priests, I will say something to warn 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 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.

The Commander of the armies of angels says [this]: “Pay attention [to what I am saying], and [then] decide [IDM] to honor me [MTY]. If you do not do that, I will curse you, and I will curse [the things that I have given to you to] bless you. And I have already cursed them, because you have not honored [IDM] me.

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.

I will punish your descendants [MET], and [it will be as though] I will splatter on your faces [some of] the material inside the stomachs of the animals that are brought to be sacrificed, and you will be thrown away with the rest of that material.

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.

When that happens, you will know that I warned you like this, in order that my agreement with [you priests who are descendants of] Levi will continue [to be obeyed]. [That is what I, ] the Commander of the armies of angels, am saying [to you].

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 agreement with [your ancestor] Levi was because I wanted the priests to live prosperously and peacefully. And that is what I have done for them. I required that they greatly respect me and revere [DOU] me.

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.

They told the people that what I instructed them to do was right. And they did not tell [MTY] lies. They worked for me peacefully and loyally, and they helped many people to stop sinning.

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.

What priests say [MTY] should enable more people to know [about me], and people should go to them [MTY] to be taught [what I want them to know], because priests [should] be messengers from me, the Commander of the armies of angels.

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 priests have stopped doing what I wanted you to do. What you have taught people has caused many [of them] to sin. You have rejected the agreement [that I made] with [the descendants of] Levi [long ago].

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.

Therefore I have caused all the people to despise you, and I have caused you to be humiliated, because you have not obeyed me. When you teach [people] my commands, you do not treat all [people] equally.”

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?

[Now I will warn you about something else]. We all certainly [RHQ] have the same [heavenly] Father. We are certainly [RHQ] [all] created by the same God. So why are [RHQ] [some of] you disobeying/despising the agreement [that Yahweh made] with our ancestors, by not doing for each other what you said that you would do?

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.

[You people of] Judah have been unfaithful [to Yahweh]. You have done detestable things in Jerusalem and in [other places] in Israel. You Israeli men have defiled the temple that Yahweh loves. [You have done that by] marrying women who worship idols.

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.

I wish that Yahweh would expel from Israel every man who has done that, [even though] they [say that they are obeying] the Commander of the armies of angels by bringing offerings to him.

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.

This is another thing that you do: You cover Yahweh’s altar with your tears. You wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings; but he is not pleased with them.

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.

You [cry out], saying, “Why does Yahweh not like our offerings?” The answer is that Yahweh heard what each of you men solemnly promised to your wives when you were young. But you men have not done what you promised your wives; you sent them away, the ones to whom you made that agreement.

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.

It is certainly [RHQ] Yahweh who joined you together. Your spirits and your bodies belong to him. [So] what he wants [RHQ] from you are godly children. So make sure that each of you men remain (with/loyal to) the woman that you married when you were young.

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.

Yahweh, the God to whom [we] Israelis belong, says, “I hate divorce!” [So] if you men divorce your wives, you are overwhelming them by being cruel to them. So be sure that you are (not disloyal/remain united) to your wives. [That is what] the Commander of the armies of angels says.

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!

Yahweh [also says], “What you have said has caused me to become disgusted.” You reply, “What have we said that caused him to become disgusted?” [The answer is that you have caused him to become disgusted] by saying that Yahweh is pleased with all those who do evil things. [You have caused him to become disgusted] by [constantly] asking, “Why does God not act fairly?”