Malachi 2

1 And now, A! ye preestis, this maundement is to you.

You priests, I will say something to warn you.

2 If ye wolen here, and if ye `wolen not putte on the herte, that ye yyue glorie to my name, seith the Lord of oostis, Y schal sende nedynesse in to you, and Y schal curse to youre blessyngis; and Y schal curse hem, for ye han not putte on the herte.

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 Lo! Y schal caste to you the arm, and Y schal scatere on youre cheere the drit of youre solempnytees, and it schal take you 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 schulen wite, that Y sente to you this maundement, that my couenaunt were with Leuy, seith the Lord of oostis.

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 couenaunt was with hym of lijf and pees; and Y yaf to hym a drede, and he dredde me, and he dredde of face of my name.

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 lawe of trewthe was in his mouth, and wickidnesse was not foundun in hise lippis; in pees and in equite he walkide with me, and he turnede awei many men fro wickidnesse.

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 lippis of a prest kepen science, and thei schulen ayen seke the lawe of `the mouth of hym, for he is an aungel of the Lord of oostes.

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 wenten awei fro the weie, and sclaundren ful many men in the lawe; ye maden voide the couenaunt of Leuy, seith the Lord of oostis.

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 For which thing and Y yaf you worthi to be dispisid, and bowen to alle puplis, as ye kepten not my weies, and token a face in the lawe.

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 Whether not o fadir is of alle you? whether o God made not of nouyt you? Whi therfor ech of you dispisith his brother, and defoulith the couenaunt of youre fadris?

[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 Judas trespasside, and abhomynacioun is maad in Israel, and in Jerusalem; for Judas defoulide the halewyng of the Lord, which he louyde, and he hadde the douyter of an alien 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 schal distrie the man that dide this thing, the maister and disciple, fro the tabernacle of Jacob, and him that offrith a yifte to the Lord of oostis.

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 eftsoone ye diden this thing; ye hiliden with teeris the auter of the Lord, with wepyng and mourenyng; so that Y biholde no more to sacrifice, nether resseyue ony thing plesaunt of youre hond.

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 And ye seiden, For what cause? For the Lord witnesside bitwixe thee and the wijf of thi `puberte, that is, tyme of mariage, which thou dispisidist, and this is thi felowe, and wijf of thi couenaunt.

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 Whether oon made not, and residue of spirit is his? and what sekith oon, no but the seed of God? Therfore kepe ye youre spirit, and nyle thou dispise the wijf of thi yongthe;

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 whanne thou hatist hir, leue thou hir, seith the Lord God of Israel. Forsothe wickidnesse schal kyuere the closyng of hym, seith the Lord of oostis; kepe ye youre spirit, and nyle ye dispise.

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 maden the Lord for to trauele in youre wordis, and ye seiden, Wherynne maden we hym for to trauele? In that that ye seien, Ech man that doith yuel, is good in the siyt of the Lord, and siche plesen to hym; ether certis where is the God of doom?

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?”