And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith Jehovah of hosts, then will I send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
Behold, I will rebuke {Or, as otherwise read, your arm}your seed, and will spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your feasts; and ye shall be taken away {Or, unto}with it.
And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant may be with Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts.
My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him that he might fear; and he feared me, and stood in awe of my name.
The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many away from iniquity.
For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Jehovah of hosts.
But ye are turned aside out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble in the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts.
Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have had respect of persons in the law.
Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the {Or, sanctuary}holiness of Jehovah which he loveth, and hath married the daughter of a foreign god.
Jehovah will cut off, to the man that doeth this, him that waketh and him that answereth, out of the tents of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto Jehovah of hosts.
And this {Or, a second time}again ye do: ye cover the altar of Jehovah with tears, with weeping, and with sighing, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, neither receiveth it with good will at your hand.
Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because Jehovah hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously, though she is thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
{Or, And not one hath done so who had a residue of the spirit. Or what? is there one that seeketh a godly seed?}And did he not make one, although he had the residue of the Spirit? And wherefore one? He sought a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
For {Hebrew: he hateth.}I hate putting away, saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, and him that covereth his garment with violence, saith Jehovah of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
Ye have wearied Jehovah with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? In that ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of Jehovah, and he delighteth in them; or where is the God of justice?
Querverweise zu Maleachi 2,11 Mal 2,11
Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out from before you;
and the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomiteth out her inhabitants.
Ye therefore shall keep my statutes and mine ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the home-born, nor the stranger that sojourneth among you;
(for all these abominations have the men of the land done, that were before you, and the land is defiled);
that the land vomit not you out also, when ye defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.
For whosoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people.
Therefore shall ye keep my charge, that ye practise not any of these abominable customs, which were practised before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am Jehovah your God.
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession {Or, above}from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine:
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born unto them,
and come and stand before me in this house, {Hebrew: whereupon my name is called.}which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered; that ye may do all these abominations?
and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all that they chose.
hath given forth upon interest, and hath taken increase; shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely {Hebrew: he put to death.}die; his blood shall be upon him.
And ye shall be holy unto me: for I, Jehovah, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that ye should be mine.
and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.
And one hath committed abomination with his neighbor's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.
neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
For he will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of Jehovah be kindled against you, and he will destroy thee quickly.
But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their {Or, obelisks}pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.
For thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God: Jehovah thy God hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, {Or, out of}above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.
Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, {Or, besides}together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites;
of the nations concerning which Jehovah said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.
For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his God, as was the heart of David his father.
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
And Solomon did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and went not fully after Jehovah, as did David his father.
Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, in the mount that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon.
And so did he for all his foreign wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.
But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.
For thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God, and Jehovah hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, {Or, out of}above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.
Now when these things were done, the princes drew near unto me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
There is none like unto God, O Jeshurun,Who rideth upon the heavens for thy help,And in his excellency on the skies.
The eternal God is thy dwelling-place,And underneath are the everlasting arms.And he thrust out the enemy from before thee,And said, Destroy.
And Israel dwelleth in safety,The fountain of Jacob alone,In a land of grain and new wine;Yea, his heavens drop down dew.
Happy art thou, O Israel:Who is like unto thee, a people saved by Jehovah,The shield of thy help,And the sword of thy excellency!And thine enemies shall {Or, yield feigned obedience}submit themselves unto thee;And thou shalt tread upon their high places.
For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the peoples of the lands: yea, the hand of the princes and {Or, deputies}rulers hath been {Or, first}chief in this trespass.
They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor,And ate the sacrifices of the dead.
now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity for ever; that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.
They did not destroy the peoples,As Jehovah commanded them,
But mingled themselves with the nations,And learned their works,
And served their idols,Which became a snare unto them.
Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto demons,
And shed innocent blood,Even the blood of their sons and of their daughters,Whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan;And the land was polluted with blood.
Thus were they defiled with their works,And played the harlot in their doings.
And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land: yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing.
Israel was holiness unto Jehovah, the first-fruits of his increase: all that devour him shall be held guilty; evil shall come upon them, saith Jehovah.
In those days also saw I the Jews that {Hebrew: had made to dwell with them.}had married women of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab:
and their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people.
And I contended with them, and {Or, reviled}cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons, or for yourselves.
Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did foreign women cause to sin.
Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to trespass against our God in marrying foreign women?
And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me.
Remember them, O my God, {Hebrew: for the defilings of &c.}because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.
And I brought you into a plentiful land, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.
But they {Or, are as men that have transgressed a covenant}like {Or, men}Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.
The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handle the law knew me not: the {Hebrew: shepherds.}rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with {Greek: Beliar.}Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever?
And what agreement hath a {Or, santuary}temple of God with idols? for we are a {Or, santuary}temple of the living God; even as God said, {Leviticus 26:12; Exodus 29:45; Ezekiel 37:27; Jeremiah 31:1.}I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore {Isaiah 52:11.}Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate,saith the Lord,And touch no unclean thing;And I will receive you,
{Hosea 1:10; Isaiah 43:6.}And will be to you a Father,And ye shall be to me sons and daughters,saith the Lord Almighty.
Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate branches of a foreign vine unto me?
For though thou wash thee with lye, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord Jehovah.