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 2,17 Mal 2,17
When your fathers tempted me,Proved me, and saw my work.
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.
Your words have been stout against me, saith Jehovah. Yet ye say, What have we spoken against thee?
Ye have said, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his charge, and that we have walked {Or, in mourning apparel}mournfully before Jehovah of hosts?
and now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are built up; yea, they tempt God, and escape.
The Rock, his work is perfect;For all his ways are justice:A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,Just and right is he.
Forty years long was I grieved with that generation,And said, It is a people that do err in their heart,And they have not known my ways:
A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master: if then I am a father, where is mine honor? and if I am a master, where is my fear? saith Jehovah of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
For Job hath said, I am righteous,And God hath taken away my right:
{Or, Should I lie against my right?}Notwithstanding my right I am accounted a liar; {Hebrew: Mine arrow.}My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.
What man is like Job,Who drinketh up scoffing like water,
Who goeth in company with the workers of iniquity,And walketh with wicked men?
For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothingThat he should {Or, consent with See Psalm 50:18}delight himself with God.
Talk no more so exceeding proudly;Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth;For Jehovah is a God of knowledge, {According to another reading, Though actions be not weighed.}And by him actions are weighed.
Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a {Or, cumbrance}trouble unto me; I am weary of bearing them.
Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar. And ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of Jehovah is contemptible.
Shall even one that hateth justice govern?And wilt thou condemn him that is righteous and mighty?—
He saith in his heart, God hath forgotten;He hideth his face; he will never see it.
Arise, O Jehovah; O God, lift up thy hand:Forget not the {Or, meek.}poor.
Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God,And say in his heart, Thou wilt not require it?
And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to weary men, that ye will weary my God also?
Will a man rob God? yet ye rob me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and {Hebrew: heave-offering.}offerings.
Would that Job were tried unto the end,Because of his answering like wicked men.
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is {Or, emboldened}fully set in them to do evil.
Thou hast bought me no {Or, calamus}sweet cane with money, neither hast thou {Or, satiated}filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices; but thou hast burdened me with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
But thou {Or, hast filled up}art full of the judgment of the wicked:Judgment and justice take hold on thee.
Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as it were with a cart rope;
Thou hast rejected me, saith Jehovah, thou art gone backward: therefore have I stretched out my hand against thee, and destroyed thee; I am weary with repenting.
For I was envious at the {Or, fools}arrogant,When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For there are no pangs in their death;But their strength is firm.
They are not {Hebrew: in the trouble of men.}in trouble as other men;Neither are they plagued like other men.
Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck;Violence covereth them as a garment.
Their eyes stand out with fatness: {Or, The imagination of their heart overflow}They have more than heart could wish.
They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression:They speak {Or, from on high}loftily.
They have set their mouth {Or, against}in the heavens,And their tongue walketh through the earth.
Therefore {Another reading is, he will bring back his people.}his people return hither:And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
And they say, How doth God know?And is there knowledge in the Most High?
Behold, these are the wicked;And, being alway at ease, they increase in riches.
Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart,And washed my hands in innocency;
For all the day long have I been plagued,And {Hebrew: my chastisement was.}chastened every morning.
If I had said, I will speak thus;Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children.
that say, Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast raged against me in all these things; therefore, behold, I also will bring thy way upon thy head, saith the Lord Jehovah: and {Or, hast thou not committed &c.?}thou shalt not commit this lewdness with all thine abominations.
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon.
And therefore will Jehovah wait, that he may be gracious unto you; and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for Jehovah is a God of justice; blessed are all they that wait for him.
Behold, {Or, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves}I will press you in your place, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves.
The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of {See marginal note on chapter 5:46.}publicans and sinners! And wisdom {Or, was}is justified by her {Many ancient authorities read children: as in Luke 7:35.}works.
Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? for they say, Jehovah seeth us not; Jehovah hath forsaken the land.
Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of {Or, perverseness}wresting of judgment: for they say, Jehovah hath forsaken the land, and Jehovah seeth not.
And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps; and I will {Hebrew: visit upon.}punish the men that are {Or, thickened}settled on their lees, that say in their heart, Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do evil.
knowing this first, that {Greek: in the last of the days.}in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts,
and saying, Where is the promise of his {Greek: presence.}coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.