King James Version
Malachi 2
17 verses with commentary
Warning to the Priests
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.</strong> This verse opens God's second oracle of rebuke in Malachi, shifting focus from the people's corrupt worship (1:6-14) to address the priesthood directly. The Hebrew <em>ve'attah</em> (וְעַתָּה, "and now") serves as a solemn transition marker, indicating divine judgment is imminent. The vocative <em>hakohanim</em> (הַכֹּהֲנִים, "O ...
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II.
(1-9) The decree against the priests.
(1) **Commandment.**—Better, *decree.* (Comp. the use of the verb from which this substantive is derived in Nahum 1:14; Psalm 7:6; Psalm 42:8.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. will I gather them--**namely, the nations (Assyria, &c.) against Israel, instead of their assisting her as she had wished (Eze 16:37).
**a little--**rather, "in a little" [Henderson]. English Version gives good sense: They shall sorrow "a little" at the imposition of the tribute; God suspended yet the great judgment, namely, their deportation by Assyria.
**the burden of the king of p...
Read full commentary →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 a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
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<strong>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 a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.</strong> Following the command to priests (2:1), God issues a conditional warning. <strong>If ye will not hear</strong> (אִם־לֹא תִשְׁמְעוּ, <em>i...
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(2) **Hear . . . lay to heart**—viz., the warning of Malachi 1:6-13.
**Your blessings.**—Some take this as meaning the priests’ tithes, atonement money, and their portions of the sacrifices, in accordance with a common usage of the word in the sense of “gift”—*e.g.,* Genesis 33:11. Others refer the words to the blessing which the priests pronounce on the people (Numbers 6:23-27).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
11. God in righteous retribution gives them up to their own way; the sin becomes its own punishment (Pr 1:31).
**many altars--**in opposition to God's law (De 12:5, 6, 13, 14).
**to sin ... to sin--**Their altars which were "sin" (whatever religious intentions they might plead) should be treated as such, and be the source of their punishment (1Ki 12:30; 13:34).
Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it. corrupt: or, reprove spread: Heb. scatter one: or, it shall take you away to it
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.</strong> The curse intensifies with graphic imagery. <strong>I will corrupt your seed</strong> (הִנְנִי גֹעֵר לָכֶם אֶת־הַזֶּרַע, <em>hineni go'er lakhem et-hazzera</em>)—the verb גָּעַר (<em>ga'ar</em>) means to rebuke sharply or ruin. זֶרַע (<em>zer...
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(3) **I will corrupt your seed.**—Better, *I will destroy for you the seed*—viz., of the crops. It must be remembered that because the people neglected to pay the tithes, the Levites were obliged to go and till the fields (Nehemiah 13:10). The LXX. for “seed” reads “corn.”
**Dung of your solemn feasts.**—Or rather, *of your festival sacrifices.* (Comp. Exodus 23:18; Psalm 118:27.) The dung of the ...
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**12. great things of ... law--**(De 4:6, 8; Psa 19:8; 119:18, 72; 147:19, 20). Maurer not so well translates, "the many things of My law."
**my law--**as opposed to their inventions. This reference of Hosea to the Pentateuch alone is against the theory that some earlier written prophecies have not come down to us.
**strange thing--**as if a thing with which they had nothing to do.
And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.</strong> God explains the purpose of His rebuke (vv. 1-3): to preserve His covenant with Levi. <strong>My covenant might be with Levi</strong> (לִהְיוֹת בְּרִיתִי אֶת־לֵוִי, <em>lihyot beriti et-Levi</em>) refers to God's covenant with the Levitical priesthood (Number...
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(4) **Commandment.**—Or rather, *decree,* as in Malachi 2:1.
**That my covenant might be.**—Better, *to be my covenant*—*i.e.,* so that this new decree, which I have been compelled to make against the house of Levi, may be my covenant with him instead of the old one, of which the prophet goes on to speak.
**Levi** denotes throughout the tribe of Levi, and especially the priests, the sons of Aaron....
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**13. sacrifices of mine offerings--**that is, which they offer to Me.
**eat it--**Their own carnal gratification is the object which they seek, not My honor.
**now--**that is, "speedily."
**shall return to Egypt--**(Ho 9:3, 6; 11:11). The same threat as in De 28:68. They fled thither to escape from the Assyrians (compare as to Judah, Jr 42:1-44:30), when these latter had overthrown their na...
Read full commentary →My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.
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<strong>My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.</strong> God describes the original covenant with Levi: <strong>of life and peace</strong> (הַחַיִּים וְהַשָּׁלוֹם, <em>haḥayyim vehashalom</em>). חַיִּים (<em>ḥayyim</em>, life) and שָׁלוֹם (<em>shalom</em>, peace/wholeness) characterized the covenant bles...
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(5) **Of life and peace.**—Better, *life and peace*—*i.e.*, by it life and peace were guaranteed to him.
**Life** in its highest sense.
**Peace** as the sum total of blessing: the “fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, *peace.*” (Galatians 5:22; comp. Note on Zechariah 6:13.)
**Them**—viz., life and peace.
**For the fear** . . . **me.**—Better, *As fear*—(*i.e.,* as a motive for the fear of God), *and...
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**14. forgotten ... Maker--**(De 32:18).
**temples--**to idols.
**Judah ... fenced cities--**Judah, though less idolatrous than Israel, betrayed lack of faith in Jehovah by trusting more to its fenced cities than to Him; instead of making peace with God, Judah multiplied human defenses (Is 22:8; Jr 5:17; Mi 5:10, 11).
**I will send ... fire upon ... cities--**Sennacherib burned all Judah's f...
Read full commentary →The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.</strong> God describes faithful priestly ministry. <strong>The law of truth was in his mouth</strong> (תּוֹרַת אֱמֶת הָיְתָה בְּפִיהוּ, <em>torat emet hayetah befihu</em>)—תּוֹרָה (<em>torah</em>, law/instruction) and אֱמֶת (<em>emet</em>, ...
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(6) **The law of truth**—*i.e.*, right instruction in the Law, and judgment in accordance with the Law, the reverse of which is “iniquity,” or rather, *perversion.*
**Walked with me**—*i.e.,* had their conversation in heaven. (Philippians 3:20; comp. Zechariah 3:7; and Genesis 5:24, of Enoch.)
**In peace.**—See on the preceding verse.
**Equity**—*i.e.*, integrity of life.
**And did turn. . . . ini...
Read full commentary →For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.</strong> This verse states priestly responsibility. <strong>The priest's lips should keep knowledge</strong> (כִּי־שִׂפְתֵי כֹהֵן יִשְׁמְרוּ־דַעַת, <em>ki-siftei kohen yishmeru-da'at</em>)—the verb שָׁמַר (<em>shamar</em>, keep/guard) indicates careful prese...
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(7) Comp. Deuteronomy 33:10.
**Keep.**—Not as in a repository, but rather, *observe* (Zechariah 3:7)—*i.e.,* speak in accordance with the *knowledge* of God, as revealed in the Law.
**Messenger.**—Literally, *angel.* (See Note on Malachi 3:1.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 9 Ho 9:1-17. Warning against Israel's Joy at Partial Relief from Their Troubles: Their Crops Shall Fail, and the People Leave the Lord's Land for Egypt and Assyria, Where They Cannot, If So Inclined, Serve God According to the Ancient Ritual: Folly of Their False Prophets.
**1. Rejoice not ... for joy--**literally, "to exultation." Thy exultation at the league with Pul, by which peace see...
Read full commentary →But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. stumble at: or, fall in
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.</strong> The indictment returns to current priests. <strong>Ye are departed out of the way</strong> (וְאַתֶּם סַרְתֶּם מִן־הַדֶּרֶךְ, <em>ve'attem sartem min-hadderekh</em>)—סוּר (<em>sur</em>, depart/turn aside) indicates apostasy. They abandoned ...
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(8) **But ye.**—Priests of the present day have done in every respect the reverse.
**Caused many to stumble at the law.**—Or rather, *in the Law*; and ye have given them false instruction in the Law, and allowed those things which were forbidden, and so *ye have corrupted the covenant of the* (tribe of) *Levi:* ye have turned the Law, which ought to have been a light to their feet and a lamp to th...
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2. (Ho 2:9, 12).
**fail--**disappoint her expectation.
Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. have been: or, lifted up the face against: Heb. accepted faces
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<strong>Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.</strong> God's judgment matches the crime. <strong>I also made you contemptible and base</strong> (וְגַם־אֲנִי נָתַתִּי אֶתְכֶם נִבְזִים וּשְׁפָלִים, <em>vegam-ani natatti etkhem nivzim ushfelim</em>)—נִבְזֶה (<em>nivzeh</em>, contemptible/des...
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(9) **Therefore.**—I am no longer bound by the covenant I made with the tribe of Levi, and, instead of “life and peace,” I give you contempt, &c.
**In the law**—*i.e.,* in the administration of justice. The authority of the priests, Levites, and of the judges of the day, in all matters ceremonial and civil, is expressly inculcated by Deuteronomy 17:8-13. It was in accordance with this passage that...
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**3. return to Egypt--**(See on Ho 8:13). As in Ho 11:5 it is said, "He shall not return into ... Egypt." Fairbairn thinks it is not the exact country that is meant, but the bondage state with which, from past experience, Egypt was identified in their minds. Assyria was to be a second Egypt to them. De 28:68, though threatening a return to Egypt, speaks (De 28:36) of their being brought to a natio...
Read full commentary →Judah's Unfaithfulness
Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?</strong> Malachi invokes the dual concept of אָב אֶחָד (<em>av echad</em>, one father)—both Abraham as Israel's patriarch and Yahweh as Creator. The rhetorical questions establish covenant brotherhood before indicting Israel's treachery. <strong>Why do we deal treacherously</strong> uses בָּגַד (<em>bagad</em>), meaning to act covert...
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(10-17) The prophet now rebukes the two great sins of the nation at this time: (1) marriage with idolatresses; (2) divorce of the first (Israelitish) wife. He introduces this rebuke by a general statement, similar to that of Malachi 1:2.
(10) **One father**—*i.e.,* not Adam, Abraham, or Jacob (as various commentators have held), but God Himself (Malachi 1:6; Deuteronomy 32:6; Deuteronomy 32:18), w...
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**4. offer wine offerings--**literally, "pour as a libation (Ex 30:9; Le 23:13).
**neither shall they be pleasing unto him--**as being offered on a profane soil.
**sacrifices ... as the bread of mourners--**which was unclean (De 26:14; Jr 16:7; Eze 24:17).
**their bread for their soul--**their offering for the expiation of their soul [Calvin], (Le 17:11). Rather, "their bread for their suste...
Read full commentary →Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. loved: or, ought to love
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed</strong>—the תּוֹעֵבָה (<em>to'evah</em>, abomination) typically describes idolatrous practices that provoke God's revulsion (Deuteronomy 7:25-26). Malachi equates covenant-breaking with idolatry itself. <strong>For Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved</strong>—the קֹדֶשׁ (<em>qodesh</em>, holiness/sanct...
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(11) For the same collocation of “Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem,” comp. Zechariah 1:19.
**The holiness of the Lord.**—That is, their own “holy nation” (Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 14:2; comp. Jeremiah 2:3).
**Daughter of a strange god**—*i.e.*, one who worships a strange god, and such they were forbidden to marry (Exodus 24:16; Deuteronomy 7:3; comp. 1Kings 11:2).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5. (Ho 2:11).
The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts. the master: or, him that waketh, and him that answereth
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar</strong>—the Hebrew phrase עֵר וְעֹנֶה (<em>er v'oneh</em>) is cryptic, literally 'one who rouses and one who answers,' possibly meaning teacher and student, or perhaps a merism for every man regardless of status. The LXX renders it 'until he be brought low,' suggesting complete destruction. The point is comprehensiv...
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(12) **The man.**—Better, *to the man.*
**The master and the scholar.**—This is the Talmudic interpretation of the Hebrew expression, which occurs only in this passage, but it is unsuitable (besides being philologically precarious), for the passage refers to the whole nation rather than to those who were their appointed scholars and teachers. It is better to render it, “*watchman and answerer: i.e...
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**6. because of destruction--**to escape from the devastation of their country.
**Egypt shall gather them up--**that is, into its sepulchres (Jr 8:2; Eze 29:5). Instead of returning to Palestine, they should die in Egypt.
**Memphis--**famed as a necropolis.
**the pleasant places for their silver--**that is, their desired treasuries for their money. Or, "whatever precious thing they have of s...
Read full commentary →And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out</strong>—the second indictment addresses the consequences of the first. Having divorced their Jewish wives (v. 14) to marry pagan women (v. 11), the guilty men now bring their abandoned wives' lamentations to the temple. The divorced women come weeping before God's altar, their tears l...
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(13) The prophet now rebukes the people for their frivolous divorces of their first wives, which was a natural result of their marriage with heathen women.
**And this . . . again.**—Or perhaps, *And this a second thing ye do*—viz., infidelity to the wife of their youth (Malachi 2:14). But the rendering of the English Version is in accordance with the Hebrew accentuation. That rendering is not impr...
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**7. visitation--**vengeance: punishment (Is 10:3).
**Israel shall know it--**to her cost experimentally (Is 9:9).
**the prophet is a fool--**The false prophet who foretold prosperity to the nation shall be convicted of folly by the event.
**the spiritual man--**the man pretending to inspiration (La 2:14; Eze 13:3; Mi 3:11; Zep 3:4).
**for the multitude of thine iniquity, &c.--**Connec...
Read full commentary →Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Yet ye say, Wherefore?</strong> Israel's question reveals stunning spiritual obtuseness—they're genuinely puzzled why God rejects their worship. Malachi's entire prophecy features this pattern of divine accusation followed by incredulous denial (1:2, 1:6, 1:7, 2:17, 3:7-8, 3:13). <strong>Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth</strong>—עֵד (<em>ed</em>, wi...
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(14) Again with supercilious surprise they ask, “Wherefore?”
**Witness.**—Comp. Genesis 31:49-50 : “The LORD *watch between me and thee,* when we are absent one from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, *God is witness* betwixt me and thee.” If people would seriously consider the meaning of this verse of Genesis...
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**8. The watchman ... was with my God--**The spiritual watchmen, the true prophets, formerly consulted my God (Jr 31:6; Ha 2:1); but their so-called prophet is a snare, entrapping Israel into idolatry.
**hatred--**rather, "(a cause of) apostasy" (see Ho 9:7) [Maurer].
**house of his God--**that is, the state of Ephraim, as in Ho 8:1 [Maurer]. Or, "the house of his (false) god," the calves [Cal...
Read full commentary →And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. residue: or, excellency godly: Heb. seed of God treacherously: or, unfaithfully
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one?</strong> This notoriously difficult verse likely alludes to Genesis 2:21-24—God made אֶחָד (<em>echad</em>, one) unified flesh from Adam and Eve, though He had רוּחַ (<em>ruach</em>, spirit/life-force) sufficient to create many wives for Adam. The divine self-limitation to monogamy establishes God's creationa...
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(15, 16) These are two very difficult verses, which should perhaps, be rendered as follows:—
*For did He not make* [man and his wife, Genesis 2:24] *one? and has he* [the husband] *any superiority of spirit* [that he should divorce at will]? *And what is this* [pair which is become] *one?* [Answer.] *It seeketh a godly seed. Therefore take heed to yourselves* [literally, *your spirit*]*, and with ...
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**9. as in the days of Gibeah--**as in the day of the perpetration of the atrocity of Gibeah, narrated in Jud 19:16-22, &c.
For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously. that he: or, if he hate her, put her away putting: Heb. to put away
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away</strong>—שָׂנֵא שַׁלַּח (<em>sane shalach</em>, literally 'he hates sending away/divorce') is God's unambiguous verdict. While Deuteronomy 24:1-4 permitted divorce certificates to regulate an existing practice, Malachi reveals God's heart: He hates divorce itself. This doesn't merely describe divine distaste but covenant vi...
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(16) *For* [I] *hate divorce* [of the first wife], *saith the God of Israel, and he* [the divorcer of his first wife] *covers his garment with injury, saith the LORD of Hosts; therefore take ye heed to your spirit, and do not be faithless.* According to our interpretation, the whole of these two verses must be taken as the words of the prophet. *Any superiority.*—We take Heb. *sh*’*ār,* “remnant” ...
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10. As the traveller in a wilderness is delighted at finding grapes to quench his thirst, or the early fig (esteemed a great delicacy in the East, Is 28:4; Jr 24:2; Mi 7:1); so it was My delight to choose your fathers as My peculiar people in Egypt (Ho 2:15).
**at her first time--**when the first-fruits of the tree become ripe.
**went to Baal-peor--**(Nu 25:3): the Moabite idol, in whose worsh...
Read full commentary →Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Ye have wearied the LORD with your words</strong>—הוֹגַעְתֶּם (<em>hoga'tem</em>, wearied/exhausted) anthropomorphizes divine patience stretched to breaking. The metaphor depicts God as a parent exasperated by relentless childish defiance. <strong>Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him?</strong> The incredulous denial follows Malachi's pattern (1:2, 1:6, 1:7)—spiritual blindness preventin...
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REBUKE OF INFIDELITY. THE ADVENT OF THE LORD FORETOLD (Malachi 2:17 to Malachi 3:18).
(17) A new section of the prophecy begins with this verse. The prophet now directs his reproofs against the people for their discontent and their want of faith in the promises of God, because the expected manifestation of God’s glory did not take place immediately. Because the doers of evil seem to flourish, the ...
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**11. their glory shall fly away--**fit retribution to those who "separated themselves unto that shame" (Ho 9:10). Children were accounted the glory of parents; sterility, a reproach. "Ephraim" means "fruitfulness" (Ge 41:52); this its name shall cease to be its characteristic.
**from the birth ... womb ... conception--**Ephraim's children shall perish in a threefold gradation; (1) From the time...
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