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MA LA C H I 1
page 854
a follower of Jesus Christ. Then you will be one of the faithful few whom God considers
successful enough to enter his Kingdom.
Key verses in Malachi
2:15 -16 Didn’t the Lord make
you one with your wife? In body
and spirit you are his. And what
does he want? Godly children
from your union. So guard
your heart; remain loyal to the
wife of your youth. “For I hate
divorce!” says the Lord, the
God of Israel.
1
3:6 “I am the Lord, and I do not
change.”
3:7 “Now return to me, and I will
return to you,” says the Lord of
Heaven’s Armies.
3:8 “Should people cheat God?
Yet you have cheated me! But you
ask, ‘What do you mean? When
This is the message* that the Lord gave to
Israel through the prophet Malachi.*
The LORD’s Love for Israel
2 “I have always loved you,” says the Lord.
But you retort, “Really? How have you loved
us?”
And the Lord replies, “This is how I showed
my love for you: I loved your ancestor Jacob,
3 but I rejected his brother, Esau, and devastated
his hill country. I turned Esau’s inheritance into
a desert for jackals.”
4 Esau’s descendants in Edom may say, “We
have been shattered, but we will rebuild the
ruins.”
But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies replies,
“They may try to rebuild, but I will demolish
them again. Their country will be known as
‘The Land of Wickedness,’ and their people will
be called ‘The People with Whom the Lord Is
Forever Angry.’ 5 When you see the destruction
for yourselves, you will say, ‘Truly, the Lord’s
greatness reaches far beyond Israel’s borders!’”
Unworthy Sacrifices
6 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to the
priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant
respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve?
You have shown contempt for my name!
“But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’
7 “You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar.
“Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the
sacrifices?*’
“You defile them by saying the altar of the
Lord deserves no respect. 8 When you give blind
animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t
it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and
diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies.
did we ever cheat you?’ You have
cheated me of the tithes and
offerings due to me.”
4:5 - 6 “Look, I am sending you the
prophet Elijah before the great and
dreadful day of the Lord arrives.
His preaching will turn the hearts
of fathers to their children, and the
hearts of children to their fathers.”
9 “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you!
But when you bring that kind of offering, why
should he show you any favor at all?” asks the
Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
10 “How I wish one of you would shut the
Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices
could not be offered! I am not pleased with
you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and I
will not accept your offerings. 11 But my name is
honored* by people of other nations from morning till night. All around the world they offer*
sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of
my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
12 “But you dishonor my name with your actions. By bringing contemptible food, you are
saying it’s all right to defile the Lord’s table. 13 You
say, ‘It’s too hard to serve the Lord,’ and you turn
up your noses at my commands,” says the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies. “Think of it! Animals that
are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you
such offerings as these?” asks the Lord.
14 “Cursed is the cheat who promises to give
a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a
defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and my
name is feared among the nations!
A Warning to the Priests
“Listen, you priests—this command is for
you! 2 Listen to me and make up your minds
to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s
Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against
you. I will curse even the blessings you receive.
Indeed, I have already cursed them, because
you have not taken my warning to heart. 3 I will
punish your descendants and splatter your faces
with the manure from your festival sacrifices,
and I will throw you on the manure pile. 4 Then
2
1:1a Hebrew An Oracle: The message. 1:1b Malachi means
“my messenger.” 1:7 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads
defiled you? 1:11a Or will be honored. 1:11b Or will offer.