1 THE burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.
2 I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob,
3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
4 Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever.
5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel.
6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible.
8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts.
9 And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the Lord of hosts.
10 Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.
12 But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.
13 Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord.
14 But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.

1The burden of the word of þe Lord to Israel by Malachi.

2I haue loued you, sayth the Lord: yet yee say, Wherein hast thou loued vs? was not Esau Iacobs brother, sayth the Lord ? yet I loued Iacob,

3And I hated Esau, and layde his mountaines, and his heritage waste, for the dragons of the wildernesse.

4Whereas Edom sayth, Wee are impouerished, but we will returne and build the desolate places; Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, They shal build, but I will throw downe; and they shal call them, The border of wickednesse, & the people against whom the Lord hath indignation for euer.

5And your eyes shall see, and yee shall say; The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel.

6 A sonne honoureth his father, and a seruant his Master. If then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a Master, where is my feare, saith the Lord of hostes, vnto you O priests, that despise my name? and yee say, Wherein haue we despised thy name?

7Yee offer polluted bread vpon mine altar; and yee say, Wherein haue we polluted thee? In that yee say, The table of the Lord is contemptible.

8And if hee offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not euill? and if yee offer the lame and sicke, is it not euill? offer it now vnto thy gouernour: will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person, saith the Lord of hostes?

9And now I pray you, beseech God, that hee will be gracious vnto vs: this hath beene by your meanes: will he regard your persons, saith the Lord of hostes?

10Who is there euen among you that would shut the doores for nought? neither doe yee kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I haue no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hostes, neither will I accept an offring at your hand.

11For from the rising of the Sunne, euen vnto the going downe of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in euery place incense shall be offered vnto my name, and a pure offring: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hostes.

12 But yee haue prophaned it, in that yee say; The table of the Lord is polluted, and the fruite thereof, euen his meate, is contemptible.

13Yee said also; Behold what a wearinesse is it, and yee haue snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hostes, and yee brought that which was torne, and the lame, and the sicke: thus yee brought an offring: should I accept this of your hand, saith the Lord ?

14But cursed be the deceiuer, which hath in his flocke a male, and voweth and sacrificeth vnto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the Lord of hostes, and my name is dreadfull among the heathen.

II == Deut 7:8 ; 10:15 ; Rom 9:13

 

III == Jer 49:18 ; Ezek 35:3-4 , 7 , 9 , 14-15 ; Obad 1:10

 

 

 

 

 

V == Ps 35:27

 

VI == Ex 20:12 ; Mal 2:14 , 17 ; 3:7-8 , 13 ; Luke 6:46

 

 

VII == Deut 15:21 ; Ezek 41:22 ; Mal 1:12

 

VIII == Lev 22:22 ; Deut 15:21 ; Job 42:8 ; Mal 8:14

 

 

IX == Hos 13:9

 

 

X == Isa 1:11 ; Jer 6:20 ; Amos 5:21 ; 1st cor 9:13

 

 

XI == Ps 113:3 ; Isa 59:19 ; 60:3 , 5 ; 66:19-20 ; John 4:21 , 23 ; 1st Tim 2:8 ; Rev 8:3

 

 

XII ==Mal 1:7

 

XIII == Lev 22:20

 

 

 

 

XIV == Ps 47:2 ; 1st Tim 6:15 ; Mal 1:8

 

 

 

 

1 An oracle. The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.

2 I have loved you, says the LORD; but you say, "How have you loved us?"

3 Was not Esau Jacob's brother? says the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, but hated Esau; I made his mountains a waste, his heritage a desert for jackals.

4 If Edom says, "We have been crushed but we will rebuild the ruins," Thus says the LORD of hosts: They indeed may build, but I will tear down, And they shall be called the land of guilt, the people with whom the LORD is angry forever.

5 Your own eyes shall see it, and you will say, "Great is the LORD, even beyond the land of Israel."

6 A son honors his father, and a servant fears his master; If then I am a father, where is the honor due to me? And if I am a master, where is the reverence due to me? -  So says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise his name. But you ask, "How have we despised your name?"

7 By offering polluted food on my altar! Then you ask, "How have we polluted it?" By saying the table of the LORD may be slighted!

8 When you offer a blind animal for sacrifice, is this not evil? When you offer the lame or the sick, is it not evil? Present it to your governor; see if he will accept it, or welcome you, says the LORD of hosts.

9 So now if you implore God for mercy on us, when you have done the like Will he welcome any of you? says the LORD of hosts.

10 Oh, that one among you would shut the temple gates to keep you from kindling fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts; neither will I accept any sacrifice from your hands,

11 For from the rising of the sun, even to its setting, my name is great among the nations; And everywhere they bring sacrifice to my name, and a pure offering; For great is my name among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.

12 But you behave profanely toward me by thinking the LORD'S table and its offering may be polluted, and its food slighted.

13 You also say, "What a burden!" and you scorn it, says the LORD of hosts; You bring in what you seize, or the lame, or the sick; yes, you bring it as a sacrifice. Shall I accept it from your hands? says the LORD.

14 Cursed is the deceiver, who has in his flock a male, but under his vow sacrifices to the LORD a gelding; For a great King am I, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.

v 1. Malachi means My Messenger. Nothing more is known about him. This was around 100 years after Cyrus ordered the return, so Nehemiah’s wall had probably been completed. This burden of rebuke is appropriate for many today.

v 2-5. God loved Israel, but they had the audacity to ask,
[1] How have you loved us? because He punished their sin, just as He had warned. Esau was loved less than Jacob and disavowed. Both Edom and Israel were punished for their sin, but because of God’s covenant with Israel, they were restored. In contrast to the holy land, Edom is the wicked land. Edom’s sin was great in persecuting the ones who were God chosen nation, so they will destroyed forever, Jer. 49:7-22; Ezek. 35.

v 6. Under law children were to be stoned for disobeying parents, so Israel as the son of God was worthy of destruction. Even the priests had shown disrespect for God, yet they asked
[2] In what way have we shown disrespect for your name?

v 7. The answer was that they had offered polluted bread on His altar. This was not bread on the table in the tabernacle, but offerings, which were called the bread of God in Lev. 21:6. Priests became callous and asked
[3] how have we polluted thee?

v 8-10. They were obviously contemptible by offering forbidden sacrifices, blind, lame and sick. Malachi pointed out that the governor would not have been pleased with those offerings. (Would our schools or employers be pleased with the way some skip attendance or come in late?) Malachi indicated the whole temple service just as well be shut down, because God would not accept those offerings. 

v 11. If Israel had been obedient, the name of the Lord would have been great among all nations, but this pure offering will have to await the Millennium.

v 12,13. The actions of the priests showed contempt for God’s offerings, and it was a burden instead of privilege to serve. The people were also bringing animals torn in the field, but they made no attempt to correct the people to bring those acceptable. Sacrifices were weariness to them.

v 14. Even worse, so a curse is pronounced upon them, was someone who makes a vow voluntarily, yet brings a forbidden offering. They wouldn’t do that to a king, yet the Lord is a King above all kings.