| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Malachi Chapter
Two
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO MALACHI 2
This
chapter contains a reproof both of priests and people for their sins. It begins
with the priests, Malachi 2:1 and
threatens, in case they attend not to glorify the name of the Lord, they and
their blessings should be cursed, their seed corrupted, dung spread upon them,
and they took away with it, Malachi 2:2 and the
end of this commandment being sent them, of giving glory to the name of God,
was that the covenant might appear to be with Levi, or him that was typified by
him, Malachi 2:4 of
which covenant some account is given, with the reason why the blessings of it
were given to him, with whom it was, Malachi 2:5 who is
described by the true doctrine he preached; by the purity of his lips; by the
peaceableness and righteousness of his walk and conversation; and by his
usefulness and success in turning many from sin, Malachi 2:6 and it
being part of the priest's office to preserve true knowledge, and communicate
it, it is the duty of the people to seek to him for it; since he is the
messenger of the Lord, Malachi 2:7 but as
for the priests of those times the prophet respects, they were apostates from
the way of the Lord; made others to stumble at the law, and corrupted the
covenant; and therefore became contemptible, base, and mean, in the sight of
the people, Malachi 2:8 who are
next reproved for their marrying with those of other nations, idolatrous persons;
and using polygamy and divorces, which were a profanation of the covenant of
their fathers; a piece of perfidy and treachery among themselves; an
abomination to the Lord; a profanation of his holiness; and led to idolatry, Malachi 2:10
wherefore they are threatened to be cut off from the tabernacles of Jacob, and
their sacrifices to be rejected; insomuch that the altar is represented as
covered with weeping and tears, because disregarded, Malachi 2:12. The
reason of which was, because marrying more wives than one, and these strange
women, was dealing treacherously with their lawful wives; was contrary to the
first creation of man, and the end of it; and therefore such practices ought to
be avoided; and the rather, since putting away was hateful to the Lord, Malachi 2:14 and
the chapter is concluded with a charge against them, that they wearied the Lord
with their wicked words; affirming that the Lord took delight in the men that
did evil; and that there were no judgment, truth, nor righteousness, in him, Malachi 2:17.
Malachi 2:1 “And now, O
priests, this commandment is for you.
YLT
1And now, to you [is] this
charge, O priests,
And now, O ye priests,.... That despised and
profaned the name of the Lord; that suffered such corrupt and illegal
sacrifices to be brought and offered up:
this commandment is for you: of giving glory to the
name of God; of taking care of his worship; of teaching the people knowledge,
and directing them in the way in which they should walk; as follows:
Malachi 2:2 2 If
you will not hear, And if you will not take it to heart, To give glory
to My name,” Says the Lord of hosts, “I will send a curse
upon you, And I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, Because
you do not take it to heart.
YLT
2If ye hearken not, and if
ye lay [it] not to heart, To give honour to My name, said Jehovah of Hosts, I
have sent against you the curse, And I have cursed your blessings, Yea, I have
also cursed it, Because ye are not laying [it] to heart.
If ye will not hear,.... The commandment
enjoined them; or the Gospel preached to them by Christ, and his apostles:
and if ye will not lay it to heart to give glory to my
name, saith the Lord of hosts; which they had despised and profaned
before; if they did not take care of his worship and service, and honour the
Messiah sent unto them, in whom the name of the Lord was:
I will even send a curse upon you; both upon priests and
people; those that bring the bad offerings, and those that receive them, as
Kimchi; though Abarbinel restrains it to the priests:
and I will curse your blessings, either with which the
priests blessed the people; or with which both they and the people were
blessed; namely, their temporal blessings, such as their corn, and wine, and
oil: and what wicked men have of this world, they have it with a curse, and not
a blessing, as the righteous have; and therefore a little which they have, is
better than much enjoyed by the wicked, Psalm 37:16,
yea, I have cursed them already; that is, from the time
they began to despise his name, and not give him the glory due unto him, as
Kimchi and Abarbinel explain it:
because ye do not lay it to heart; to glorify
God.
Malachi 2:3 3 “Behold,
I will rebuke your descendants And spread refuse on your faces, The refuse of
your solemn feasts; And one will take you away with it.
YLT
3Lo, I am pushing away
before you the seed, And have scattered dung before your faces, Dung of your
festivals, And it hath taken you away with it.
Behold, I will corrupt your seed,.... Or, "the seed
for you"F18לכם "propter
vos", Munster, Drusius. ; that is, for your sake, as Kimchi and Ben Melech
explain it; meaning the seed they cast into the earth, which the Lord threatens
to corrupt and destroy; so that it should not spring up again, and bring forth
any increase: or, "rebuke"F19גער
"increpabo", Tigurine version; "increpo", Drusius,
Cocceius; "increpans", Burkius. it, as the word sometimes signifies;
and so the Targum,
"behold,
I will rebuke you in the increase, the fruit (son) of the seed.'
The
sense is the same; corrupting the seed being a rebuke to them; and rebuking the
seed being a corruption of that, or hindering it from growing up. It is a
threatening of a sore famine that should be in the Jewish nation; and which
Cocceius thinks was that which happened in the days of Claudius Caesar, Acts 11:28. The
Septuagint version renders it, "behold, I separate to you the
shoulder"; the Arabic version, "the right hand", or arm; and the
Vulgate Latin is, "behold, I will cast forth to you the arm"; the
right shoulder of the sacrifice, which was given to the priests, and here
threatened to be cast to them with indignation, Leviticus 7:32 but
the former sense is best:
and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your
solemn feasts; that is, the dung of their beasts which were slain for sacrifice
at their solemn feasts: so this word חג is used for a
beast offered for sacrifice at a festival, Psalm 118:27. The
sense is, that their sacrifices and solemn feasts were so far from being
acceptable to God, that he would reject both them and their persons, and would
cast the very dung of the creatures brought for sacrifice into their faces, and
spread it over them: a phrase expressive of the utmost contempt of them, and of
exposing them to the greatest shame and confusion for their sins. So the
Targum,
"I
will make manifest the shame of your sins upon your faces; and will cause to
cease the magnificence of your feasts.'
The
Septuagint render it, the ventricle, or "maw"; which was given to the
priests, Deuteronomy 18:3
and in which the dung was contained:
and one shall take you away with it; with the dung
spread upon them; they looking like a heap of dung, being covered with it, and
had in no more account than that: or "to it"F20אליו, εις το αυτο,
Sept.; "ad istud", so some in Vatablus, De Dieu. ; that is, as Jarchi
explains it, to the dung of the beasts of your sacrifices they shall carry you;
or you shall be carried to it, that ye may be rejected and despised as that.
Kimchi's note is
"the
iniquity (you are guilty of) shall carry you to this contempt; measure for
measure; you have despised me, and ye shall be despised:'
or
"with him", or "to himself"F21"Ad se",
Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Tigurine version: Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator, Drusius, Calvin, Burkius. ; meaning he, or it that shall take them
away; either the wind or dung; or the enemy, as Aben Ezra interprets it; by
whom the Romans may be designed, who took them away out of their own land, and
carried them captive. According to the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions,
this is to be understood of God, who render the words, "I will take you
together", or "with it".
Malachi 2:4 4 Then
you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, That My covenant with
Levi may continue,” Says the Lord of hosts.
YLT
4And ye have known that I
have sent unto you this charge, For My covenant being with Levi, Said Jehovah
of Hosts.
And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you,.... See Gill
on Malachi 2:1,
that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts; not that the
ceremonial law might be confirmed and established, on which the Levitical
priesthood was founded; for it was the will of God that that should be
abolished, because of the weakness and unprofitableness of it; but that the
covenant of grace made with Christ, the antitype of Levi, with whom the true
Urim and Thummim are, Deuteronomy 33:8,
who has a more excellent ministry and priesthood than his, might take place, be
made manifest, and be exhibited under the Gospel dispensation; of which, and of
the person with whom it is, an account is given in the following verses.
Malachi 2:5 5 “My
covenant was with him, one of life and peace, And I gave them to him that
he might fear Me; So he feared Me And was reverent before My name.
YLT
5My covenant hath been with
him of life and of peace, And I make them to him a fear, and he doth fear Me,
And because of My name he hath been affrighted.
My covenant was with him of life and peace,.... Not with
Aaron, nor with Phinehas; nor is it to be understood of a covenant, promising
temporal life and outward prosperity to either of them; Aaron living a hundred
and twenty three years, Numbers 33:39 and
Phinehas, according to some Jewish writers, above three hundred years, which
they gather from Judges 20:28 but of
the covenant made with Christ from everlasting, called "a covenant of
life", because it was made with Christ the Word of life, who was with the
Father from all eternity, and in time was made manifest in the flesh; and was
made in behalf of persons ordained to eternal life, and in which that was
promised and given to them in him; and in which it was agreed that he should
become man, and lay down his life as such, that they might enjoy it: and it is
called a "covenant of peace", because the scheme of peace and
reconciliation was drawn in it, and agreed unto; Christ was appointed in it to
be the Peacemaker; and in consequence of which he was sent to procure peace,
and he has made it by the blood of his cross: and this covenant may be said to
have been and to be "with him"; because it was made with him from all
eternity, as the head and representative of his people, and he had all the
blessings and promises of it put into his hands; and it stands fast with him,
and will do so for evermore.
And I gave them to him; namely, the blessings of
life and peace; eternal life is the gift of God; and not only the promise of
it, but that itself, was given to Christ in covenant for his people, and a
power to give it to as many as the Father gave to him, Psalm 21:4 2 Timothy 1:1 he
gave him also peace to make, put this work of peacemaking into his hand; and he
allows it to be made by him, and that it is rightly effected; and from his
blood and righteousness peace springs to his people; and they enjoy peace in
him and through him, yea, all prosperity and happiness:
for the fear wherewith he
feared me; because of his obedience to the precept and penalty of the law;
because of his righteousness, and sufferings, and death, by means of which life
and peace came to his people, and in which he showed great fear and reverence
of God, Hebrews 5:7 the
word "for" is not in the original text, and may be left out in a
version, or supplied with "and"; and the sense be, besides the
blessings of life and peace, I also gave him the fear with which he feared me;
which must be understood of the grace of fear bestowed on him as man: so the
Septuagint version, "I gave unto him in fear to fear me"; and the
Vulgate Latin version, "and I gave him fear, and he feared me": and
the Arabic version, "I gave him fear, that he might fear me": the
Targum is,
"I
gave him the perfect doctrine of the law, or the doctrine of the perfect law
(see James 1:25) that he
might fear before me.'
And was afraid before my name; frightened, and put into
consternation, as he was when in the garden, and he began to be heavy and sore
amazed, Mark 14:33 or he
was broken and bruised, as Kimchi interprets the word here used, because of the
name of the Lord, to satisfy his justice, fulfil his law, and glorify all his
perfections.
Malachi 2:6 6 The
law of truth[a] was in his
mouth, And injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and
equity, And turned many away from iniquity.
YLT
6The law of truth hath been
in his mouth, And perverseness hath not been found in his lips, In peace and in
uprightness he walked with Me, And many he brought back from iniquity.
The law of truth was in his mouth,.... The Gospel, the word
and doctrine of truth; which comes from the God of truth; is concerning Christ
the truth and men are guided into it by the Spirit of truth; it contains most
glorious truths, and nothing but truth: and this was in the mouth of Christ,
being put there by his Father, who gave him what he should say, and what he
should speak; and which was preached by him in the most faithful manner, and so
as it never was by any other, for which he was abundantly qualified:
and iniquity was not found in his lips; there was
none in his nature; nor in his heart; nor in his life; nor in his lips; none
could be found there by men nor devils: there was no falsehood in his
doctrines; no deceit in his promises; no dissimulation in his expressions of
love to men; nothing vain, light, frothy, and unprofitable, dropped from him in
common conversation; no reviling in return to his enemies; nor any impatient
expressions or murmurings at the time of his sufferings and death, 1 Peter 2:22,
he walked with me in peace and equity: he walked
with God, he had communion with him; though he was sometimes left alone, he was
not alone, God was with him; he was conformable to his will, and walked
according to it, in obedience to his law, moral and ceremonial, and in the
discharge of all religious duties: he walked with God "in peace",
without quarrelling with any of his dispensations towards him; he did nothing
to break the peace that subsisted between them, but always did the things which
pleased his father, and had peace in what he did; and he walked with him in
"equity", or righteousness, fulfilling his righteous law, and
bringing in an everlasting righteousness:
and did turn many away from iniquity; doctrinal and
practical; which is to be understood, not of a bare reformation only in
principle and practice, but of true real conversion; of which there were many
instances under the ministry of his forerunner John the Baptist, and under his
own ministry when in person on earth; and under the ministry of his apostles,
attended with his Spirit and power, both in Judea, and in the Gentile world.
Malachi 2:7 7 “For
the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the
law from his mouth; For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
YLT
7For the lips of a priest
preserve knowledge, And law they do seek from his mouth, For a messenger of
Jehovah of Hosts he [is].
For the priest's lips should keep knowledge,.... Or
"shall keep knowledge", as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions;
or "do keep knowledge", as the Arabic version; and so the Syriac
version, "for the lips of the priest drop knowledge"; all this is
true of Christ our great High Priest; for as it was predicted of him, that his
lips should keep knowledge, so they have kept it, and do keep it; not
concealing it, but preserving it, and communicating it freely and openly; as he
did to his disciples and followers when here on earth, and by them to others;
and still does by his Spirit, giving to men the knowledge of themselves and
state; the knowledge of himself, and the way of salvation by him, and of the
truths of the Gospel:
and they should seek the law at his mouth; not the law
of Moses, but the doctrine of grace, and any wholesome instruction and advice;
which he is greatly qualified to give, being the wonderful Counsellor: it may
be rendered, "they shall seek", or "do seek"; and which has
been fulfilled, especially in the Gentiles, and in the isles that waited for
his law or doctrine, Isaiah 11:10,
for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts; or
"angel"F23מלאך αγγελος, Sept;
"angelus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius,
Cocceius, Burkius. ; he is the Angel of God's presence, and of the covenant, Isaiah 63:9 Malachi 3:1 which
name he has from being sent, for he came not of himself, but his Father sent
him; he was sent as a priest to atone for the sins of his people, and to be
their Saviour; and as a prophet, to instruct and teach them; and therefore they
should seek to him for knowledge, and attend his word and ordinances, and
implore his spirit and grace.
Malachi 2:8 8 But
you have departed from the way; You have caused many to stumble at the law. You
have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” Says the Lord of hosts.
YLT
8And ye, ye have turned from
the way, Ye have caused many to stumble in the law, Ye have corrupted the
covenant of Levi, Said Jehovah of Hosts.
But ye are departed out of the way,.... Of truth and
righteousness, of life and peace, of eternal salvation and happiness, pointed
to by Christ and his forerunner, and by his apostles and ministers that
followed him, and which was clearly showed in the preaching of the Gospel: this
was the character of the chief priests, Scribes, and Pharisees, in Christ's
time, to which the prophet seems to have respect; who not only failed in their
observance of legal sacrifices, complained of in the former chapter Malachi 1:1, but
left that way of atonement and salvation they directed to, and led others out
of the way with them:
ye have caused many to stumble at the law; at the
doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ; which was the
stumbling stone they fell at, seeking for righteousness, and directing others
to seek for it, not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law, Romans 9:32,
ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts: that which
was foreshadowed by the Levitical priesthood and covenant, namely, the covenant
of grace, dispensed under the Gospel dispensation by the ministry of the word
and ordinances; which they rejected, despised, and set at nought, and as much
as in them lay endeavoured to make void, by not attending to these things, nor
suffering others, but doing all they could to bring them into disuse, contempt,
and disgrace.
Malachi 2:9 9 “Therefore
I also have made you contemptible and base Before all the people, Because you
have not kept My ways But have shown partiality in the law.”
YLT
9And I also, I have made you
despised and low before all the people, Because ye are not keeping My ways, And
are accepting persons in the law.
Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base,.... When
their city and temple were destroyed by the Romans, and they were carried
captive by them, and became a taunt and a proverb in all places where they
came:
before all the people; the nations of the
world, among whom they were scattered:
according as ye have not kept my ways; neither those
which the law directed to, either moral or ceremonial; nor what the Gospel
directed to, the ordinances and institutions of Christ, particularly baptism,
which the Jews rejected against themselves, Luke 7:30,
but have been partial in the law; in the observance of it,
attending to the lesser, and taking no notice of the weightier matters of it,
as the Jews are charged by Christ, Matthew 23:23 and
in the interpretation of it, restraining its sense only to outward actions, for
which they are reproved, Matthew 5:1 or
"received faces", or "accepted persons in the law"F24ונושאים פנים בתורה
"et accepistis faciem in lege", Pagninus; "assumentes
facies", Montanus; "suscipitis faciem", Piscator;
"accipitis faciem", Cocceius; "et ferentes faciem in lege",
Burkius. ; in matters of the law they were concerned in, they had respect to
the persons of men, by giving the sense of it, and pronouncing judgment, in
favour of some, to the prejudice of others, wrongly.
Malachi 2:10 10 Have
we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously
with one another By profaning the covenant of the fathers?
YLT
10Have we not all one father?
Hath not our God prepared us? Wherefore do we deal treacherously, Each against
his brother, To pollute the covenant of our fathers?
Have we not all one father?.... Whether this is
understood of Adam the first man, of whose blood all nations of the earth are
made, and who in the same sense is the father of all living, as Eve was the
mother of all living; or of Abraham the father of the Jewish people, of whom,
as their father, they used to glory; or of Jacob, as Kimchi and Aben Ezra
interpret it, whom the Jews used to call our father Jacob; or of God, who is
the Father of all men by creation, and of the Jews by national adoption of
them; and who may the rather be thought to be meant, since it follows,
hath not one God created us? either as men, or formed
us as a body politic; which may serve to explain what is meant by their having
one father: whichever is the sense of these words, the argument from hence is
strong; that there ought to be no partiality used in the law, or any respect
had to persons, in that the rich and the poor have all one Father and one
Creator; see James 2:1,
why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother; by perverting
justice, having respect to persons, favouring one to the prejudice of another,
as it follows:
by profaning the covenant of your fathers? the covenant
made with them at Sinai, as Jarchi explains it; the law that was then enjoined
them, particularly such as forbid respect of persons, Leviticus 19:15
some think, as Aben Ezra, that a new section here begins, and that the prophet
proceeds to a new reproof, and for another sin these people were guilty of, in
marrying wives of another nation, contrary to the law in Exodus 34:15 which
was dealing treacherously with one another, and profaning the covenant of their
fathers.
Malachi 2:11 11 Judah
has dealt treacherously, And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in
Jerusalem, For Judah has profaned The Lord’s holy institution
which He loves: He has married the daughter of a foreign god.
YLT
11Dealt treacherously hath
Judah, And abomination hath been done in Israel, and in Jerusalem, For polluted
hath Judah the holy thing of Jehovah, That He hath loved, and hath married the
daughter of a strange god.
Judah hath dealt treacherously,.... Not only every man
against his brother, by being partial in the law; or against the women of their
nation, by marrying others; or against their wives, by putting them away; but
against Christ the Son of God by betraying and delivering him up into the hands
of the Gentiles, to be mocked, and scourged, and crucified:
and an abomination is committed in Israel, and in Jerusalem; which was the
taking of the true Messiah with wicked hands, condemning him and putting him to
death, even the shameful and accursed death of the cross; which was done in the
land of Israel, and in and near the city of Jerusalem:
for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord, which he loved; Christ, who is
the Lord's Holy One, holiness itself, the most holy, and holiness to the Lord
for his people; and who is his dear Son, the Son of his love, whom he loved
from everlasting, continued to love in time amidst all his meanness, sorrows,
and sufferings, and will love for evermore; him the Jews profaned by
blaspheming him, falsely accusing him, and condemning him; by spitting upon
him, buffeting, scourging, and crucifying him: some interpret this
"holiness" of the soul of Judah, which was holy before the Lord, and
loved, as the Targum; so Jarchi of Judah himself, or Israel, who was holiness
to the Lord; and others of the holy place, the sanctuary, and all holy things
belonging thereto; and others of the holy state of marriage, since it follows:
and hath married the daughter of a strange god; which the
Targum paraphrases thus,
"and
they were pleased to take to them wives, the daughters of the people;'
the
Gentiles, such as Moabites, Ammonites, and the like: and this sense is followed
by most interpreters, though the phrase seems rather to be expressive of
idolatry; and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions interpret it of
their being intent upon, and serving, strange gods; and as the Jews rejected
the Son of God, and his word, ordinances, and worship, they had not the true
God, nor did they worship him, but became guilty of idolatry; and besides, as
they rejected the King Messiah from being their King, so they declared they had
no king but Caesar, an idolatrous emperor, and joined with the idolatrous Gentiles
in putting Christ to death, John 19:12.
Malachi 2:12 12 May
the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob The man who does this, being awake
and aware,[b] Yet who
brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!
YLT
12Cut off doth Jehovah the
man who doth it, Tempter and tempted -- from the tents of Jacob, Even he who is
bringing nigh a present to Jehovah of Hosts.
The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this,.... That is
guilty of such treachery, wickedness, and idolatry: or "to the man that
doeth this"F25לאיש "viro",
Drusius, Cocceius, Burkius, De Dieu; "filius et qui fecerit istud",
Piscator. ; all that belong to him, his children and substance: it denotes the
utter destruction, not of a single man and his family only, but of the whole
Jewish nation and its polity, civil and ecclesiastical, as follows:
the master and the scholar out of the tabernacles of Jacob; the Targum
paraphrases it,
"the
son, and son's son, out of the cities of Jacob;'
agreeable
to which is Kimchi's note,
"it
is as if it was said, there shall not be left in his house one alive; that
there shall not be in his house one that answers him, that calls by name.'
In
the Hebrew text it is, "him that is awake, and him that answers"F26ער וענה "vigilantem et
respondentem", Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius, Grotius; "vigilantem et
responsantem", Junius & Tremellius; "vigilem et
respondentem", Burkius. ; which the TalmudistsF1T. Bab.
Sanhedrin, fol. 82. 1. explain, the former of the wise men or masters, and the
latter of the disciples of the wise men; to which sense our version agrees: but
by "him that waketh or watcheth", according to Cocceius, is meant the
civil magistrate, who watches for the good of the commonwealth, and so may
design the elders and rulers of the people; and by him that
"answereth", the prophet, who returns answers when he is consulted in
things belonging to the law of God, and such were the scribes and lawyers.
And him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts; the priests,
that offered sacrifice for the people; so that hereby is threatened an entire
destruction, both of the civil and ecclesiastical polity of the Jews, that
there should be no prince, prophet, and priest among them; all should be
removed out of the tents of Jacob, or cities of Israel; see Hosea 3:4.
Malachi 2:13 13 And
this is the second thing you do: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, With weeping and crying; So He does not regard the
offering anymore, Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.
YLT
13And this a second time ye
do, Covering with tears the altar of Jehovah, With weeping and groaning,
Because there is no more turning unto the present, Or receiving of a pleasing
thing from your hand.
And this have ye done again,.... Or "in the
second"F2שנית "secundo",
Pagninus, Vatablus, Calvin, Cocceius, Burkius. place; to their rejection and
ill treatment of Christ they added their hypocritical prayers and tears, as
follows:
covering the altar of the Lord with tears and weeping, and with
crying out; for the Messiah they vainly expect, pretending great humiliation
for their sins: though some, as Kimchi and Aben Ezra, make the first evil to be
their offering illegal sacrifices on the altar, complained of in the former
chapter Malachi 1:1; and
this second, their marrying strange wives, on account of which their lawful
wives came into the house of God, and wept over the altar before the Lord,
complaining of the injury that was done them:
insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth
it with good will at your hand; which expresses an utter rejection and
abrogation of legal sacrifices; and which some make to be the reason of their
covering the altar with tears and weeping: or the altar is represented as
weeping, because sacrifice is no more offered upon it; see Daniel 9:27.
Malachi 2:14 14 Yet
you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been
witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt
treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant.
YLT
14And ye have said,
`Wherefore?' Because Jehovah hath testified between thee And the wife of thy
youth, That thou hast dealt treacherously against her, And she thy companion,
and thy covenant-wife.
Yet ye say, Wherefore?.... What is the meaning
of the women covering the altar with tears? as if they knew not what was the
reason of it, when they were so notoriously guilty of breach of covenant with
them; which is an instance of their impudence, as Abarbinel observes: or,
"if ye say, wherefore?" as the Targum and Kimchi interpret the words;
should you say, what is the reason why the Lord will not regard nor receive our
offerings? the answer is ready,
Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of
thy youth: when espoused together in their youthful days, the Lord was
present at that solemn contract, and saw the obligations they were laid under
to each other, and he was called upon by both parties to be a witness of the
same; and at the present time he was a witness how agreeably the wives of the
Israelites had behaved towards their husbands, and how treacherously they had
acted towards them; he saw and knew, that, whatever pretensions they made, they
did not love them, nor behave as they should towards them; and therefore had
just cause of complaint against them, and must be a witness for the one, and
against the other: this sin of hating and divorcing their wives, or of marrying
others besides them, which prevailed much in our Lord's time, is particularly
mentioned, though they were guilty of many other sins, as a reason of the
Lord's not accepting their offerings: the aggravations of it are, that they had
broken a contract God was witness to, and dealt injuriously with wives they had
espoused in the days of their youth; see Proverbs 2:17,
against whom thou hast dealt treacherously; by divorce or
polygamy: the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "whom thou hast
despised": and the Septuagint and Arabic versions, "whom thou hast
left"; divorced and took others, which arose from hatred and contempt of
their former: other aggravations follow:
yet is she thy companion; or, "and she
is", or "though she is thy companion"F3והיא חברתך "et ipsa est
socia tua", Montanus, Drusius, Burkius; "quum sit socia tua",
Pagninus, Munster, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator,
Cocceius. : has been so in time past, and ought to be so still, and so
accounted: the wife is a part of a man's self, is one flesh with him; a
partaker of what he has; a partner with him in prosperity and adversity; a
companion in life, civil and religious, and ought to remain so till death part
them; for, whom God has put together, let no man put asunder:
and the wife of thy covenant; wherefore either to
divorce her, or marry another, was a breach of covenant; for by
"covenant" is not meant the covenant of God made with the people of
Israel, in which they both were; but the covenant of marriage made between
them, and which was broken by such practices.
Malachi 2:15 15 But
did He not make them one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He
seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal
treacherously with the wife of his youth.
YLT
15And He did not make one
[only], And He hath the remnant of the Spirit. And what [is] the one [alone]!
He is seeking a godly seed. And ye have been watchful over your spirit, And
with the wife of thy youth, None doth deal treacherously.
And did not he make one?.... That is,
did not God make one man, and out of his rib one woman? did he not make man,
male and female? did he not make one pair, one couple, only Adam and Eve, whom
he joined together in marriage? or rather, did he not make one woman only, and
brought her to Adam to be his wife? which shows that his intention and will
were, that one man should have but one wife at a time; the contrary to which
was the then present practice of the Jews:
Yet had he the residue of the spirit; it was not
for want of power that he made but one woman of Adam's rib, and breathed into
her the breath of life, or infused into her a human soul or spirit; he could
have made many women at the same time; and as the Father of spirits, having the
residue of them with him, or a power left to make as many as he pleased, he
could have imparted spirits unto them, and given Adam more wives than one:
And wherefore one? what is the reason why he made but one
woman, when he could have made ten thousand, or as many as he pleased? the
answer is,
That he might seek a godly seed; or "a seed of
God"F4זרע אלהים
"semen Dei", Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin, Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator, Cocceius, Burkius. ; a noble excellent seed; a legitimate offspring,
born in true and lawful wedlock; see 1 Corinthians 7:14
a seed suitable to the dignity of human nature, made after the image of God,
and not like that of brute beasts, promiscuous and uncertain:
Therefore take heed to your spirit; to your affections, that
they do not go after other women, and be led thereby to take them in marriage,
and to despise and divorce the lawful wife, as it follows:
and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth; by marrying
another, or divorcing her: these words are differently rendered and interpreted
by some; but the sense given seems to be the true one, and most agreeable to
the scope of the place. Some render the first clause, "hath not one
made?"F5ולא אחד
עשה "nonue unus fecit?" V. L. Menochius,
Tirinus. that is, did not the one God, who is the only living and true God,
make one man or one woman? and then the sense is the same as before; or did not
that one God make, constitute, and appoint, that the woman should be the man's
companion, and the wife of his covenant, as in the latter part of the preceding
verse Malachi 2:13 ? or,
"did not one do?"F6"Et ne unus fecit?" Pagninus,
Montanus; "et unus ille (Abramus) ita egit?" Grotius; "annon
unus hoc fecit?" Tigurine version; so Joseph Kimchi. that is, so as we
have done, take another wife besides the wife of his youth? and so they are the
words of the people to the prophets, justifying their practice by example; by
the example of Abraham, whom some of the Jewish writers think is intended by
the "one", as in Isaiah 51:2. The
Targum is,
"was
not one Abraham alone, from whom the world was created?'
or
propagated. Kimchi gives it as his own sense, in these words;
"Abraham,
who was one, and the father of all that follow him in his faith, did not do as
ye have done; for he did not follow his lust, nor even marry Sarah, but so that
he might cause the seed of God to remain;'
yet
he mentions it as his father's sense, that they are the words of the people to
the prophet, expressed in a way of interrogation, saying, did not our father
Abraham, who was one, do as we have done? who left his wife, and married Hagar
his maid, though he had the residue or excellency of the spirit, and was a
prophet; to whom the prophet replies, and what did that one seek? a godly seed;
which is, as if it was said, when he married Hagar, it was to seek a seed,
because he had no seed of Sarah his wife. A seed was promised him, in which all
nations of the earth were to be blessed; he sought not to gratify his lust, but
to obtain this seed, the Messiah, to whom the promises were made, as the
apostle argues, Galatians 3:16
"he saith not, and to seeds as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed,
which is Christ"; called here the "godly seed", or the
"seed God"F7זרע אלהים "semen Deus", Galatin. de Arcan. Cathol.
Ver. l. 8. c. 2. p. 550. , as some choose to render the words; that is, that
seed which is God, who is a divine Person, God and man in one person; or which
is of God, of his immediate production, without the help of a man; which the
Jews call the seed that comes from another place, and which they use as a
periphrasis of the Messiah. So on those words in Genesis 4:25,
"she called his name Seth, for God hath appointed me another seed",
"says
R. Tanchuma, in the name of R. Samuel, she has respect to that seed which comes
from another place; and what is this? this is the King MessiahF8Bereshit
Rabba, sect. 23. fol. 20. 4. Midrash Ruth, fol. 36. 1. .'
And
the same Rabbi elsewhereF9Bereshit Rabba, sect. 51. fol. 46. 1.
Midrash Ruth, fol. 35. 4. observes, on those words in Genesis 19:32,
"that we may preserve seed of our father",
"it
is not written, that we may preserve a son of our father, but that we may
preserve seed of our father; that seed which is he that comes from another place;
and what is this? this is the King Messiah.'
Now
as Abraham had the promise of a son, and his wife was barren, he took the
method he did that he might have one, the son of the promise, a type of the
Messiah, and from whom he should spring; and this is sufficient to justify him
in it: besides, he did not deal treacherously with Sarah his wife, for it was
with her good will and by her authority he did this thing; but do you take heed
to your spirit, that no one of you deal treacherously with the wife of his
youth, to leave her, and marry the daughter of a strange God: and much the same
sense Jarchi takes notice of as the Agadah, or the interpretation of their
ancient Rabbins. Some render the words, "and not one does this"; that
is, deals treacherously with the wife of his youth, that has the residue of the
spirit, or the least spark of the Spirit of God in him; and how should anyone
do it, seeking a godly seed? therefore take heed to your spirit, &c.; so De
Dieu. But according to others the sense is,
"there
is not one of you that does according to the law, whose spirit remains with him
that is not mixed with the daughter of a strange god;'
which
is Aben Ezra's note. But according to Abarbinel the sense is, not one only has
done this, committed this evil, in marrying more and strange women; not some
only, and the rest have the spirit with them, and keep it pure from this sin;
so that a godly seed cannot be procreated from you; therefore take heed to your
spirit.
Malachi 2:16 16 “For
the Lord God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one’s
garment with violence,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Therefore
take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously.”
YLT
16For [I] hate sending away,
said Jehovah, God of Israel, And He [who] hath covered violence with his
clothing, said Jehovah of Hosts, And ye have been watchful over your spirit,
And ye do not deal treacherously.
For the Lord the God of
Israel saith, that he hateth putting away,.... The divorcing of
wives; for though this was suffered because of the hardness of their hearts, it
was not approved of by the Lord; nor was it from the beginning; and it was
disagreeable, and even hateful to him, Matthew 19:8 in the
margin of some Bibles the words are rendered, "if he hate her, put her
away"; and so the Targum,
"but
if thou hatest her, put her away;'
to
which agree the Vulgate Latin, Septuagint, and Arabic versions; and this sense
made mention of in both Talmuds, and is thought to be agreeable to the law in Deuteronomy 24:3
though the law there speaks of a fact that might be, and not of what ought to
be; wherefore the former sense is best; and this other seems to have been at
first calculated to favour the practice of the Jews, who put away their wives
through hatred to them. The Jews were very much inclined to divorce their wives
upon very trivial occasions; if they did not dress their food well, were not of
good behaviour, or not so modest as became the daughters of Israel; if they did
not find favour with their husbands; and, especially, if they had entertained a
hatred of them: so says R. JudahF11T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 90. 2. ,
"if
he hate her, let him put her away:'
but
this is by some of them restrained to a second wife; for of the first they say,
"it
is not proper to be hasty to put away a first wife; but a second, if he hates
her, let him put her awayF12Maimon. Hilchot Gerushin, c. 10, 21, 22.
'
and
R. Eleazer saysF13T. Bab. Gittin, ib. , whoever divorces his first
wife, even the altar sheds tears for him, referring to the words in Malachi 2:13 and
divorces of this kind they only reckon lawful among the Israelites, and found
it upon this passage; for so they make God to speak after this mannerF14T.
Hieros. Kiddushin, c. 1. fol. 58. 3. ,
"in
Israel I have granted divorces; among the nations of the world I have not
granted divorces. R. Chananiah, in the name of R. Phinehas, observes, that in
every other section it is written, "the Lord of hosts"; but here it
is written, "the God of Israel", to teach thee that the holy blessed
God does not put his name to divorces (or allow them) but in Israel only. R.
Chayah Rabba says, the Gentiles have no divorces.'
But
some of them have better understanding of these words, and more truly give the
sense of them thus, as R. Jochanan does, who interprets them,
"the
putting away of the wife is hatefulF15T. Bab. Gittin, ut supra. ;'
it
is so to God, and ought not to be done by men but in case of adultery, as our
Lord has taught, Matthew 5:32 and
which was the doctrine of the school of Shammai in Christ's time, who taught,
"that
no man should divorce his wife, unless he found in her filthiness;'
i.e.
that she was guilty of adultery; though this Maimonides restrains to the first
wife, as before: but the house of Hillell, who lived in the same time, was of a
different mind, and taught that
"if
she burnt his food;'
either
over dressed or over salted it, according to Deuteronomy 24:1.
R. Akiba says, if he found another more beautiful than her, according to Deuteronomy 24:1,
he might divorce herF16Misn. Gittin, c. 9. sect. 10. ; of the form
of a divorce; see Gill on Matthew 5:31. Those
interpreters among Christians that go this way do not look upon this as an
approbation of divorce, on account of hatred; but that so to do is better than
to retain them with hatred of them, seeing it was connived at, or than to take
other wives with them.
For one covereth violence with his garment, or "on
his garment",
saith the Lord of hosts; as he that puts away his
wife does her an open injury, which though he may cover, pretending the law,
which connives at divorces; yet the violence done to his wife is as manifest as
the garment upon his back: though those who think the former words are an
instruction to put away wives, when hated, consider this as a reason why they
should do so; because, by retaining them, and yet hating them, and taking other
wives to them, is doing them a real injury, whatever cover or pretence may be
used; because, if dismissed, they might be loved by, and married to, other men.
Aben Ezra seems to have hit the sense of these words, when he makes this to be
the object of God's hatred, as well as the former; his note is,
"the
Lord hateth him that putteth away his wife that is pure, and he hates him that
covereth; or God sees his violence which is done in secret.'
Mr.
Pocock proposes a conjecture, which is very ingenious and probable, that as the
words will bear the construction Aben Ezra gives, that God hates putting away,
and hates that one should put violence upon or over his garment; by
"garment" he thinks may be meant a man's lawful wife, which is as a
garment to him; and by "violence" a second wife, or other wives,
taken to the injury, hurt, and vexation of the former; and the covering, or
superinducing violence over the garment, is marrying an unlawful wife, over or
with, or above his lawful one: and the sense is, that as God hates divorce, so
he hates polygamy:
therefore take heed to your spirit, that you deal not
treacherously; See Gill on Malachi 2:15.
Malachi 2:17 17 You
have wearied the Lord with your words; Yet you say, “In
what way have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil Is
good in the sight of the Lord, And He delights in them,” Or,
“Where is the God of justice?”
YLT
17Ye have wearied Jehovah
with your words, And ye have said: `In what have we wearied Him?' In your
saying: `Every evil-doer [is] good in the eyes of Jehovah, And in them He is
delighting,' Or, `Where [is] the God of judgment?'
Ye have wearied the Lord
with your words,.... As well as with their actions; see Isaiah 43:24 this
is said after the manner of men, they saying those things which were
displeasing and provoking to him, and which he could not bear to hear; or
otherwise weariness properly cannot be attributed to God:
Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? as if they
were clear and innocent; or, as the Targum, "if ye should say";
though they might not express themselves in words in such an impudent manner;
yet should they say so in their hearts, or supposing they should utter such
words with their lips, out of the abundance of their evil hearts, the answer is
ready:
When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight
of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; which they concluded
from the prosperity of the wicked, and the afflictions of the righteous; so
murmuring at, and complaining of, the providence of God; he acting as if he
delighted in wicked men, and as if they that did evil were the most grateful
and acceptable to him:
or, if this was not the case,
Where is the God of judgment? why does he not arise
and show himself to be a God that judgeth the earth, by taking vengeance on the
wicked, and granting prosperity to his people? De Dieu takes these last words
to be the words of the prophet, and thinks that או is
a particle of exclamation, and should be rendered "O"; and that the
prophet expresses his wonder at the patience and longsuffering of God in
bearing such impiety and blasphemy as before delivered. The Septuagint and
Arabic versions are, "where is the God of righteousness?" either God
the Father, who is righteous in all his ways, and faithful in the fulfilment of
all his promises; or, Christ the Lord our righteousness, who was to come, and
is come into this world for judgment, as well as to bring in an everlasting
righteousness. This may be considered as a scoff of wicked men at the long
delay of the Messiah's coming, when they expected outward prosperity and
happiness; just as the scoffers in the last day will mock at the promise of his
second coming, 2 Peter 3:3 and so
the words, with which the next chapter begins Malachi 3:1, are an
answer to these.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)