Malachi
Outline of Contents
Chapter 1
	Jehovah’s love for his people (1-5)
	Priests presenting inferior sacrifices (6-14)
		God’s name to be great among the nations (11)
Chapter 2
	Priests’ failure to instruct the people (1-9)
		Priests’ lips should safeguard knowledge (7)
	People guilty of unjust divorcing (10-17)
		“‘I hate divorce,’ says Jehovah” (16)
Chapter 3
	The true Lord comes to cleanse his temple (1-5)
		The messenger of the covenant (1)
	Encouragement to return to Jehovah (6-12)
		Jehovah does not change (6)
		“Return to me, and I will return to you” (7)
		‘Bring the entire tithe, and Jehovah will pour out blessings’ (10)
	The righteous and the wicked (13-18)
		A book of remembrance written before God (16)
		Distinction between the righteous and the wicked (18)
Chapter 4
	The coming of Elijah before Jehovah’s day (1-6)
		“The sun of righteousness will shine” (2)
Chapter 1
1 A pronouncement:
The word of Jehovah to Israel through Malachi: [Meaning “My Messenger.”]
2 “I have shown love to you people,” says Jehovah.
But you say: “How have you shown us love?”
“Was not Esau the brother of Jacob?” declares Jehovah. “But I loved Jacob, 3 and Esau I hated; and I made his mountains desolate and left his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”
4 “Though Edom says, ‘We have been shattered, but we will return and rebuild the ruins,’ this is what Jehovah of armies says, ‘They will build, but I will tear down, and they will be called “the territory of wickedness” and “the people whom Jehovah has forever condemned.” 5 Your own eyes will see it, and you will say: “May Jehovah be magnified over the territory of Israel.”’”
6 “‘A son honors a father, and a servant his master. So if I am a father, where is the honor due me? And if I am a master, [Or “grand master.”] where is the fear [Or “respect.”] due me?’ Jehovah of armies says to you priests who are despising my name.
“‘But you say: “How have we despised your name?”’
7 “‘By presenting polluted food [Literally, “bread.”] on my altar.’
“‘And you say: “How have we polluted you?”’
“‘By saying: “The table of Jehovah is something to be despised.” 8 And when you present a blind animal as a sacrifice, you say: “It is nothing bad.” And when you present a lame animal or a sick one: “It is nothing bad.”’”
“Try presenting them, please, to your governor. Will he be pleased with you or receive you with favor?” says Jehovah of armies.
9 “And now, please, appeal to [Or “soften the face of.”] God, that he may show us favor. With such offerings from your own hand, will he receive any of you with favor?” says Jehovah of armies.
10 “And who among you is willing to shut the doors? [Evidently, the doors of the temple, as a duty.] For you will not even light my altar without charge. I find no delight in you,” says Jehovah of armies, “and I take no pleasure in any gift offering from your hand.”
11 “For from the rising of the sun to its setting, [Or “from east to west.”] my name will be great among the nations. In every place sacrifices will be made to smoke, and offerings will be made to my name, as a pure gift; because my name will be great among the nations,” says Jehovah of armies.
12 “But you are profaning it [Or possibly, “profaning me.”] by saying, ‘The table of Jehovah is polluted, and its fruit, its food, is to be despised.’ 13 You also say, ‘Look! How tiresome!’ and you sniff scornfully at it,” says Jehovah of armies. “And you bring stolen, lame, and sick animals. Yes, you bring such things as a gift! Should I accept it from your hand?” says Jehovah.
14 “Cursed is the cunning one who has a sound male animal in his flock, but he makes a vow and sacrifices a blemished [Or “defective.”] one to Jehovah. For I am a great King,” says Jehovah of armies, “and my name will be awe-inspiring among the nations.”
Chapter 2
1 “And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you refuse to listen and to take it to heart to glorify my name,” says Jehovah of armies, “I will send on you the curse, and I will turn your blessings into curses. Yes, I have turned the blessings into curses, because you are not taking it to heart.”
3 “Look! I will ruin [Literally, “rebuke.”] your sown seed because of you, and I will scatter dung on your faces, the dung of your festivals; and you will be carried away to it. [That is, to the place where dung from sacrifices was deposited.] 4 Then you will know that I have given this commandment to you so that my covenant with Levi may continue,” says Jehovah of armies.
5 “My covenant with him was one of life and of peace, which I gave to him, along with fear. [Or “respect; reverence.”] He feared me, yes, he stood in awe of my name. 6 The law [Or “instruction.”] of truth was in his mouth, and no unrighteousness was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and in uprightness, and he turned many back from error. 7 For the lips of a priest should safeguard knowledge, and people should seek the law [Or “instruction.”] from his mouth, because he is the messenger of Jehovah of armies.
8 “But you yourselves have turned aside from the way. You have made many stumble with regard to the law. [Or possibly, “by your instruction.”] You have ruined the covenant of Levi,” says Jehovah of armies. 9 “So I will make you despised and low before all the people, because you did not keep my ways but showed partiality in applying the law.”
10 “Do we not all have one father? Was it not one God who created us? So why do we deal treacherously with one another, profaning the covenant of our forefathers? 11 Judah has dealt treacherously, and something detestable has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the holiness [Or possibly, “the sanctuary.”] of Jehovah, which He loves, and he has taken as a bride the daughter of a foreign god. 12 Jehovah will cut off from the tents of Jacob anyone who does this, whoever he may be, [Literally, “one who is awake and one who answers.”] though he presents a gift offering to Jehovah of armies.”
13 “And there is another [Literally, “a second.”] thing that you do, which results in covering the altar of Jehovah with tears and with weeping and sighing, so that he no longer pays attention to your gift offering or looks favorably on anything from your hand. 14 And you say, ‘For what reason?’ It is because Jehovah has acted as a witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously, although she is your partner and your wife by covenant. [Or “your legal wife.”] 15 But there was one who did not do it, for he had what remained of the spirit. And what was that one seeking? The offspring [Literally, “seed.”] of God. So guard yourselves respecting your spirit, and do not deal treacherously with the wife of your youth. 16 For I hate [Literally, “he hates.”] divorce,” says Jehovah the God of Israel, “and the one who covers his garment with violence,” [Or “who engages in violence.”] says Jehovah of armies. “And guard yourselves respecting your spirit, and you must not deal treacherously.
17 “You have made Jehovah weary with your words. But you say, ‘How have we made him weary?’ By saying, ‘Everyone who does bad is good in the eyes of Jehovah, and he finds pleasure in him,’ or by saying, ‘Where is the God of justice?’”
Chapter 3
1 “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will clear up [Or “prepare.”] a way before me. And suddenly the true Lord, whom you are seeking, will come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant will come, in whom you take delight. Look! He will certainly come,” says Jehovah of armies.
2 “But who will endure the day of his coming, and who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like the fire of a refiner and like the lye [Or “soap.”] of laundrymen. 3 And he will sit as a refiner and cleanser of silver and will cleanse the sons of Levi; and he will clarify [Or “refine.”] them like gold and like silver, and they will certainly become to Jehovah people presenting a gift offering in righteousness. 4 And the gift offering of Judah and of Jerusalem will actually be pleasing [Or “gratifying.”] to Jehovah, as in the days of long ago and as in the years of antiquity.
5 “I will come near to you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who take false oaths, against those who defraud the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless child, [Or “the orphan.”] and against those who refuse to help [Or “who deny the rights of.”] the foreigner. These have not feared me,” says Jehovah of armies.
6 “For I am Jehovah; I do not change. [Or “I have not changed.”] And you are sons of Jacob; you have not yet come to your finish. 7 From the days of your forefathers you have turned aside from my regulations and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says Jehovah of armies.
But you say: “How are we supposed to return?”
8 “Will a mere human rob God? But you are robbing me.”
And you say: “How have we robbed you?”
“In the tithes [Or “tenth parts.”] and in the contributions. 9 You are certainly cursed, [Or possibly, “With a curse you are cursing me.”] for you are robbing me—yes, the entire nation is doing so. 10 Bring the entire tithe [Or “all the tenth parts.”] into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house; and test me out, please, in this regard,” Jehovah of armies says, “to see whether I will not open to you the floodgates of the heavens and pour out [Literally, “empty out.”] on you a blessing until there is nothing lacking.”
11 “And I will rebuke the devouring one [Apparently referring to insect plagues.] for you, and it will not ruin the fruit of your land, nor will the vine in your field be fruitless,” says Jehovah of armies.
12 “All the nations will have to declare you happy, for you will become a land of delight,” says Jehovah of armies.
13 “Your words against me have been strong,” says Jehovah.
And you say: “How have we spoken against you among ourselves?”
14 “You say, ‘It is of no value to serve God. How have we benefited by keeping our obligations to him and by walking somberly before Jehovah of armies? 15 Now we consider presumptuous people happy. Also, those who practice wickedness are successful. They dare to put God to the test and get away with it.’”
16 At that time those who fear Jehovah spoke with one another, each one with his companion, and Jehovah kept paying attention and listening. And a book of remembrance was written before him for those fearing Jehovah and for those meditating on [Or “thinking on.” Or possibly, “treasuring.”] his name.
17 “And they will be mine,” says Jehovah of armies, “in the day when I produce a special property. [Or “a treasured possession.”] I will show them compassion, just as a man shows compassion to his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between a righteous person and a wicked person, between one serving God and one not serving him.”
Chapter 4
1 “For look! the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the presumptuous ones and all those practicing wickedness will become like stubble. The coming day will certainly devour them,” says Jehovah of armies, “and it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But on you who honor [Literally, “fear.”] my name, the sun of righteousness will shine, with healing in its rays; [Literally, “wings.”] and you will skip about like fattened calves.”
3 “And you will tread the wicked underfoot, for they will be like dust under the soles of your feet on the day when I take action,” says Jehovah of armies.
4 “Remember the Law of my servant Moses, the regulations and judgments that I commanded at Horeb for all Israel to obey.
5 “Look! I am sending to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awe-inspiring day of Jehovah. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers back toward sons, and the hearts of sons back toward fathers, so that I may not come and strike the earth, devoting it to destruction.”
(End of the translation of the Hebrew-Aramaic Scriptures, to be followed by that of the Christian Greek Scriptures)