Priests to Be Disciplined

2 “And now, this commandment is for you, the priests. ² If you do ^(A)not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,” says the Lord of armies, “then I will send the ^(B)curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have ^(C)cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart. ³ Behold, I am going to ^(D)rebuke your ^[a]descendants, and I will ^(E)spread ^[b]dung on your faces, the ^[c]dung of your ^(F)feasts; and you will be taken away ^[d]with it. ⁴ Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, ^[e]so that My ^(G)covenant may ^[f]continue with Levi,” says the Lord of armies. ⁵ “My covenant with him was one of life and ^(H)peace, and I gave them to him as an object of ^[g]reverence; so he ^[h](I)revered Me and was in awe of My name. ^6 [i](J)True instruction was in his mouth and injustice was not found on his lips; he walked ^(K)with Me in peace and justice, and he ^(L)turned many back from wrongdoing. ⁷ For the lips of a priest should maintain ^(M)knowledge, and people should ^(N)seek ^[j]instruction from his mouth; for he is the ^(O)messenger of the Lord of armies. ⁸ But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to ^(P)stumble ^[k]by the instruction; you have ^(Q)ruined the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of armies. ⁹ “So ^(R)I also have made you despised and of ^(S)low reputation ^[l]in the view of all the people, since you are not keeping My ways but are showing ^(T)partiality in the ^[m]instruction.”

Sin in the Family

¹⁰ Do we not all have ^(U)one Father? ^(V)Is it not one God who has created us? Why do we deal ^(W)treacherously, each against his brother so as to profane the ^(X)covenant of our fathers? ¹¹ Judah has dealt ^(Y)treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has ^(Z)profaned the sanctuary of the Lord ^[n]which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. ¹² As for the man who does this, may the ^(AA)Lord eliminate from the tents of Jacob everyone who is awake and answers, or who ^(AB)presents ^[o]an offering to the Lord of armies.

¹³ And this is ^[p]another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and sighing, because He ^(AC)no longer gives attention to the ^[q]offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. ¹⁴ Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the ^(AD)wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt ^(AE)treacherously, though she is your marriage companion and your wife by covenant. ^15 [r]But not one has ^(AF)done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And ^[s]why the one? He was seeking a ^(AG)godly offspring. Be careful then about your spirit, and see that none of you deals ^(AH)treacherously against the wife of your youth. ¹⁶ “For ^[t]I hate ^[u](AI)divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and ^[v]him who covers his garment with ^(AJ)violence,” says the Lord of armies. “So be careful about your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

¹⁷ You have ^(AK)wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “^(AL)Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He ^(AM)delights in them,” or, “^(AN)Where is the God of ^(AO)justice?”