Malachi 3:9

3:9 You are bound for judgment ¹  because you are robbing me – this whole nation is guilty. ² 

Malachi 1:5

1:5 Your eyes will see it, and then you will say, ‘May the Lord be magnified ³  even beyond the border of Israel!’”

Malachi 1:12

1:12 “But you are profaning it by saying that the table of the Lord is common and its offerings ⁴  despicable.

Malachi 3:6

Resistance to the Lord through Selfishness

3:6 “Since, I, the Lord, do not go back on my promises, ⁵  you, sons of Jacob, have not perished.

Malachi 3:8

3:8 Can a person rob ⁶  God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions! ⁷ 

Malachi 3:12

3:12 “All nations will call you happy, for you indeed will live in ⁸  a delightful land,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Malachi 3:1

3:1 “I am about to send my messenger, ⁹  who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord ¹⁰  you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger ¹¹  of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Malachi 2:8

2:8 You, however, have turned from the way. You have caused many to violate the law; ¹²  you have corrupted the covenant with Levi,” ¹³  says the Lord who rules over all.

Malachi 2:14

2:14 Yet you ask, “Why?” The Lord is testifying against you on behalf of the wife you married when you were young, ¹⁴  to whom you have become unfaithful even though she is your companion and wife by law. ¹⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “cursed with a curse” that is, “under a curse” (so NIV, NLT, CEV).

² tn The phrase “is guilty” is not present in the Hebrew text but is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.

³ tn Or “Great is the Lord” (so NAB; similar NIV, NRSV).

⁵ tn Heb “fruit.” The following word “food” in the Hebrew text (אָכְלוֹ, ’okhlo) appears to be an explanatory gloss to clarify the meaning of the rare word נִיב (niv, “fruit”; see Isa 57:19 Qere; נוֹב, nov, “fruit,” in Kethib). Cf. ASV “the fruit thereof, even its food.” In this cultic context the reference is to the offerings on the altar.

⁷ tn Heb “do not change.” This refers to God’s ongoing commitment to his covenant promises to Israel.

⁹ tc The LXX presupposes an underlying Hebrew text of עָקַב (’aqav, “deceive”), a metathesis of קָבַע (qava’, “rob”), in all four uses of the verb here (vv. 8-9). The intent probably is to soften the impact of “robbing” God, but the language of the passage is intentionally bold and there is no reason to go against the reading of the MT (which is followed here by most English versions).

¹⁰ sn The tithes and contributions mentioned here are probably those used to sustain the Levites (see Num 18:8, 11, 19, 21-24).

¹¹ tn Heb “will be” (so NAB, NRSV); TEV “your land will be a good place to live in.”

¹³ tn In Hebrew the phrase “my messenger” is מַלְאָכִי (mal’akhi), the same form as the prophet’s name (see note on the name “Malachi” in 1:1). However, here the messenger appears to be an eschatological figure who is about to appear, as the following context suggests. According to 4:5, this messenger is “Elijah the prophet,” whom the NT identifies as John the Baptist (Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2) because he came in the “spirit and power” of Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:11-12; Lk 1:17).

¹⁴ tn Here the Hebrew term הָאָדוֹן (ha’adon) is used, not יְהוָה (yÿhvah, typically rendered Lord). Thus the focus is not on the Lord as the covenant God, but on his role as master.

¹⁵ sn This messenger of the covenant may be equated with my messenger (that is, Elijah) mentioned earlier in the verse, or with the Lord himself. In either case the messenger functions as an enforcer of the covenant. Note the following verses, which depict purifying judgment on a people that has violated the Lord’s covenant.

¹⁵ tn The definite article embedded within בַּתּוֹרָה (battorah) may suggest that the Torah is in mind and not just “ordinary” priestly instruction, though it might refer to the instruction previously mentioned (v. 7).

¹⁶ tn Or “the Levitical covenant.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “the Lord is a witness between you and [between] the wife of your youth.”

¹⁸ sn Though there is no explicit reference to marriage vows in the OT (but see Job 7:13; Prov 2:17; Ezek 16:8), the term law (Heb “covenant”) here asserts that such vows or agreements must have existed. References to divorce documents (e.g., Deut 24:1-3; Jer 3:8) also presuppose the existence of marriage documents.