Malachi 1:6-7

The Sacrilege of Priestly Service

1:6 “A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects ¹  his master. If I am your ²  father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The Lord who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, ‘How have we made light of your name?’ 1:7 You are offering improper sacrifices on my altar, yet you ask, ‘How have we offended you?’ By treating the table ³  of the Lord as if it is of no importance!

Malachi 3:8

3:8 Can a person rob ⁴  God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions! ⁵ 

Proverbs 30:20

30:20 This is the way ⁶  of an adulterous ⁷  woman:

she eats and wipes her mouth ⁸ 

and says, “I have not done wrong.” ⁹ 

Isaiah 58:3

58:3 They lament, ¹⁰  ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast?

Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’

Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, ¹¹ 

you oppress your workers. ¹² 

Jeremiah 8:12

8:12 Are they ashamed because they have done such disgusting things?

No, they are not at all ashamed!

They do not even know how to blush!

So they will die just like others have died. ¹³ 

They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,

says the Lord.

[1:6]  ¹ tn The verb “respects” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. It is understood by ellipsis (see “honors” in the preceding line).

[1:6]  ² tn The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification (also a second time before “master” later in this verse).

[1:7]  ³ sn The word table, here a synonym for “altar,” has overtones of covenant imagery in which a feast shared by the covenant partners was an important element (see Exod 24:11). It also draws attention to the analogy of sitting down at a common meal with the governor (v. 8).

[3:8]  ⁴ 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).

[3:8]  ⁵ sn The tithes and contributions mentioned here are probably those used to sustain the Levites (see Num 18:8, 11, 19, 21-24).

[30:20]  ⁶ sn Equally amazing is the insensitivity of the adulterous woman to the sin. The use of the word “way” clearly connects this and the preceding material. Its presence here also supports the interpretation of the final clause in v. 19 as referring to sexual intimacy. While that is a wonder of God’s creation, so is the way that human nature has distorted it and ruined it.

[30:20]  ⁷ sn The word clearly indicates that the woman is married and unchaste; but the text describes her as amoral as much as immoral – she sees nothing wrong with what she does.

[30:20]  ⁸ sn The acts of “eating” and “wiping her mouth” are euphemistic; they employ an implied comparison between the physical act of eating and wiping one’s mouth afterward on the one hand with sexual activity on the other hand (e.g., Prov 9:17).

[30:20]  ⁹ sn This is the amazing part of the observation. It is one thing to sin, for everyone sins, but to dismiss the act of adultery so easily, as if it were no more significant than a meal, is incredibly brazen.

[58:3]  ¹⁰ tn The words “they lament” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you find pleasure”; NASB “you find your desire.”

[58:3]  ¹² tn Or perhaps, “debtors.” See HALOT 865 s.v. * עָצֵב.

[8:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “They will fall among the fallen.”