Malachi 1:9

1:9 But now plead for God’s favor ¹  that he might be gracious to us. ²  “With this kind of offering in your hands, how can he be pleased with you?” asks 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, ³  to whom you have become unfaithful even though she is your companion and wife by law. ⁴ 

Malachi 3:11

3:11 Then I will stop the plague ⁵  from ruining your crops, ⁶  and the vine will not lose its fruit before harvest,” says the Lord who rules over all.

[1:9]  ¹ tn Heb “seek the face of God.”

[1:9]  ² tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav conjunction indicates purpose (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[2:14]  ³ tn Heb “the Lord is a witness between you and [between] the wife of your youth.”

[2:14]  ⁴ 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.

[3:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “the eater” (אֹכֵל, ’okhel), a general term for any kind of threat to crops and livelihood. This is understood as a reference to a locust plague by a number of English versions: NAB, NRSV “the locust”; NIV “pests”; NCV, TEV “insects.”

[3:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “and I will rebuke for you the eater and it will not ruin for you the fruit of the ground.”