16 If thou hatest her, [a]put her away, saith the Lord God of Israel, yet he covereth [b]the injury under his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore keep yourselves in your spirit, and transgress not.

17 Ye have [c]wearied the Lord with your words: yet ye say wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Everyone that doeth [d]evil, is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them. Or where is the God of [e]judgment?

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Malachi 2:16 Not that he doth allow divorcement, but of two faults he showeth, which is the less.
  2. Malachi 2:16 He thinketh it sufficient to keep his wife still, albeit he take others, and so as it were covereth his fault.
  3. Malachi 2:17 Ye murmur against God, because he heard not you as soon as ye called.
  4. Malachi 2:17 In thinking that God favored the wicked, and hath no respect to them that serve him.
  5. Malachi 2:17 Thus they blasphemed God in condemning his power and justice, because he judged not according to their fantasies.

16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,(A)” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”[a](B) says the Lord Almighty.

So be on your guard,(C) and do not be unfaithful.

Breaking Covenant Through Injustice

17 You have wearied(D) the Lord with your words.

“How have we wearied him?” you ask.(E)

By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased(F) with them” or “Where is the God of justice?(G)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Malachi 2:16 Or “I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “because the man who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,”