Malachi 2:1-7 ▼

1 Now, you priests, this commandment is for you.

2 If you do not listen and take seriously the need to honor my name,| says the LORD who rules over all, |I will send judgment on you and turn your blessings into curses--indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart.

3 I am about to discipline your children and will spread offal on your faces, the very offal produced at your festivals, and you will be carried away along with it.

4 Then you will know that I sent this commandment to you so that my covenant may continue to be with Levi,| says the LORD who rules over all.

5 My covenant with him was designed to bring life and peace. I gave its statutes to him to fill him with awe, and he indeed revered me and stood in awe before me.

6 He taught what was true; sinful words were not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and integrity, and he turned many people away from sin.

7 For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge of sacred things, and people should seek instruction from him because he is the messenger of the LORD who rules over all.