Malachi 2:1-9 ▼

1 |And now this commandment is for you, O priests.

2 |If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,| says the LORD of hosts, |then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them [already], because you are not taking [it] to heart.

3 |Behold, I am going to rebuke your offspring, and I will spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it.

4 |Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant may continue with Levi,| says the LORD of hosts.

5 |My covenant with him was [one of] life and peace, and I gave them to him [as an object of] reverence; so he revered Me and stood in awe of My name.

6 |true instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity.

7 |For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

8 |But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi,| says the LORD of hosts.

9 |So I also have made you despised and abased before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in the instruction.