Maleakhi 2:1

The Sacrilege of the Priestly Message

2:1 “Now, you priests, this commandment is for you.

Maleakhi 3:10

3:10 “Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse ¹  so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord who rules over all, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until there is no room for it all.

Maleakhi 4:2

4:2 But for you who respect my name, the sun of vindication ²  will rise with healing wings, ³  and you will skip about ⁴  like calves released from the stall.

Maleakhi 3:1

3:1 “I am about to send my messenger, ⁵  who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord ⁶  you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger ⁷  of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Maleakhi 3:11

3:11 Then I will stop the plague ⁸  from ruining your crops, ⁹  and the vine will not lose its fruit before harvest,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Maleakhi 2:12

2:12 May the Lord cut off from the community ¹⁰  of Jacob every last person who does this, ¹¹  as well as the person who presents improper offerings to the Lord who rules over all!

Maleakhi 3:8

3:8 Can a person rob ¹²  God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and contributions! ¹³ 

Maleakhi 3:14

3:14 You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped ¹⁴  by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord who rules over all? ¹⁵ 

Maleakhi 3:16

3:16 Then those who respected ¹⁶  the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice. ¹⁷  A scroll ¹⁸  was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected the Lord and honored his name.

Maleakhi 2:9

2:9 “Therefore, I have caused you to be ignored and belittled before all people to the extent to which you are not following after me and are showing partiality in your ¹⁹  instruction.”

Maleakhi 1:5

1:5 Your eyes will see it, and then you will say, ‘May the Lord be magnified ²⁰  even beyond the border of Israel!’”

Maleakhi 1:11

1:11 For from the east to the west my name will be great among the nations. Incense and pure offerings will be offered in my name everywhere, for my name will be great among the nations,” ²¹  says the Lord who rules over all.

Maleakhi 3:17

3:17 “They will belong to me,” says the Lord who rules over all, “in the day when I prepare my own special property. ²²  I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Maleakhi 4:4

Restoration through the Lord

4:4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, to whom at Horeb ²³  I gave rules and regulations for all Israel to obey. ²⁴ 

[3:10]  ¹ tn The Hebrew phrase בֵּית הָאוֹצָר (bet ha’otsar, here translated “storehouse”) refers to a kind of temple warehouse described more fully in Nehemiah (where the term לִשְׁכָּה גְדוֹלָה [lishkah gÿdolah, “great chamber”] is used) as a place for storing grain, frankincense, temple vessels, wine, and oil (Neh 13:5). Cf. TEV “to the Temple.”

[4:2]  ² tn Here the Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah), usually translated “righteousness” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT; cf. NAB “justice”), has been rendered as “vindication” because it is the vindication of God’s people that is in view in the context. Cf. BDB 842 s.v. צְדָקָה 6; “righteousness as vindicated, justification, salvation, etc.”

[4:2]  sn The expression the sun of vindication will rise is a metaphorical way of describing the day of the Lord as a time of restoration when God vindicates his people (see 2 Sam 23:4; Isa 30:26; 60:1, 3). Their vindication and restoration will be as obvious and undeniable as the bright light of the rising sun.

[4:2]  ³ sn The point of the metaphor of healing wings is unclear. The sun seems to be compared to a bird. Perhaps the sun’s “wings” are its warm rays. “Healing” may refer to a reversal of the injury done by evildoers (see Mal 3:5).

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “you will go out and skip about.”

[3:1]  ⁵ tn In Hebrew the phrase “my messenger” is מַלְאָכִי (mal’akhi), the same form as the prophet’s name (see note on the name “Malachi” in 1:1). However, here the messenger appears to be an eschatological figure who is about to appear, as the following context suggests. According to 4:5, this messenger is “Elijah the prophet,” whom the NT identifies as John the Baptist (Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2) because he came in the “spirit and power” of Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:11-12; Lk 1:17).

[3:1]  ⁶ tn Here the Hebrew term הָאָדוֹן (ha’adon) is used, not יְהוָה (yÿhvah, typically rendered Lord). Thus the focus is not on the Lord as the covenant God, but on his role as master.

[3:1]  ⁷ sn This messenger of the covenant may be equated with my messenger (that is, Elijah) mentioned earlier in the verse, or with the Lord himself. In either case the messenger functions as an enforcer of the covenant. Note the following verses, which depict purifying judgment on a people that has violated the Lord’s covenant.

[3:11]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “and I will rebuke for you the eater and it will not ruin for you the fruit of the ground.”

[2:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “tents,” used figuratively for the community here (cf. NCV, TEV); NLT “the nation of Israel.”

[2:12]  ¹¹ tc Heb “every man who does this, him who is awake and him who answers.” For “answers” the LXX suggests an underlying Hebrew text of עָנָה (’anah, “to be humbled”), and then the whole phrase is modified slightly: “until he is humbled.” This requires also that the MT עֵר (’er, “awake”) be read as עֵד (’ed, “until”; here the LXX reads ἕως, Jews). The reading of the LXX is most likely an alteration to correct what is arguably a difficult text.

[2:12]  tn Heb “every man who does this, him who is awake and him who answers.” The idea seems to be a merism expressing totality, that is, everybody from the awakener to the awakened, thus “every last person who does this” (NLT similar); NIV “whoever he may be.”

[3:8]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ sn The tithes and contributions mentioned here are probably those used to sustain the Levites (see Num 18:8, 11, 19, 21-24).

[3:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “What [is the] profit”; NIV “What did we gain.”

[3:14]  ¹⁵ sn The people’s public display of self-effacing piety has gone unrewarded by the Lord. The reason, of course, is that it was blatantly hypocritical.

[3:16]  ¹⁶ tn Or “fear” (so NAB); NRSV “revered”; NCV “honored.”

[3:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “heard and listened”; NAB “listened attentively.”

[3:16]  ¹⁸ sn The scroll mentioned here is a “memory book” (סֵפֶר זִכָּרוֹן, sefer zikkaron) in which the Lord keeps an ongoing record of the names of all the redeemed (see Exod 32:32; Isa 4:3; Dan 12:1; Rev 20:12-15).

[2:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in the instruction” (so NASB). The Hebrew article is used here as a possessive pronoun (cf. NRSV, NLT).

[1:5]  ²⁰ tn Or “Great is the Lord” (so NAB; similar NIV, NRSV).

[1:11]  ²¹ sn My name will be great among the nations. In what is clearly a strongly ironic shift of thought, the Lord contrasts the unbelief and virtual paganism of the postexilic community with the conversion and obedience of the nations that will one day worship the God of Israel.

[3:17]  ²² sn The Hebrew word סְגֻלָּה (sÿgullah, “special property”) is a technical term referring to all the recipients of God’s redemptive grace, especially Israel (Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18). The Lord says here that he will not forget even one individual in the day of judgment and reward.

[4:4]  ²³ sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (cf. Exod 3:1).

[4:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “which I commanded him in Horeb concerning all Israel, statutes and ordinances.”