Malachi 1:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.

NIV: "Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king," says the Lord Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations.

NASB: But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,' says the Lord of armies, 'and My name is feared among the nations.'

CSB: "The deceiver is cursed who has an acceptable male in his flock and makes a vow but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King," says the Lord of Armies, "and my name will be feared among the nations.

NLT: Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,' says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, 'and my name is feared among the nations!

KJV: But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.

NKJV: “But cursed be the deceiver Who has in his flock a male, And takes a vow, But sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished— For I am a great King,” Says the Lord of hosts, “And My name is to be feared among the nations.

A major factor in Israel's sin is the fact that they have everything necessary to properly honor God. And yet, out of laziness, bitterness, and apathy, they insult God by bringing impure offerings. According to this verse, those who promise God a proper offering, then substitute something less, are actually "cheating" Him. This is certainly immoral, but it's also disrespectful. In modern terms, this is known as a bait-and-switch, where what's delivered is much less than what was promised. Attempting this scam implies that the victim is too weak, stupid, or gullible to be worth fair dealings.

Applied to God, this is unbelievably arrogant. According to verse 10, God would prefer to see no worship at all rather than worship which comes in impure form, or from an impure heart. The attitude expressed here shows another facet of why. Giving God less than He is due, as though He were a sucker to take advantage of, is both immoral and degrading.

As was warned in verse 11, God will be properly honored, with or without Israel. "The nations," as used here, means the Gentiles, or all of the non-Jewish people of the world. Predicting that these non-believing and unclean people will one day respect God, while His own chosen people are insulting Him, is meant to shame Israel's spiritual leaders.

Malachi 1:6—2:9 is directed specifically at the priests of Israel. Despite having knowledge of the Old Testament Law, they are offering improper sacrifices to God. Instead of following the requirements for pure offerings, they are sacrificing animals so defective that a mere politician would not accept them. This shows their apathy and disrespect towards God. In response, God warns that He will be praised properly, even if it's by the Gentiles, even if it's in spite of His own chosen people. This includes a threat to humiliate the priesthood, if they don't lead the people as they have been instructed.

Chapter 1 begins the first of three main messages in the book of Malachi. This is addressed to the priests, who have failed to do their duty. They are allowing improper sacrifices, they are not teaching the people, and they are acting in legalism and apathy. If the priests do not change, they will be under the curse of God. God's love for Israel is demonstrated by the counter-example of Edom. Edom's complete destruction was foretold in the book of Obadiah. This shows that God can punish disobedience with annihilation, but has not done so for Israel.

Malachi's structure is complex, and chapter divisions are not helpful in seeing the pattern. There are three primary messages in this book, the first running from Malachi 1:2 through Malachi 2:9. Most of chapter one is the first message, directed to the priests of Israel. This is an important first step, since the priests were responsible for teaching the people. Failures by the priests would inevitably lead to failures by the people. The second and third messages are delivered more generally to the nation of Israel.

Malachi is the last message of prophecy given to Israel prior to 400 years of silence. Israel has rebuilt the temple, following the invasions of Babylon, but they are still under foreign oppression. Israel's spiritual condition, however, is dire. Hosea depicted Israel as prone to failure, but repentant. Later, Ezekiel exposed Israel's blatant disobedience. By the time of Malachi, Israel has passed into numbness and apathy. Unlike other Old Testament prophets, Malachi takes the form of a dialogue, where Israel responds to accusations as if unaware that they've occurred. The next prophetic voice from God would not come until the ministry of John the Baptist.