Malachi 2:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And this second thing you do. You cover the Lord 's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.

NIV: Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.

NASB: And this is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and sighing, because He no longer gives attention to the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.

CSB: This is another thing you do. You are covering the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning, because he no longer respects your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.

NLT: Here is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure.

KJV: And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.

NKJV: And this is the second thing you do: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, With weeping and crying; So He does not regard the offering anymore, Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.

Verse 13 actually sets up the accusation in verse 14 by describing the consequences first. Verse 12 made reference to men who attempted to make offerings to God despite being guilty of pagan intermarriage. Here, a similar problem is occurring. Those who make offerings to God are bitter because He is not answering. God is making good on His promise not to accept offerings which come from an impure heart (Malachi 1:10). As is common with humanity, we fail to obey God, and then blame him for the consequences.

This is not to say that God will not hear the prayers of the divorced, nor ignore all of the offerings from anyone who is a sinner. It does, however, mean that we cannot expect God to bless us when we know we are defying His will. As best we know how, we ought to seek to be right with God before expecting Him to answer our requests.

Malachi brings three messages in the book. The first is to the priests regarding improper offerings. This second lesson is for the people of Israel, for their unfaithfulness to each other. The first sin of unfaithfulness was marrying pagans. The second will be detailed in verse 14. God is not answering prayers, or accepting offerings, because the men are divorcing their wives. This leads up to the Bible's strongest, clearest condemnation of divorce, in verse 16.

Malachi 2:10–16 is perhaps the Bible's strongest indicator of God's views on divorce. This passage begins the second of Malachi's three prophetic lessons, ending in Malachi 3:6. The people of Israel are rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple, but under the control of a foreign nation. Rather than honoring God, and their own wives, it seems the men of Israel were divorcing Jewish women in order to marry pagans (Ezra 9:1–2; Nehemiah 13:23–27). This is described in this passage as an act of violence against the women. In no uncertain terms, Malachi expresses God's hatred for divorce.

God will humiliate the priests who are insulting Him with improper sacrifices. While the priests are being unfaithful to God, the people of Israel are also being unfaithful to each other. In particular, they are marrying pagans, and committing divorce, which God absolutely despises. God's covenant with Israel included both blessings for obedience, and consequences for disobedience. And yet, as Israel disobeys, they blame God for their hardships. God's people are defying Him, then blaming Him for the end results!

Malachi's structure is intricate, but can be divided into three primary messages. The first message is to Israel's priests, and runs from Malachi 1:2 through Malachi 2:9. Chapter 2 begins with a warning, to the priests, that God will humiliate them for their arrogant, apathetic attitudes. The topic then transitions to Malachi's second message, directed to Israel as a whole, accusing them of being unfaithful to each other. This rebuke of infidelity continues through the beginning of chapter 3, before calling Israel to repentance in the final message.

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.