מַשָּׂא דְבַר־יְהוָה אֶל־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּיַד מַלְאָכִי׃   1:1

Mala. 1:1   The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by the hand of Malachi:

אָהַבְתִּי אֶתְכֶם אָמַר יְהוָה וַאֲמַרְתֶּם בַּמָּה אֲהַבְתָּנוּ הֲלוֹא־אָח עֵשָׂו לְיַעֲקֹב נְאֻם־יְהוָה וָאֹהַב    1:2

אֶת־יַעֲקֹב׃

Mala. 1:2   “I have loved you,” says the Lord, “but you say,

                            ‘In what way have You loved us?’

                   Was not Esau Jacob's brother?” declares the Lord,

                            “Yet I loved Jacob

וְאֶת־עֵשָׂו שָׂנֵאתִי וָאָשִׂים אֶת־הָרָיו שְׁמָמָה וְאֶת־נַחֲלָתוֹ לְתַנּוֹת מִדְבָּר׃   1:3

Mala. 1:3   and I ‘hated’ Esau,

                            and I made his mountains a desolation,

                    and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness.”

כִּי־תֹאמַר אֱדוֹם רֻשַּׁשְׁנוּ וְנָשׁוּב וְנִבְנֶה חֳרָבוֹת כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת הֵמָּה יִבְנוּ וַאֲנִי אֶהֱרוֹס   1:4         וְקָרְאו לָהֶם גְּבוּל רִשְׁעָה וְהָעָם אֲשֶׁר־זָעַם יְהוָה עַד־עוֹלָם׃

Mala. 1:4   Though Edom may say,

                             “We are beaten down, but we will return and rebuild the wastelands,”

                     thus says the Lord of hosts:

                             “They may rebuild, but I will tear down,

                     and theirs shall be called a territory of wickedness

                             and the people whom the Lord denounces forever.”

וְעֵינֵיכֶם תִּרְאֶינָה וְאַתֶּם תֹּאמְרוּ יִגְדַּל יְהוָה מֵעַל לִגְבוּל יִשְׂרָאֵל׃   1:5

Mala. 1:5   And your eyes shall see, and You shall say,

                             the Lord will be magnified beyond the border of Israel.

בֵּן יְכַבֵּד אָב וְעֶבֶד אֲדֹנָיו וְאִם־אָב אָנִי אַיֵּה כְבוֹדִי וְאִם־אֲדוֹנִים אָנִי אַיֵּה מוֹרָאִי אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת   1:6 לָכֶם הַכֹּהֲנִים בּוֹזֵי שְׁמִי וַאֲמַרְתֶּם בַּמֶּה בָזִינוּ אֶת־שְׁמֶךָ׃

Mala. 1:6   “Son must honor father, and servant his master.

                             Yet if I am Father, where is My honor?

                    And if I am Master, where is My reverence?

                             says the Lord of hosts to you, the priests,

                    despisers of My name.

                             And you will say,

                     ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’”

מַגִּישִׁים עַל־מִזְבְּחִי לֶחֶם מְגֹאָל וַאֲמַרְתֶּם בַּמֶּה גֵאַלְנוּךָ בֶּאֱמָרְכֶם שֻׁלְחַן יְהוָה נִבְזֶה הוּא׃   1:7

Mala. 1:7   “By bringing on My altar defiled bread.

                               And you say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’

                    By your saying, ‘The table of the Lord, it is contemptible.’”

וְכִי־תַגִּשׁוּן עִוֵּר לִזְבֹּחַ אֵין רָע וְכִי תַגִּישׁוּ פִּסֵּחַ וְחֹלֶה אֵין רָע הַקְרִיבֵהוּ נָא לְפֶחָתֶךָ הֲיִרְצְךָ אוֹ   1:8          הֲיִשָּׂא פָנֶיךָ אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת׃

Mala. 1:8   “And when you would bring a blind one for a sacrifice, it is not evil,

                              and when you would bring one lame and sick, it is not evil.

                    Present it now to your governor!

                             Would he be pleased with you or support your presence?”

                    says the Lord of hosts.

This verse contains five second-person pronouns, four yous and one your, and one imperative second-person verb, Present.  The first two pronouns are plural; the verb is plural, and the last three pronouns are singular.  In the first two plural instances, I believe Malachi is addressing the individual priests.  In the last three he is addressing the priesthood.  The governor would be over the priesthood.  And the last two pronouns refer to the body of the priesthood as well.

וְעַתָּה חַלּוּ־נָא פְנֵי־אֵל וִיחָנֵנוּ מִיֶּדְכֶם הָיְתָה זֹּאת הֲיִשָּׂא מִכֶּם פָּנִים אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת׃   1:9

Mala. 1:9   Then now, please entreat the presence of God

                             "That he may be gracious to us!"

                    By your hand is this:

                             “Will he support any persons from you?”

                    says the Lord of hosts.

I interpret this verse differently from other translators.  Others assume these words are from the Lord.  As I see it, this verse is a continuation and consequence of the previous verse, and Malachi is scornfully poking fun at the priests as he tells them to beg the Lord for grace that the governor might be gracious and accept their pitiful sacrifices.  So the two pronouns he in the second and fourth English lines refer to the governor, not to the Lord.

מִי גַם־בָּכֶם וְיִסְגֹּר דְּלָתַיִם וְלֹא־תָאִירוּ מִזְבְּחִי חִנָּם אֵין־לִי חֵפֶץ בָּכֶם אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת וּמִנְחָה   1:10       לֹא־אֶרְצֶה מִיֶּדְכֶם׃

Mala. 1:10   “Is there even one among you who would shut the doors,

                                so you could not light My altar in vain?

                     There is no pleasure for Me in any of you, says the Lord of hosts,

                                and I will not accept an offering from your hand.”

כִּי מִמִּזְרַח־שֶׁמֶשׁ וְעַד־מְבוֹאוֹ גָּדוֹל שְׁמִי בַּגּוֹיִם וּבְכָל־מָקוֹם מֻקְטָר מֻגָּשׁ לִשְׁמִי וּמִנְחָה טְהוֹרָה   1:11       כִּי־גָדוֹל שְׁמִי בַּגּוֹיִם אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת׃

Mala. 1:11   “Indeed from the rising of the sun and until its going,

                                is My name great among the nations,

                      and in every place an offering is being brought,

                                it is to My name -- and a pure offering!

                      For My name is great among the nations,”

                                says the Lord of hosts.

Interesting!  When was the Lord’s name great among the nations?  Nothing is known about Malachi.  The prevailing thought is that he prophesied some time well after the Temple had been rebuilt, possibly around 450 BCE.  This would place him in the approximate time of the Persian domination of Israel.  Which nations of that era sacrificed to the Lord?  And where did they sacrifice?  Why does Malachi make this statement, which he essentially repeats in v. 1:14 below?  Well, I suspect that although this verse and that one are in the present tense, they are prophetic.  It is not about the present or the past.  See what more I have to say after v. 1:14, though.

וְאַתֶּם מְחַלְּלִים אוֹתוֹ בֶּאֱמָרְכֶם שֻׁלְחַן אֲדֹנָי מְגֹאָל הוּא וְנִיבוֹ נִבְזֶה אָכְלוֹ׃   1:12

Mala. 1:12   “But you are defiling it by your saying,

                                ’The table of the Master, polluting it is,

                      and its fruit is contemptible, its food.’”

וַאֲמַרְתֶּם הִנֵּה מַתְּלָאָה וְהִפַּחְתֶּם אוֹתוֹ אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת וַהֲבֵאתֶם גָּזוּל וְאֶת־הַפִּסֵּחַ וְאֶת־הַחוֹלֶה   1:13 וַהֲבֵאתֶם אֶת־הַמִּנְחָה הַאֶרְצֶה אוֹתָהּ מִיֶּדְכֶם אָמַר יְהוָה׃

Mala. 1:13   “And you would say, ‘Behold, so wearying!’ And you would breathe it,”

                                says the Lord of hosts.

                      “And you would bring a thing torn up, and the lame and the sick,

                                so you would bring the offering.

                      Should I accept it from your hand?” says the Lord.

וְאָרוּר נוֹכֵל וְיֵשׁ בְּעֶדְרוֹ זָכָר וְנֹדֵר וְזֹבֵחַ מָשְׁחָת לַאדֹנָי כִּי מֶלֶךְ גָּדוֹל אָנִי אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת וּשְׁמִי   1:14 נוֹרָא בַגּוֹיִם׃

Mala. 1:14   “So cursed be the knave in whose flock there is a male,

                                 yet he is vowing and sacrificing a spoiled thing to the Master!

                      For a great King am I,” says the Lord of hosts,

                                 “and My name is revered among the nations.”

Notwithstanding what I said above, I have to ask, is Malachi being delusional in claiming the nations have reverence for the Lord?  Or is he merely having some “fun” in his denunciation of the priests of his time?  Is he simply propounding a fanciful contrast of the total lack of respect of the priests against an imagined exaggerated reverence of the nations?  I’m guessing it’s the latter.  A clever literary trick used by no one else before his time, and maybe after it as well.

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