Malachi 1:6-Malachi 2:9 - An Oracle Against The Temple Priesthood

⁶ "A son honors his father and a servant his master. So if I'm a father, where is my honor? And if I'm a master, where is my respect?" says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies to you priests who are despising my name. "But you ask, "How have we despised your name?'

⁷ By presenting defiled food on my altar. And you ask, "How have we defiled you?' By saying, "The Table of the LORD is contemptible.'

⁸ When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Offer that to your governor would he be pleased with you or receive you favorably?" asks the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. ⁹ "And now, go ahead and implore God by saying, "Be gracious to us.' Will he receive you favorably and accept offerings like that from your hand?" asks the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. ¹⁰ "Oh, that one of you would shut the Temple doors and not light useless fires on the altar! I'm not pleased with you," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "and I'll accept no offerings from you.

¹¹ Even so, from where the sun rises to where it sets my name will be great among the Gentiles. Incense will be brought to me everywhere, along with pure offerings, because my name will be great among the Gentiles," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

¹² "But you are profaning my name by saying that the Table of the LORD is defiled and that its fruit and its food are contemptible. ¹³ "And you say, "What a burden!' and sniff contemptuously at it," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "when you present maimed, crippled, and diseased animals, and when you bring the offering. Should I accept this from your hand?" asks the LORD.

¹⁴ "Cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock, and vows to give it, but sacrifices a mutilated one to the LORD. Indeed, I am a great king," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "and my name is feared among the Gentiles."

¹ Now this commandment is for you priests: ² "If you don't listen, and if you don't choose to give honor to my name," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "then I'll curse both you and your blessings. I've even cursed them already, because none of you are taking it to heart.

³ Look! I'm rebuking your descendants because of you, and I'll spread waste on your faces, the waste of your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. ⁴ "You will know that I sent this commandment to you in order to continue my covenant with Levi," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. ⁵ "My covenant with him was for life and peace, and I gave the commandments to him so he would fear me. He did fear me as he stood in my presence. ⁶ True teachings were in his mouth, and falsehood was not found on his lips. He walked with me peacefully and righteously, and he turned many from sin. ⁷ For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he's the messenger of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

⁸ "But you priests turned aside from the way, and by your teaching you caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. ⁹ "So I also made you despised, humiliating you before all of the people, because you aren't following my ways and are showing partiality when you teach."