Malachi 2:14

Translations

Modern

Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

Traditional

Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.

Literal

And you say, “For what?” Because that YHWH is a witness between you and between the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously, and she is your companion and the wife of your covenant.

Latin

Et dixistis: Quam ob causam? Quia Dominus testificatus est inter te et uxorem pubertatis tuæ, quam tu despexisti: et hæc particeps tua, et uxor fœderis tui.

Original

Hebrew

English

Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

Notes

Malachi 2:14

In the Greek Old Testament, wife is called koinōnos, meaning "joint partner." The Hebrew word for a seam or joint in construction (for example, Exodus 26:6–11) implies a lasting bond.
covenant: Marriage is a serious promise, with God as a witness (see Proverbs 2:17).

Malachi 2:10–16

Malachi’s third message shows that the failure to keep the covenant spread from the priests to all the people. They did not keep their promises to the Lord or to their fellow citizens when they married foreign women. They also broke their promises to their wives when they divorced them. The prophet now addresses the people as fellow members of the community. This marks a clear change in tone. He moves from sharp accusation to an inclusive appeal (Malachi 2:8–9; 10).

Theme notes and profiles

Biblical Marriage Marriage and Sexuality Preaching to a Tough Crowd Religious Hypocrisy

Events

Prophecies of Malachic. 442 BC

Related verses

Malachi 2:15
Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.
Isaiah 54:6
For the LORD has called you back, like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit, like the rejected wife of one’s youth,” says your God.
Ecclesiastes 9:9
Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.
Genesis 31:50
If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”
Proverbs 2:17
…who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God.
Jeremiah 42:5
Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act upon every word that the LORD your God sends you to tell us.
Jeremiah 8:12
Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse, says the LORD.
Malachi 3:5
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Malachi 1:6–7
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’
Proverbs 30:20
This is the way of an adulteress: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’
Micah 1:2
Hear, O peoples, all of you; listen, O earth, and everyone in it! May the Lord GOD bear witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.
Ezekiel 16:8
Then I passed by and saw you, and you were indeed old enough for love. So I spread My cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine, declares the Lord GOD.

Glossary

Covenant Malachi, Book of

Topics

Covenants of the Contract of Marriage Deserted Wives Divorce: General Scriptures Concerning Divorce: Jews Condemned for Love of Divorce: Often Sought by the Jews Husband: General Scriptures Concerning Husbands: Duty of, to Wives: To be Faithful to Them Marriage: Unclassified Scriptures Relating To Polygamy: Forbidden Respect the Wife Sin: Known to God Taking Care of your Family

Malachi 2:14

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Related verses?

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Translations

Original

Notes

Events

Related verses

Glossary

Topics