1 A weighty message {massa: prophetic announcement}—the word of the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Lord} addressed to Israel, given through Malachi.
2 “I have loved you,” says the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Keeper}. But you reply, “How have You loved us?” The LORD declares, “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother {ach: denotes close kinship}? Yet I have loved Jacob.”
3 But I {YHWH, Sovereign Judge} have hated Esau, and have made his mountains a desolation {shemamah: utter devastation} and his inheritance for jackals of the wilderness.
4 Suppose Edom says, “We have been devastated, but we will return and rebuild the ruins.” The LORD of hosts {YHWH Tsevaot, Supreme Commander} declares, “Let them rebuild; I will tear it down. They will be called a territory of wickedness {rishah: active evil} and a people with whom the LORD is angry forever.”
5 Your own eyes will see it, and you will say, “The LORD {YHWH, Supreme Exalter} is great, even beyond Israel’s boundary {ligvul: territorial border}.”
6 A son honors his father, and a servant honors his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My fear? says the LORD of hosts {YHWH Tsevaot, Supreme Commander} to you priests who despise {bozei: hold in contempt} My name. Yet you say, “In what way have we despised Your name?”
7 You set defiled {m’go’al: ritually impure} bread on My altar, and you ask, “How have we defiled You?” By saying, “The table of the LORD {YHWH, Worthy of Honor} is despised.”
8 When you bring a blind {iver: lacking physical sight} animal for sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you bring a lame or sick one, is that not evil? Offer it, please, to your governor; will he be pleased with you, or accept you? says the LORD of hosts {YHWH Tzevaot, Commander of Armies}.
9 And now, plead for the face of God {El, Hearer of Supplication} so that He may be gracious to us. With this coming from your hand, will He show favor to any of you? says the LORD of hosts {YHWH Tsevaot, Commander of Armies}.
10 If only someone among you would close the doors so that you would not keep lighting fires on My altar in vain! I have no delight in you, says the LORD of hosts {YHWH Tsevaot, Commander of Armies}, and I will not accept an offering {minchah: tribute offering} from your hand.
11 From the sun’s rising to its setting, My name shall be honored among the nations {goyim: peoples}. In every place, incense is presented to My name, and a pure offering is brought, for My name shall be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts {YHWH Tsevaot, Commander of Armies}.
12 But you profane it by saying, “The table of the Lord {Adonai, Worship Guardian} is defiled, and its produce {nivo: Sacrificial Produce}—its food—is to be despised.”
13 And you say, “Look, what a weariness {matela'ah: burdensome complaint}!” and you snort at it, says the LORD of hosts {YHWH Tzvaot, Commander of Armies}. Yet you bring stolen animals, the lame, and the sick as your offering. Shall I accept this from your hand? says the LORD.
14 Cursed is the deceiver who has a male in his flock and who vows and sacrifices a blemished offering {mashchat: defective offering} to the Lord {Adonai, Divine Judge}; for I am a great King, says the LORD {YHWH, Fearsome Sovereign} of hosts, and My name is dreadful among the nations.