And now, O ye priests ,.... That despised and profaned the name of the Lord; that suffered such corrupt and illegal sacrifices to be brought and offered up: this commandment is for you : of giving glory to the name of God; of taking care of his worship; of teaching the people knowledge, and directing them in the way in which they should walk; as follows: read more
If ye will not hear ,.... The commandment enjoined them; or the Gospel preached to them by Christ, and his apostles: and if ye will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, saith the Lord of hosts ; which they had despised and profaned before; if they did not take care of his worship and service, and honour the Messiah sent unto them, in whom the name of the Lord was: I will even send a curse upon you ; both upon priests and people; those that bring the bad offerings, and... read more
If ye will not hear - What I have spoken, lay it to heart, and let it sink down into your souls. Give glory unto my name - That honor that is due to me as a Father, and that fear that belongs to me as a Master, Malachi 1:6 . I will even send a curse upon you - I will dispense no more good. I will curse your blessings - Even that which ye have already shall not profit you. When temporal blessings are not the means of leading us to God and heaven, they will infallibly lead us to... read more
Verse 1 Though the priests did not sin alone, yet it is not without reason, as we have said, that they were regarded as the first in wickedness; for it was their office to correct what the people did amiss. Their dissimulation had the effect of encouraging the common people to sin: hence the Prophet accuses them especially as the authors of impiety; and this is what the words intimate, if they are rightly considered. To you, he says, O priests. They might have indeed exonerated themselves, or... read more
Verse 2 He then adds, If ye will not hear nor lay it to heart to give glory to my name, etc. He seems here to threaten the priests alone; and yet if any one carefully considers the whole passage, he will easily perceive that this address extends to the whole people, in such a way however that it is in the first place directed to the priests; for as I have said the greater portion of the guilt belonged to them. God then denounces a heavy punishment on the whole people as well as on the priests,... read more
This commandment . The threat or announcement is called a commandment, because God ordains it and imposes its execution on certain instruments. (For the expression, camp. Le 25:21.) The threat is contained in Malachi 2:2 , Malachi 2:3 . read more
Spiritual reformation. "And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you," etc. The grand subject we gather from these words is spiritual reformation. "Now, O ye priests." The priests are specially addressed and reproved, for they, whose mission it was to raise the people to true worship and to holiness, led them into sin. Notice— I. THE NATURE OF THE SPIRITUAL REFORMATION REQUIRED . "If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my Name,... read more
§ 4. For these derelictions of duty the priests are threatened with punishment. read more
I will even send a curse; Revised Version, then will I send the curse. St. Jerome, regarding the temporal effect of the curse, translates, egestatem "scarcity" (comp. Deuteronomy 27:15-26 ; Deuteronomy 28:15 , etc.). I will curse your blessings . The blessings which as priests they had to pronounce upon the people (Le 9:22, 23; Numbers 6:23-27 ). These God would not ratify, but would turn them into curses, and thus punish the people who connived at and imitated the iniquities of... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Malachi 2:1-9
What was said in the foregoing chapter was directed to the priests (Mal. 1:6): Thus saith the Lord of hosts to you, O priests! that despise my name. But the crimes there charged upon them they were guilty of as sacrificers, and for those they might think it some excuse that they offered what the people brought, and therefore that, if they were not so good as they should be, it was not their fault, but the people?s; and therefore here the corruptions there complained of are traced to the source... read more