1 A nd now, to you this charge, O priests,

“And now, this word is for you, O religious leaders.

2 I f ye hearken not, and if ye lay not to heart, To give honour to My name, said Jehovah of Hosts, I have sent against you the curse, And I have cursed your blessings, Yea, I have also cursed it, Because ye are not laying to heart.

If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor My name,” says the Lord of All, “then I will send the curse on you. I will destroy the good things you have been given. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you have not set your heart to honor Me.

3 L o, I am pushing away before you the seed, And have scattered dung before your faces, Dung of your festivals, And it hath taken you away with it.

I will speak sharp words to your children. I will spread animal waste on your faces, the waste of your special suppers. And you will be taken away with it.

4 A nd ye have known that I have sent unto you this charge, For My covenant being with Levi, Said Jehovah of Hosts.

Then you will know that I have sent this word to you, so that My agreement with Levi may be kept,” says the Lord of All.

5 M y covenant hath been with him of life and of peace, And I make them to him a fear, and he doth fear Me, And because of My name he hath been affrighted.

“My agreement with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him, that he might honor Me with fear. So he honored Me with fear. My name filled him with fear and wonder.

6 T he law of truth hath been in his mouth, And perverseness hath not been found in his lips, In peace and in uprightness he walked with Me, And many he brought back from iniquity.

True teaching was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and was right and good. And he turned many from sin.

7 F or the lips of a priest preserve knowledge, And law they do seek from his mouth, For a messenger of Jehovah of Hosts he.

For the lips of a religious leader should have much learning. Men should listen for teaching from his mouth, for he is sent by the Lord of All.

8 A nd ye, ye have turned from the way, Ye have caused many to stumble in the law, Ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, Said Jehovah of Hosts.

But you have turned aside from the way. You have made many fall by your teaching. You have sinned against the agreement of Levi,” says the Lord of All.

9 A nd I also, I have made you despised and low before all the people, Because ye are not keeping My ways, And are accepting persons in the law.

“So I have made you hated and ashamed in front of all the people, for you are not keeping My ways. You have shown favor to certain people when you teach them.” The People Are Not Faithful to God

10 H ave we not all one father? Hath not our God prepared us? Wherefore do we deal treacherously, Each against his brother, To pollute the covenant of our fathers?

“Do we not all have one Father? Has not one God made us? Why can we not be trusted by one another? Why do we sin against the agreement of our fathers?

11 D ealt treacherously hath Judah, And abomination hath been done in Israel, and in Jerusalem, For polluted hath Judah the holy thing of Jehovah, That He hath loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.

Judah has not been faithful. A very sinful thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has made unclean the holy place of the Lord, which He loves. And he has married the daughter of a strange god.

12 C ut off doth Jehovah the man who doth it, Tempter and tempted -- from the tents of Jacob, Even he who is bringing nigh a present to Jehovah of Hosts.

May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob every man who does this, even if he brings a gift in worship to the Lord of All.

13 A nd this a second time ye do, Covering with tears the altar of Jehovah, With weeping and groaning, Because there is no more turning unto the present, Or receiving of a pleasing thing from your hand.

This is another thing you do: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears from much crying, because He no longer cares about the gift or receives it with favor from your hands.

14 A nd ye have said, `Wherefore?' Because Jehovah hath testified between thee And the wife of thy youth, That thou hast dealt treacherously against her, And she thy companion, and thy covenant-wife.

You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord has seen how you have not been faithful to the wife you married when you were young, even when she stays with you and is your wife by agreement.

15 A nd He did not make one, And He hath the remnant of the Spirit. And what the one! He is seeking a godly seed. And ye have been watchful over your spirit, And with the wife of thy youth, None doth deal treacherously.

Has not the Lord made them one in flesh and spirit? And what does He desire but God-like children? Be careful then in your spirit, and stay faithful to the wife you married when you were young.

16 F or hate sending away, said Jehovah, God of Israel, And He hath covered violence with his clothing, said Jehovah of Hosts, And ye have been watchful over your spirit, And ye do not deal treacherously.

“For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “And I hate the man who does wrong to his wife,” says the Lord of All. “So be careful in your spirit, and be one who can be trusted.”

17 Y e have wearied Jehovah with your words, And ye have said: `In what have we wearied Him?' In your saying: `Every evil-doer good in the eyes of Jehovah, And in them He is delighting,' Or, `Where the God of judgment?'

You have made the Lord tired with your words. Yet you say, “How have we made Him tired?” By saying, “Everyone who sins is good in the eyes of the Lord, and He is pleased with them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God Who is fair?”