But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the LORD a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.
Parallel translations
- WEB “But the deceiver is cursed, who has in his flock a male, and vows, and sacrifices to the Lord a defective thing; for I am a great King,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and my name is awesome among the nations.”
- BSB “But cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and My name is to be feared among the nations.
- NKJV “But cursed be the deceiver Who has in his flock a male, And takes a vow, But sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished— For I am a great King,” Says the Lord of hosts, “And My name is to be feared among the nations.
- NASB “But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,” says the Lord of armies, “and My name is feared among the nations.”
- NLT “Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is feared among the nations!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God curses the deceiver who vows a good animal yet sacrifices a defective one, for He is a great King whose name is feared among the nations.
Overview
The cheat who possesses an acceptable animal but offers an inferior one to God stands condemned, for such deceit insults the great King. God's universal majesty deserves our best, not our leftovers. The verse closes the first oracle by exalting God's kingship, a kingship perfectly honored and revealed in Christ, the King of kings.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 31
- Acts 5:1–10But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
- 2 Cor 8:12For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
- Eccl 5:4–5When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
- Luke 12:46The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
- Mal 1:8And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.
- Ps 76:12He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth.
- Rev 21:8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
- Luke 12:1–2In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
- Mal 1:11For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
- Josh 7:11–12Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
- Ps 47:2For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
- Zech 14:9And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
- Jer 10:10But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
- Lev 22:18–21Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever he be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings, which they will offer unto the LORD for a burnt offering;
- Dan 4:37Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
- Heb 12:29For our God is a consuming fire.
- Rev 15:4Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.
- Mark 12:41–44And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
- Isa 57:15For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
- Deut 28:58If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;
- Dan 9:4And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
- 1 Tim 6:15Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
- Gen 27:12My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
- Jer 48:10Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
- Ps 95:3For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
- Ps 48:2Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
- Mal 3:9Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
- Matt 5:35Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
- Mark 14:8She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
- Ps 68:35O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.
- Matt 24:51And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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Christ at the center
The messenger who prepares the way, the sun of righteousness rising with healing, and the Lord suddenly coming to his temple set the stage for the gospel that opens with John and Jesus.
How Malachi 1:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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