“And now this decree is for you, O priests:
Parallel translations
- WEB “Now, you priests, this commandment is for you.
- KJV And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
- NKJV “And now, O priests, this commandment is for you.
- NASB “And now, this commandment is for you, the priests.
- NLT “Listen, you priests—this command is for you!
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 directly addresses the priests, announcing that a specific command of warning and judgment is now directed to them.
Overview
Having exposed the priests' corruption in chapter 1, God now turns to pronounce consequences upon them specifically. As covenant leaders entrusted with worship and instruction, they bear heightened accountability. The verse introduces a solemn warning that reverence for God's name is not optional for those who serve Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Mal 1:6“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?’
- Jer 13:13then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land—the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the people of Jerusalem.
- Hos 5:1“Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.
- Lam 4:13But this was for the sins of her prophets and the guilt of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous in her midst.
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 2:1 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.