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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Malachi 2 CEV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/malachi/2.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/malachi/2-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">CEV</a> > Malachi 2</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../malachi/1.htm" title="Malachi 1">◄</a> Malachi 2 <a href="../malachi/3.htm" title="Malachi 3">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Contemporary English Version</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s1">True and False Priests</h3><p class="par"><span class="v39_2_1"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.1" class="v39_2_1">1</span>I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> All-Powerful, have something else to say to you priests. </span><span class="v39_2_2"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.2" class="v39_2_2">2</span>You had better take seriously the need to honor my name. Otherwise, when you give a blessing, I will turn it into a curse. In fact, I have already done this, because you haven't taken to heart your duties as priests. </span><span class="v39_2_3"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.3" class="v39_2_3">3</span>I will punish your descendants and rub your faces in the manure from your animal sacrifices, and then be done with you.<a href="#fn" id="link_Mal.2.3!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v39_2_4"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.4" class="v39_2_4">4</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Mal.2.4!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> I am telling you this, so I can continue to keep my agreement with your ancestor Levi. </span><span class="v39_2_5"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.5" class="v39_2_5">5</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Mal.2.5!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> I blessed him with a full life, as I had promised, and he kept his part of the agreement by honoring me and respecting my name. </span><span class="v39_2_6"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.6" class="v39_2_6">6</span>He taught the truth and never told lies, and he led a lot of people to turn from sin, because he obeyed me and lived right.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v39_2_7"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.7" class="v39_2_7">7</span>You priests should be eager to spread knowledge, and everyone should come to you for instruction, because you speak for me, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> All-Powerful. </span><span class="v39_2_8"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.8" class="v39_2_8">8</span>But you have turned your backs on me. Your teachings have led others to do sinful things, and you have broken the agreement I made with your ancestor Levi. </span><span class="v39_2_9"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.9" class="v39_2_9">9</span>So I caused everyone to hate and despise you, because you disobeyed me and failed to treat all people alike.</span></p><h3 class="s1">A Broken Agreement</h3><p class="par"><span class="v39_2_10"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.10" class="v39_2_10">10</span>Don't you know that we all have God as our Father? Didn't the one God create each of us? Then why do you cheat each other by breaking the agreement God made with your ancestors? </span><span class="v39_2_11"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.11" class="v39_2_11">11</span>You people in Judah and Jerusalem have been unfaithful to the <span class="nd">Lord</span>. You have disgraced the temple that he loves, and you have committed the disgusting sin of marrying the worshipers of other gods. </span><span class="v39_2_12"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.12" class="v39_2_12">12</span>I pray that the <span class="nd">Lord</span> will no longer let those who are guilty belong to his people, even if they eagerly decide to offer the <span class="nd">Lord</span> a gift.<a href="#fn" id="link_Mal.2.12!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v39_2_13"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.13" class="v39_2_13">13</span>And what else are you doing? You cry noisily and flood the <span class="nd">Lord</span>'s altar with your tears, because he isn't pleased with your offerings and refuses to accept them. </span><span class="v39_2_14"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.14" class="v39_2_14">14</span>And why isn't God pleased? It's because he knows that each of you men has been unfaithful to the wife you married when you were young. You promised that she would be your partner, but now you have broken that promise. </span><span class="v39_2_15"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.15" class="v39_2_15">15</span>Didn't God create you and your wife to become like one person?<a href="#fn" id="link_Mal.2.15!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> And why did he do this? It was so you would have children, and then lead them to become God's people. Don't ever be unfaithful to your wife. </span><span class="v39_2_16"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.16" class="v39_2_16">16</span>The <span class="nd">Lord</span> God All-Powerful of Israel hates anyone who is cruel enough to divorce his wife. So take care never to be unfaithful!</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v39_2_17"><span class="reftext" id="Mal.2.17" class="v39_2_17">17</span>You have worn out the <span class="nd">Lord</span> with your words. And yet, you ask, “How did we do that?”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v39_2_17">You did it by saying, “The <span class="nd">Lord</span> is pleased with evil and doesn't care about justice.”</span></p> <a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">2.3 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">and then be done with you: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">2.12 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">even if … gift: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">2.15 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Didn't … person: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 2006 American Bible Society. 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