OET interlinear MAL 2:11

2:11a

Judah has broken faith: That is, the descendants of Judah had broken their promise to God to obey and serve him only. They had worshipped other gods (idols). The Hebrew verb which the BSB translates as has broken faith is the same verb (bagad) which was used in 2:10 to describe the people’s unfaithfulness to each other.

Judah: Here Judah is another way to refer to people who were descendants of Judah’s father, Israel (who was also called Jacob).

2:11b

an abomination has been committed: That is, a terrible, disgusting thing has been done. If you need to use an active verb you could say: “The people have done a terrible thing.”

in Israel: This refers to the land of Israel.

in Jerusalem: The city of Jerusalem was in the land of Israel. In some languages it may be better to mention it before Israel is mentioned, as, for example:

in the city of Jerusalem and in the whole region of Israel.

2:11c

For: The Hebrew word ki which the BSB translates as For has many uses. Here it introduces a specific act that was part of the general action which Malachi mentioned in 2:11b. There he said that an abomination had been committed; in this part of the verse he explained what the abomination was. Express this connection in an appropriate way in your language.

Judah has profaned: The Hebrew verb which the BSB translates as has profaned is the same verb which was used in 1:12a and 2:10d. Here its use is similar to 1:12a, where it means to “dishonor, treat as unholy/common.”

the LORD’s beloved sanctuary: The Hebrew word which the BSB translates as sanctuary is the noun qodeš. This literally means “holiness.” Here most English versions agree that it refers to the temple, the sanctuary of the LORD.Commentators have suggested four main interpretations:(1) It refers to the sanctuary of the LORD. This is the view followed by most English versions. It is also supported by Redditt (1995), pages 170–171; Smith 1984, pages 319, 322, Glazier-McDonald 1987, pages 90–91.(2) qodeš refers to God’s chosen people, the people of Israel. They are also called the “holy seed/race” in Ezra 9:2 and Isaiah 6:13. The people of Israel had profaned their nation by marrying foreign wives and by failing to keep their marriage vows to their wives. This fits the immediate context well, and has a similar meaning to the parallel passage in Ezra. Ezra chapters 9 and 10 and Nehemiah 13:23–29 make it clear that marriage with women who worshiped foreign gods was a serious problem in Israel at that time. Marriage with such women is strongly forbidden in a number of places in Scripture. See, for example, Exodus 34:15–16, Deuteronomy 7:3–4, also 2 Cor. 6:14–15. This interpretation is discussed by Baldwin (1972) pages 238–239, Dods (1990) page 143, Keil and Delitzsch (1950), page 449, and Lange (1960), page 16.(3) A third interpretation is that the “holiness” of Yahweh refers here to the covenant, picking up the reference to the covenant in the previous verse (Merrill 1994, page 418).(4) Yet another interpretation is that ‘the holiness of Yahweh’ might also refer to the essential holiness of Yahweh, his ‘apartness’ from anything we ourselves know by experience. In this case the profaning would consist of treating God as something common, considering his holiness to be unimportant. This is supported by Hill, pages 230–1.

the LORD’s beloved: That is, which the LORD loves.

2:11d

by marrying the daughter of a foreign god: Again scholars suggest different meanings for this part of the verse:The debate on the meaning of ‘daughter of a foreign god’ has been extensive. The main question has been whether this phrase is figurative, and refers to the fact that the nation of Israel was itself involved in pagan worship, or whether it is literal, and refers to the fact that they are marrying pagan women, who worshipped idols. Glazier-McDonald (1987 ⁽²⁾) argues that both meanings are meant by Malachi, and that one is incomplete without the other. See also the articles by Ogden (1988) and Clark (1998).

1. It means “you have married women who worship other gods.” For example:

   the men of Judah married women who worship foreign gods. (NCV) (GNT, NCV, NLT, GW)

2. It means “you have turned to worship a foreign god.” This uses the metaphor of adultery to describe the way the people of Israel were being unfaithful to the LORD. This is a common metaphor in the OT. For example:

   For Judah has…turned to a foreign god! (NET) (NET, CEV)

Many English versions are ambiguous here. However it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This fits well with the context in 2:10–11.

daughter: This word is used in a collective sense here. The meaning is plural, that is, women.