MAL 2:14 Interlinear View

1. Hebrew word
2. Hebrew lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. Gloss
8. CAPS codes
9. OET tags
10. OET word #
1. וַ,אֲמַרְתֶּם
2. 544406,544407
3. And you(pl) say
4. ≈So and
5. 559
6. SV-C,Vqq2mp
7. and,you(pl)_say
8. S
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380682
1. עַל
2. 544408
3. concerning
4. -
6. O-R
7. concerning
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380683
2. 544409
3. -
4. -
6. -x-maqqef
8. -
9. -
10. 380684
1. מָה
2. 544410
3. what
4. -
5. 4100
6. O-Ti
7. what?
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380685
1. עַל
2. 544411
3. on
4. -
6. S-R
7. on
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380686
1. כִּי
2. 544412
3. if/because
4. because
6. S-C
7. if/because
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380687
2. 544413
3. -
4. -
6. -x-maqqef
8. -
9. -
10. 380688
1. יְהוָה
2. 544414
3. YHWH
4. Yahweh
5. 3068
6. S-Np
7. Yahweh
8. -
9. Person=God; Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380689
1. הֵעִיד
2. 544415
3. he has testified
4. testify
6. V-Vhp3ms
7. he_has_testified
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380690
1. בֵּינְ,ךָ
2. 544416,544417
3. between you(ms)
4. -
5. 996
6. S-R,Sp2ms
7. between=you(ms)
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380691
1. וּ,בֵין
2. 544418,544419
3. and between
4. -
5. 996
6. S-C,R
7. and=between
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380692
2. 544420
3. -
4. -
6. -x-paseq
8. -
9. -
10. 380693
1. אֵשֶׁת
2. 544421
3. the wife of
4. -
5. 802
6. S-Ncfsc
7. the_wife_of
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380694
1. נְעוּרֶי,ךָ
2. 544422,544423
3. your youth(s) of your
4. -
6. S-Ncbpc,Sp2ms
7. your_youth(s)_of,your
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380695
1. אֲשֶׁר
2. 544424
3. whom
4. -
6. S-Tr
7. whom
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380696
1. אַתָּה
2. 544425
3. you
4. -
6. S-Pp2ms
7. you
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380697
1. בָּגַדְתָּה
2. 544426
3. you have dealt treacherously
4. you've
5. 898
6. V-Vqp2ms
7. you_have_dealt_treacherously
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380698
1. בָּ,הּ
2. 544427,544428
3. with her
4. -
6. S-R,Sp3fs
7. with,her
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380699
1. וְ,הִיא
2. 544429,544430
3. and she
4. -
5. 1931
6. S-C,Pp3fs
7. and=she
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380700
1. חֲבֶרְתְּ,ךָ
2. 544431,544432
3. companion of +was your
4. companion
5. 2278
6. P-Ncfsc,Sp2ms
7. companion_of,[was]_your
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380701
1. וְ,אֵשֶׁת
2. 544433,544434
3. and the wife of
4. -
5. 802
6. P-C,Ncfsc
7. and,the_wife_of
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380702
1. בְּרִיתֶֽ,ךָ
2. 544435,544436
3. your covenant of your
4. -
5. 1285
6. P-Ncfsc,Sp2ms
7. your_covenant_of,your
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380703
2. 544437
3. -
4. -
6. -x-sof-pasuq
8. -
9. -
10. 380704

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:10–16: Malachi rebuked the people of Israel because they had been unfaithful to the LORD

This section contains the central message of the book. It highlights its main theme: that is, that both the priests and the people had been unfaithful to the LORD. The LORD here called them to repent and to follow him again.

This section lists three specific ways in which the people of Israel as a nation had broken their covenant with the LORD:

They had married wives who worshipped foreign gods.
They had been unfaithful to their wives.
They had even divorced their wives.

Also the people had been hypocritical. They asked the LORD to help them in order to show that they trusted him. Yet, at the same time, they continued to be unfaithful to him and to disobey him.

The Hebrew word bagad which means “faithless, treacherous” occurs five times in these verses. The repeated use of the word highlights both the unfaithfulness of the people to the LORD and their unfaithfulness to their wives.

This section contains one of the few places in the book in which it was the prophet himself who addressed the people. The prophet rebuked the people of Israel because they had been unfaithful to the LORD. He began his rebuke with a series of rhetorical questions. The first two questions in this section form a doublet, which makes an emphatic beginning, and all the questions indicate strong feeling.

Paragraph 2:13–16

Paragraph 2:10–12 shows that the people were unfaithful to the LORD and unfaithful to his covenant because they had married women who worshipped foreign gods (idols). Paragraph 2:13–16 tells another way that the people of Israel were unfaithful. They were also unfaithful to each other in marriage.

Notice the use of the “Statement, Question, Response” pattern, introducing a new discourse unit. See note 6 in “Literary structure and recurring features in Malachi” in the Introduction.

2:14

you…you…your…you…: The first you in this verse translates a plural form in Hebrew. As in 2:13, this form refers to the people of Israel. However the other forms which the BSB translates as you in 2:14 are singular. They refer to each individual man who had been unfaithful. The Display indicates this by the phrase “each of you” in 2:14b.

2:14a

Yet you ask, “Why?”

You^(plur) ask, “Why do our^(excl) sacrifices not please Yahweh any longer?”

Why?: That is, why does the LORD not accept our sacrifices?

2:14b

It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth,

It is because Yahweh heard the promises/vows each of you^(plur) made when you^(sing) were young and married your^(sing) wife.

witness: The text does not specify exactly how the LORD was a witness between a person and the wife of his youth. The most likely meaning is that the LORD was a witness to their covenant of marriage. Therefore the LORD was responsible to punish the men who broke their marriage covenants. He punished them by not accepting their offerings.

the wife of your youth: That is, the wife you married when you were young.

2:14c

against whom you have broken faith,

But you^(sing) have not kept those promises to her,
But you^(sing) have not been faithful/loyal to her, as you^(sing) promised to be,

you have broken faith: The Hebrew word which the BSB translates as broken faith is the same one used in 2:10–11. It is the key term in this section. See the note on 2:10c. Husbands were being unfaithful to their wives. In this way, they were not keeping the promises they had made to their wives at their marriage.

2:14d

though she is your companion

even though she has been your^(sing) partner.
even though she has stayed with you^(sing).

your companion: The Hebrew word which the BSB translates as companion means here “a female companion in marriage.” It is a synonym of “wife.”

2:14e

and your wife by covenant.

You^(sing) have done this even though you^(sing) had promised/agreed with her that she would always be your^(sing) wife.

covenant: The Hebrew word which the BSB translates as covenant is the same word used in 2:4b and 2:10d. This word is normally used in the Old Testament to refer to the relationship the LORD established at Sinai between himself and the people of Israel.

Here it refers to marriage and the promises which a man and woman make to be faithful to each other. In many languages it may be appropriate to use a word like “promise” or “vow” here. This may be better than the word used for the covenant between the LORD and the people of Israel.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

יְהוָה֩ הֵעִ֨יד בֵּינְ⁠ךָ֜ וּ⁠בֵ֣ין ׀ אֵ֣שֶׁת נְעוּרֶ֗י⁠ךָ

YHWH witness between=you(ms) and=between wife_of your_youth(s)_of,your

In this culture, when people made promises to one another, they often did this with witnesses watching. The role of those witnesses included holding the people to their promises. The Judean men had made covenant promises to their wives when they married them. Malachi assumes that those men will know that when he refers to Yahweh as a witness, he means that Yahweh is holding them to those promises. Yahweh is doing that by showing his disfavor through not accepting their offerings. You could indicate this explicitly in your translation if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [Because Yahweh is enforcing the covenant promises you made to the wife of your youth]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular

בֵּינְ⁠ךָ֜ & נְעוּרֶ֗י⁠ךָ & אַתָּה֙ בָּגַ֣דְתָּה & חֲבֶרְתְּ⁠ךָ֖ & בְּרִיתֶֽ⁠ךָ

between=you(ms) & your_youth(s)_of,your & you(ms) faithless & companion_of,[was]_your & your_covenant_of,your

Except for the first occurrence of the the word you, the words you, your, and yourself are singular in this verse because, even though Malachi is speaking to the Judeans as a group, he is addressing an individual situation. So use singular forms in your translation if your language marks that distinction.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

אֵ֣שֶׁת נְעוּרֶ֗י⁠ךָ

wife_of your_youth(s)_of,your

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of youth, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [the wife you married when you were young]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

1. OET-LV words
2. OET-RV words
3. Strongs
4. Hebrew word
5. Hebrew lemma
6. Role/Morphology
7. Gloss
8. CAPS codes
9. OET tags
10. OET word #
1. And you(pl) say
2. ≈So and
3. 1987,683
5. 544406,544407
6. SV-C,Vqq2mp
8. S
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380682
1. concerning
2. -
3. 5837
5. 544408
6. O-R
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380683
1. what
2. -
3. 4666
5. 544410
6. O-Ti
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380685
1. on
2. -
3. 5837
5. 544411
6. S-R
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380686
1. if/because
2. because
3. 3482
5. 544412
6. S-C
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380687
1. YHWH
2. Yahweh
3. 3354
5. 544414
6. S-Np
8. -
9. Person=God; Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380689
1. he has testified
2. testify
3. 6112
5. 544415
6. V-Vhp3ms
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380690
1. between you(ms)
2. -
3. 978,1978
5. 544416,544417
6. S-R,Sp2ms
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380691
1. and between
2. -
3. 1987,978
5. 544418,544419
6. S-C,R
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380692
1. the wife of
2. -
3. 290
5. 544421
6. S-Ncfsc
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380694
1. your youth(s) of your
2. -
3. 4947,1978
5. 544422,544423
6. S-Ncbpc,Sp2ms
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380695
1. whom
2. -
3. 238
5. 544424
6. S-Tr
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380696
1. you
2. -
3. 611
5. 544425
6. S-Pp2ms
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380697
1. you have dealt treacherously
2. you've
3. 1158
5. 544426
6. V-Vqp2ms
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380698
1. with her
2. -
3. 846,1978
5. 544427,544428
6. S-R,Sp3fs
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380699
1. and she
2. -
3. 1987,1855
5. 544429,544430
6. S-C,Pp3fs
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380700
1. companion of +was your
2. companion
3. 2171,1978
5. 544431,544432
6. P-Ncfsc,Sp2ms
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380701
1. and the wife of
2. -
3. 1987,290
5. 544433,544434
6. P-C,Ncfsc
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380702
1. your covenant of your
2. -
3. 911,1978
5. 544435,544436
6. P-Ncfsc,Sp2ms
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380703

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.

OET interlinear MAL 2:14

Hebrew word order