MAL 2:16 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. כִּי
2. 544469
3. If/because
4. -
6. S-C
7. if/because
8. S
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380725
2. 544470
3. -
4. -
6. -x-maqqef
8. -
9. -
10. 380726
1. שָׂנֵא
2. 544471
3. he hates
4. -
5. 8130
6. V-Vqp3ms
7. he_hates
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380727
1. שַׁלַּח
2. 544472
3. sending away
4. -
5. 7971
6. O-Vpc
7. sending_away
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380728
1. אָמַר
2. 544473
3. he says
4. -
5. 559
6. V-Vqp3ms
7. he_says
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380729
1. יְהוָה
2. 544474
3. YHWH
4. -
5. 3068
6. S-Np
7. Yahweh
8. -
9. Person=God; Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380730
1. אֱלֹהֵי
2. 544475
3. the god of
4. god
5. 430
6. S-Ncmpc
7. the_God_of
8. -
9. Person=God; Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380731
1. יִשְׂרָאֵל
2. 544476
3. Yisrāʼēl/(Israel)
4. Yisrael
5. 3478
6. S-Np
7. of_Israel
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380732
1. וְ,כִסָּה
2. 544477,544478
3. and he will cover
4. -
5. 3680
6. SV-C,Vpq3ms
7. and,he_will_cover
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380733
1. חָמָס
2. 544479
3. violence
4. -
5. 2555
6. O-Ncmsa
7. violence
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380734
1. עַל
2. 544480
3. over
4. -
6. S-R
7. over
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380735
2. 544481
3. -
4. -
6. -x-maqqef
8. -
9. -
10. 380736
1. לְבוּשׁ,וֹ
2. 544482,544483
3. clothing of his
4. -
5. 3830
6. S-Ncmsc,Sp3ms
7. clothing_of,his
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380737
1. אָמַר
2. 544484
3. he says
4. -
5. 559
6. V-Vqp3ms
7. he_says
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380738
1. יְהוָה
2. 544485
3. YHWH
4. -
5. 3068
6. S-Np
7. Yahweh
8. -
9. Person=God; Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380739
1. צְבָאוֹת
2. 544486
3. hosts
4. army-commander
6. S-Ncbpa
7. hosts
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380740
1. וְ,נִשְׁמַרְתֶּם
2. 544487,544488
3. and you(pl) will take heed
4. -
5. 8104
6. SV-C,VNq2mp
7. and,you(pl)_will_take_heed
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380741
1. בְּ,רוּחֲ,כֶם
2. 544489,544490,544491
3. in spirit of your(pl)
4. -
5. 7307
6. S-R,Ncbsc,Sp2mp
7. in,spirit_of,your(pl)
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380742
1. וְ,לֹא
2. 544492,544493
3. and not
4. don't
5. 3808
6. S-C,Tn
7. and=not
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380743
1. תִבְגֹּדוּ
2. 544494
3. you(pl) must act treacherously
4. -
5. 898
6. V-Vqi2mp
7. you(pl)_must_act_treacherously
8. -
9. Y-397; TProphecies_of_Malachi
10. 380744
2. 544495
3. -
4. -
6. -x-sof-pasuq
8. -
9. -
10. 380745
2. 544496
3. -
4. -
6. -x-samekh
8. S
9. -
10. 380746

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.

2:16

The prophet stopped speaking his own words in 2:15, and in 2:16 the LORD once again spoke directly to the people.

2:16a

“For I hate divorce,”

“I am displeased when a man divorces his wife,”
“I hate it when people divorce each other,”

For: The Hebrew connector ki introduces the reason for the command in 2:15. However it can be difficult to translate here because it connects the LORD’s own words with what the prophet had been saying. The meaning is that the people should not be unfaithful to their wives because the LORD hates divorce. In some languages this connection may be implied without a connector. If that is true in your language, you can omit it, as many English versions do. For example:

The Lord God of Israel says, “I hate divorce.” (NCV)

I hate divorce: The Hebrew word which the BSB translates as divorce literally means “sending away.”Some scholars interpret the implied subject of “hate” to be indefinite. This gives the sense “If anyone hating (his wife) divorces (her), says Yahweh the God of Israel, he covers his garment with violence.” REB “If a man divorces or puts away his wife, says the Lord God of Israel, he overwhelms her with cruelty.” Pohlig (1998) gives arguments in support of this interpretation. In some languages it may be more natural to use a verb phrase rather than a noun to express the action of divorce. For example:

I hate it when a man divorces his wife.

When a man and his wife divorce, I hate that.

Use an expression which is natural in your language.

2:16b

says the LORD, the God of Israel.

says Yahweh, the God of Israel,
Yahweh, the God of Israel, says to you^(plur),

says the LORD, the God of Israel: There is a change of speaker in 2:16. In some languages it may be necessary to begin the verse with the speech clause to make this clear. See the example from the NCV in 2:16a.

the LORD, the God of Israel: Notice that the longer title for God is used here. This emphasizes the fact that the LORD had started speaking again. It also highlights the importance and authority of the statement.

2:16c

“He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,”

“and I hate it when anyone is violent/cruel towards his wife by divorcing her.”

He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence: Scholars do not agree about the meaning of the Hebrew text here. English versions have translated it in different ways. There are many views, but the Notes will discuss only the three which seem most accepted:

It refers to divorce as being cruel towards a person’s wife. A garment may be a symbol for the wife.“Garment” is an Arabic idiom for a man’s wife. So covering one’s garment may possibly be a figure of speech referring to marriage. However, there are no other apparent examples of the use of this idiom in Biblical Hebrew. For example:
I hate divorce…I hate it when one of you does such a cruel thing to his wife. (GNT) (BSB, GNT, NLT, REB, CEV)
It refers to cruel actions which affect or indicate a person’s own character. These actions might not be limited to divorce. For example:
I hate divorce…and the one who is guilty of violence. (NET) (NIV, NET, GW, NCV, NJPS)
It means to do violent or cruel actions and conceal them in some way. The garment would be a symbol for concealment. For example:
For I hate divorce…and people concealing their cruelty under a cloak. (NJB) (NJB, KJV)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). In many languages the figure of a garment may be confusing. If that is true in your language, it may be best to drop the figure and translate the meaning directly. See GNT example under option (1).

2:16d

says the LORD of Hosts.

These are the words of Yahweh Sabaot.
Yahweh Sabaot has spoken.
This is what Yahweh Sabaot says to you^(plur).

the LORD of Hosts: See the note on 1:4d, 1:6e and 2:12b.

2:16e

So guard yourselves in your spirit

“Therefore watch yourselves^(plur).
“Therefore, be careful how you^(plur) behave.

So guard yourselves in your spirit: The Hebrew expression which the BSB translates as So guard yourselves in your spirit is identical to the one used in 2:15e.

2:16f

and do not break faith.

and do not fail to keep your^(plur) promise to be faithful/loyal to your^(plur) wife.”

and do not break faith: The Hebrew word which the BSB translates as break faith is the same one which was used in 2:15f. The meaning of these verse parts is also the same, though 2:16f does not explicitly mention “the wife of your youth.”

General Comments on 2:16a–f

Scholars do not agree about where the LORD’s direct words end. There are two main possibilities:

The LORD’s words continue to the end of the verse. (GNT, RSV, NET, NLT, NASB, GW)
The LORD’s words end at 2:16c and the words in 2:16e–f are the words of Malachi. (BSB, NIV, NCV)

In some English versions the punctuation system leaves this ambiguous (NJB, REB, CEV, NJPS).

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

Although parts of this section are difficult to understand, the main message is clear. The message is that divorce is an act of unfaithfulness, another example of breaking a covenant.

This statement in 2:16e–f summarizes the theme of the section, and of the whole book, again. It gives a warning to those who fail to keep a commitment. This summary marks the end of this section.

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

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 2:16

Hebrew word order