MAL 2:10 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Don’t we all have one father? Didn’t the one God create us all? So why do we cheat each other, thus disrespecting the agreement with our ancestors?

Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative, blue:Elohim.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Οὐχὶ πατὴρ εἷς πάντων ὑμῶν; οὐχὶ Θεὸς εἷς ἔκτισεν ὑμᾶς; τί ὅτι ἐγκατελίπετε ἕκαστος τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, τοῦ βεβηλῶσαι τὴν διαθήκην τῶν πατέρων ὑμῶν;
(Ouⱪi pataʸr heis pantōn humōn; ouⱪi Theos heis ektisen humas; ti hoti egkatelipete hekastos ton adelfon autou, tou bebaʸlōsai taʸn diathaʸkaʸn tōn paterōn humōn; )

BrTr Have ye not all one father? Did not one God create you? why have ye forsaken every man his brother, to profane the covenant of your fathers?

ULT Is not one father to all of us? Did not one God create us? Why do we deal treacherously, a man against his brother, to profane the covenant of our fathers?

UST In a sense, we all have the same father, since the same God created each of us. So we should not break our promises to each other. If we do, we dishonor the agreement God made with our ancestors.

OEB Don’t we have all one father? Didn’t one God created us? Why do we deal faithlessly with one another, profaning the covenant of our ancestors?

WEBBE Don’t we all have one father? Hasn’t one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Do we not all have one father? Did not one God create us? Why do we betray one another, in this way making light of the covenant of our ancestors?

LSV Have we not all one Father? Has not our God created us? Why do we deal treacherously,
Each against his brother,
To defile the covenant of our fathers?

FBV Don't we all have one Father? Didn't one God create us? So why are we unfaithful to each other, violating the agreement made by our forefathers?

T4T Now I will warn you about something else. We all certainly [RHQ] have the same heavenly Father. We are certainly [RHQ] all created by the same God. So why are [RHQ] some of you disobeying/despising the agreement that Yahweh made with our ancestors, by not doing for each other what you said that you would do?

LEB ¶ _⌊Do we not all have_⌋[fn] one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we unfaithful _⌊to one another_⌋,[fn] profaning the covenant of our ancestors?[fn]

2:10 Literally “Is for all of us not”

2:10 Literally “each man to his brother”

2:10 Or “fathers”

BBE Have we not all one father? has not one God made us? why are we, every one of us, acting falsely to his brother, putting shame on the agreement of our fathers?

Moff Have we not all one Father? Has not one God made us? Then why do we break faith with one another, every man with his fellow, by dishonouring our time-honoured troth?

JPS Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

ASV Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

DRA Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why then doth every one of us despise his brother, violating the covenant of our fathers?

YLT Have we not all one father? Hath not our God prepared us? Wherefore do we deal treacherously, Each against his brother, To pollute the covenant of our fathers?

Drby Have we not all one father? Hath not one [fn]God created us? Why do we deal unfaithfully every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

2.10 El

RV Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
(Have we not all one father? hath/has not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers? )

SLT Is there not one father to us all? is there not one God creating us? wherefore shall we deal faithlessly each against his brother, to profane the covenant of our fathers?

Wbstr Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

KJB-1769 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
(Have we not all one father? hath/has not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? )

KJB-1611 Haue we not all one father? hath not one God created vs? Why doe we deale treacherously euery man against his brother, by prophaning the couenant of our fathers?
(Have we not all one father? hath/has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by prophaning the covenant of our fathers?)

Bshps Haue we not all one father? hath not God made vs al? why then is euery one deceaued of his brother, to violate the couenaunt of our fathers?
(Have we not all one father? hath/has not God made us al? why then is every one deceived of his brother, to violate the covenant of our fathers?)

Gnva Haue we not all one father? hath not one God made vs? why doe we transgresse euery one against his brother, and breake the couenant of our fathers?
(Have we not all one father? hath/has not one God made us? why do we transgress every one against his brother, and break the covenant of our fathers? )

Cvdl Haue we not all one father? Hath not one God made vs? why doth euery one off vs then despyse his owne brother, and so breake the couenaunt of oure fathers?
(Have we not all one father? Hath not one God made us? why doth/does every one off us then despise his own brother, and so break the covenant of our fathers?)

Wycl Whether not o fadir is of alle you? whether o God made not of nouyt you? Whi therfor ech of you dispisith his brother, and defoulith the couenaunt of youre fadris?
(Whether not o father is of all you? whether o God made not of naught/nothing you? Why therefore each of you despiseth/despises his brother, and defileth/defiles the covenant of your(pl) fathers?)

Luth Denn haben wir nicht alle einen Vater? Hat uns nicht ein GOtt geschaffen? Warum verachten wir denn einer den andern und entheiligen den Bund, mit unsern Vätern gemacht?
(Because have we/us not all a father? Hat us/to_us/ourselves not a God created/made? Why despise/scorn we/us because/than one/a the change and profane the federation/agreement, with ours fathers made?)

ClVg Numquid non pater unus omnium nostrum? numquid non Deus unus creavit nos? quare ergo despicit unusquisque nostrum fratrem suum, violans pactum patrum nostrorum?
(Is_it not/no father one of_all our? is_it not/no God one created us? why therefore looks_down each_one/everybody our brother his_own, violans agreement of_the_fathers of_ours? )

SOTN 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.

2:10

As stated in the introduction to this section, in this verse and those following, it is the prophet himself who was speaking. The content of 2:10 makes this clear.

However there is no marker in Hebrew to indicate that it is no longer the LORD who was speaking (1:2–2:9) but Malachi. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit in some way. There are at least three possibilities:

Indicate it in the section heading, as the section heading in these Notes has done:
Malachi rebuked the people of Israel because they had been unfaithful to the LORD.
Use a footnote to explain that 2:10–15 are the words of Malachi.
Make it explicit in the text. For example, you could begin 2:10 with a phrase like:
These are the words of Malachi:
I, Malachi, ask you:
Malachi said:

Use the option which is most appropriate in your language.

2:10a

Do we not all have one Father?

¶ Do we^(incl) not all have one father?
¶ We^(incl) the people of Israel all have one father, do we^(incl) not?
¶ You^(plur) know that we^(incl) all have one father, Yahweh,

Do we not all have one Father?: Here we refers to the people of Israel, not to human beings in general.Baldwin (1972), page 237; Merrill (1994), page 414; Redditt (1995), page 170. Malachi identified himself with the rest of the people of Israel when he used the pronoun we here.

This is the first rhetorical question which Malachi himself used. He wanted to emphasize what he was saying by asserting something that his hearers all knew to be true. The question expects the answer “yes.” If you do not use rhetorical questions like this in your language, you can reword it as a strong positive statement. Here is one example:

You know that we all have one Father.

one Father: This refers to God.Some commentators argue that “one father” may refer to Abraham (Baldwin 1972, page 237), or Jacob, or even to Levi. The evidence for interpreting the reference to be to God is, however, convincing:(a) God has already been referred to as “father” in 1:6.(b) “father” is parallel with “God” in the parallelism:have we not all one father?has not one God created us?This is also consistent with other Scriptures where the parallel ideas of God as Father and Creator are found (Deuteronomy 32:6). See further the discussion in Keil and Delitzsch (1950), page 448, and Merrill (1994), page 414, also Redditt (1995), page 170. The CEV makes this explicit:

Don’t you know that we all have God as our Father? (CEV)

2:10b

Did not one God create us?

Did not one God create us?^(incl)
The same God created us^(incl) all, did he not?
and you^(plur) know that the same God, Yahweh, created us^(incl) all.

Did not one God create us?: This is Malachi’s second rhetorical question and again it expects the answer “yes.” One way to express this as a positive statement would be:

You know that the same God created us.

General Comment on 2:10a–b

Notice that 2:10a and 2:10b say almost the same thing. The ideas are also arranged in a special pattern called a “chiasm.”

Do we not all have one Father?

Did not one God create us?

The parallelism and the chiasm indicate that these verse parts express an important idea in the text.

2:10c–d

Scholars interpret the connection between 2:10c and 2:10d in at least three ways:

The statement in 2:10d explains the result of the people’s unfaithfulness to each other in 2:10c. They were unfaithful to each other, and, as a result, they profaned the covenant. For example:
Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers? (NASB) (BSB, NIV, NET, NASB)
The statements in 2:10c and 2:10d are two different ways that the people were displeasing God. For example:
Then why do we break our promises to one another, and why do we despise the covenant that God made with our ancestors? (GNT) (GNT, GW, NCV)
The statement in 2:10d indicates the way that the people had been unfaithful. They had been unfaithful by profaning the covenant. For example:
Then why do you cheat each other by breaking the agreement God made with your ancestors? (CEV) (CEV, KJV, REB)

Some English versions are ambiguous about the connection. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

See also the general comment on 2:10c–d for a reordering suggestion.

2:10c

Why then do we break faith with one another

Then why do we^(incl) betray one another,
But we^(incl) still are unfaithful to each other,

Why then do we break faith with one another…?: That is, why do we (the people of Israel) not keep our commitments and promises to one another? This rhetorical question introduces the following verses, which describe ways that the people of Israel had been unfaithful to God’s commands. They had also been unfaithful to each other, especially in breaking their marriage vows.

then: The BSB has included the word then to show the relationship between 2:10c and the preceding questions in 2:10a–b. Those questions imply that the people should have been united because God was the father and creator of all of them. However 2:10c states that instead they were unfaithful to each other. Malachi did not expect them to act that way.

In some languages it may be necessary to make the expectation explicit. Languages have different ways to show that something was different from what the speaker expected. Here are some possibilities for translation:

Use a connector which implies this. For example:
So why do people break their promises to each other…? (NCV)
Refer to the preceding question to show the connection. For example:
Since that is true, why are we unfaithful to each other?
Make Malachi’s expectation explicit. For example:
Because of this, you should have been faithful to each other. Why have you been unfaithful instead…?

Use the option which is most appropriate in your language.

break faith: The Hebrew word bagad which the BSB translates as break faith is the key word in this section. See the discussion at the beginning of Section 2:10–16. This word describes the way the people of Israel behaved in all their relationships:

they broke their promises to each other (2:10),
they broke their promises to their wives (2:14–15) and
they broke their covenant with God himself (2:11).

2:10d

so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?

and so break the covenant that Yahweh made with our^(incl) ancestors?
and as a result, we^(incl) violate/disobey/disregard the covenant which Yahweh made with our^(incl) ancestors?
and by this unfaithfulness, we^(incl) break the covenant that Yahweh made with our^(incl) ancestors!

so as to profane the covenant of our fathers: This statement explains the result of 2:10c. When the people were unfaithful to each other, they profaned the covenant.

profane: That is, disregard/disobey/violate.

the covenant of our fathers: This refers to the covenant which God made with the ancestors of the people of Israel. It may be necessary to make this explicit in some translations. This has been done in 2:10d in the Display.

General Comment on 2:10c–d

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of these verse parts. Notice that it may be necessary then to use a different connector between 2:10c and 2:10d. For example:

^10dWhy do we profane the covenant of our fathers ^10cby breaking faith with one another? (NIV)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

הֲ⁠ל֨וֹא אָ֤ב אֶחָד֙ לְ⁠כֻלָּ֔⁠נוּ הֲ⁠ל֛וֹא אֵ֥ל אֶֽחָ֖ד בְּרָאָ֑⁠נוּ

am=not father one(ms) [belong]_to,all_of,of_us am=not god one did,he_create_us

Malachi is using the question form for emphasis. If a speaker of your language would not use the question form for that purpose, you could translate these questions as statements or as exclamations. Alternate translation: [We all have one father; one God created us!]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

הֲ⁠ל֨וֹא אָ֤ב אֶחָד֙ לְ⁠כֻלָּ֔⁠נוּ הֲ⁠ל֛וֹא אֵ֥ל אֶֽחָ֖ד בְּרָאָ֑⁠נוּ

am=not father one(ms) [belong]_to,all_of,of_us am=not god one did,he_create_us

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. If it would be clearer in your language, you could combine them. However, since the first uses an image and the second explains the image, you might keep both phrases in your translation and show how the second explains the first. Alternate translation: [The same God created all of us. And so it is as if we all had the same father]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

מַדּ֗וּעַ נִבְגַּד֙ אִ֣ישׁ בְּ⁠אָחִ֔י⁠ו לְ⁠חַלֵּ֖ל בְּרִ֥ית אֲבֹתֵֽי⁠נוּ

why faithless (a)_man with,his_of,brother to,profane covenant_of our_ancestors_of,of

Malachi is using the question form for emphasis. If a speaker of your language would not use the question form for that purpose, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: [We should not deal treacherously, a man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers!]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

אִ֣ישׁ בְּ⁠אָחִ֔י⁠ו

(a)_man with,his_of,brother

This is an expression that people of this culture would commonly use to mean that people were acting against others of their own community. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [people against others of their own community]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

אֲבֹתֵֽי⁠נוּ

our_ancestors_of,of

Malachi is speaking of the ancestors of the Israelites as if they were the fathers of the current generation. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [our forefathers]

Parallel MAL 2:10