MAL 2:5 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) “My agreement with your ancestor Levi was to give life and peace, and I gave them to them. It was an agreement based on respect, and they respected me and honoured my name.[ref]

Key: khaki:verbs.
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 Ἡ διαθήκη μου ἦν μετʼ αὐτοῦ τῆς ζωῆς καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης, καὶ ἔδωκα αὐτῷ ἐν φόβῳ φοβεῖσθαί με, καὶ ἀπὸ προσώπου ὀνόματός μου στέλλεσθαι αὐτόν·
(Haʸ diathaʸkaʸ mou aʸn metʼ autou taʸs zōaʸs kai taʸs eiraʸnaʸs, kai edōka autōi en fobōi fobeisthai me, kai apo prosōpou onomatos mou stellesthai auton; )

BrTr My covenant of life and peace was with him, and I gave [fn]it him that he might reverently fear me, and that he might [fn]be awe-struck at my name.

2:5 Or, power, or, charge to fear me, etc.

2:5 See 2 Cor. 8. 20.

ULT “My covenant was with him, life and peace, and I gave them to him for fear, and he feared me, and before my name he was dismayed.

UST “I made a peaceful and life-giving agreement with them because they revered me, and they revered me greatly.

OEB ‘My covenant with him was to give life and peace. I gave them to him so that he might revere me. He revered me, and stood in awe of my name.

WEBBE “My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him that he might be reverent towards me; and he was reverent towards me, and stood in awe of my name.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET “My covenant with him was designed to bring life and peace. I gave its statutes to him to fill him with awe, and he indeed revered me and stood in awe before me.

LSV “My covenant has been of life and of peace with him,
And I make them a fear to him, and he fears Me,
And because of My Name he has been frightened.

FBV My agreement with him was one of life and peace, which I gave to him, and respect—he respected me. He stood in awe of me.

T4T My agreement with your ancestor Levi was because I wanted the priests to live prosperously and peacefully. And that is what I have done for them. I required that they greatly respect me and revere [DOU] me.

LEB “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. This required reverence, and he revered[fn] me and stood in awe _⌊before_⌋[fn] my name.

2:5 Or “feared”

2:5 Literally “from the face of”

BBE My agreement with him was on my side life and peace, and I gave them to him; on his side fear, and he had fear of me and gave honour to my name.

Moff my compact was with him, life and peace I gave him, ay and reverence--he did revere me, he did stand in awe of me.

JPS My covenant was with him of life and peace, and I gave them to him, and of fear, and he feared Me, and was afraid of My name.

ASV My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him that he might fear; and he feared me, and stood in awe of my name.

DRA My covenant was with him of life and peace: and I gave him fear: and he feared me, and he was afraid before my name.

YLT My covenant hath been with him of life and of peace, And I make them to him a fear, and he doth fear Me, And because of My name he hath been affrighted.

Drby My covenant with him was of life and peace, and I gave them to him that he might fear; and he feared me, and trembled before my name.

RV My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him that he might fear, and he feared me, and stood in awe of my name.

SLT My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I will give them to him fearing, and he shall fear me, and from the face of my name he was terrified.

Wbstr My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear with which he feared me, and was afraid before my name.

KJB-1769 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.

KJB-1611 My couenant was with him of life and peace, and I gaue them to him, for the feare, wherewith he feared mee, and was afraid before my name.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps My couenaunt was with him, of lyfe and peace, and I gaue them him for the feare wherwith he feared me and was afrayde before my name.
(My covenant was with him, of life and peace, and I gave them him for the fear wherewith he feared me and was afraid before my name.)

Gnva My couenant was with him of life and peace, and I gaue him feare, and he feared mee, and was afraid before my Name.
(My covenant was with him of life and peace, and I gave him fear, and he feared me, and was afraid before my Name. )

Cvdl I made a couenaunt of life and peace wt him: this I gaue him, that he might stonde in awe of me: and so he dyd feare me, ad had my name in reuerence.
(I made a covenant of life and peace with him: this I gave him, that he might stand in awe of me: and so he did fear me, and had my name in reverence.)

Wycl My couenaunt was with hym of lijf and pees; and Y yaf to hym a drede, and he dredde me, and he dredde of face of my name.
(My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave to him a dread, and he dreaded me, and he dreaded of face of my name.)

Luth Denn mein Bund war mit ihm zum Leben und Frieden; und ich gab ihm die Furcht, daß er mich fürchtete und meinen Namen scheuete.
(Because my federation/agreement what/which with him for_the life and peace; and I gave him the fear(n), that he me feared and my name(s) shye.)

ClVg Pactum meum fuit cum eo vitæ et pacis: et dedi ei timorem, et timuit me, et a facie nominis mei pavebat.
(Pactum mine it_was when/with by_him of_life and of_peace: and I_gave to_him fear, and was_afraid me, and from face of_the_name my/mine pavebat. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:6–2:9: The LORD rebuked the priests

Paragraph 2:5–7

The Hebrew text uses singular pronouns in 2:5–7 which refer back to Levi. However the reference here is not to Levi himself. It refers to his descendants, the priests of earlier days, who obeyed the LORD. GNT uses the plural form in this paragraph and in the following verses to indicate that the verses refer to more than one person. Similarly, the NCV translates this reference to Levi in 2:5 as:

My agreement for priests was with the tribe of Levi. (NCV)

You should consider if you should do the same in your translation. Make sure that you are consistent in your use of singular or plural pronouns in this section.

2:5a

“My covenant with him was one of life and peace,

¶ “The covenant that I made with Levi was to give him and his descendants life and well-being
¶ Yahweh also says: “Long ago when I made that covenant with the descendants of Levi, I promised them that I would give them peace/well-being

one of life and peace: That is, a covenant through which Levi’s descendants would receive life and live in peace/security.

peace: The Hebrew word shalom which the BSB translates as peace means much more than the English word “peace.” It can refer to the state of blessing that results from someone living according to the LORD’s will. This peace included feeling well and whole. See also 2:6c.

2:5b

which I gave to him;

and I gave that to him and his descendants,
and I did as I had promised them,

which I gave to him: That is, I did as I had promised him.

which: That is, life and peace.

him: That is, Levi (and his descendants).

2:5c

it called for reverence,

so that he might revere me.
I did this so that they might revere/honor me.

it called for reverence: Scholars disagree about the way this clause relates to 2:5b. There are at least three views:

It expresses purpose. The LORD gave Levi and his descendants a covenant of life and peace so that they might respect the LORD. For example:
and this is what I gave them, so that they might respect me. (GNT) (GNT, RSV, NCV, NET, GW)
It expresses the covenant’s requirements. In other words, the LORD’s covenant of life and peace gave them the responsibility to revere the LORD and his covenant. For example:
This called for reverence from them. (NLT) (BSB, NIV, NLT, CEV, REB, NASB)
It expresses the type of covenant, just as “life and peace” do. In other words, it was a covenant of reverence towards him, as well as life and peace. For example:
My covenant was with him—a covenant of life and peace, and these were what I gave him—a covenant of respect… (NJB) (NJB, NJPS)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

reverence: The purpose of the covenant (2:5a) was to cause Levi and his descendants to respect and revere the LORD.

See the note on 1:6c–d. The same Hebrew word is translated as “reverence" here. If possible, use the same expression in both verses.

2:5d

and he revered Me

And he did revere me
Indeed, they did revere/honor me

he revered Me: The Hebrew verb which the BSB translates as revered is a different form of the same verb which was used in 2:5c. This repetition of the verb emphasizes it. In some languages it may be necessary to change the second expression in some way to make it natural. For example:

and of reverence, which he showed Me. (NJPS)

2:5e

and stood in awe of My name.

and respected my-name/me.

stood in awe of My name: That is, he respected/feared me greatly. Here again, the subject of the verb is singular, but it refers to both Levi and his descendants.

My name: In the Hebrew Bible, the phrase “the LORD’s name” or My name refers to God himself or his authority.Baldwin (1972), page 225; Merrill (1994), page 401. It was also used in this way in 1:6. See the note on 1:6f. GNT uses “me” instead of My name to make this clear.

General Comment on 2:5d–e

These two verse parts are parallel and have similar meanings:

he revered Me,

and stood in awe of My name.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

בְּרִיתִ֣⁠י ׀ הָיְתָ֣ה אִתּ֗⁠וֹ הַֽ⁠חַיִּים֙ וְ⁠הַ֨⁠שָּׁל֔וֹם

covenant_of,my she/it_was with=him/it the=life and,(the),well-being

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas of life and peace, you could express the same idea in another way. See the further discussion in the General Notes to this chapter. Alternate translation: [I made a covenant with him that made conditions peaceful and allowed people to live]

Note 2 topic: grammar-collectivenouns

הָיְתָ֣ה אִתּ֗⁠וֹ & ל֥⁠וֹ & וַ⁠יִּֽירָאֵ֑⁠נִי & נִחַ֥ת הֽוּא

she/it_was with=him/it & to=him/it & and,he,feared_me & stood_in_awe he/it

Since Yahweh is referring to a group of people, it might be more natural in your language to use the plural form. Alternate translation: [was with them … to them … and they feared me … they were dismayed]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

וַ⁠יִּֽירָאֵ֑⁠נִי וּ⁠מִ⁠פְּנֵ֥י שְׁמִ֖⁠י נִחַ֥ת הֽוּא

and,he,feared_me and,,of name_of,my stood_in_awe he/it

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. If it would be clearer in your language, you could combine them. Alternate translation: [and he had great reverence for me and my reputation]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

שְׁמִ֖⁠י

name_of,my

Yahweh is using one part of himself, his name, to mean all of himself. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [me]

Parallel MAL 2:5