15 And He did not make one `only', And He hath the remnant of the Spirit. And what `is' the one `alone'! He is seeking a godly seed. And ye have been watchful over your spirit, And with the wife of thy youth, None doth deal treacherously.
And he answering said to them, `Did ye not read, that He who made `them', from the beginning a male and a female made them, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall be -- the two -- for one flesh? so that they are no more two, but one flesh; what therefore God did join together, let no man put asunder.'
for the unbelieving husband hath been sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife hath been sanctified in the husband; otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.
And God prepareth the man in His image; in the image of God He prepared him, a male and a female He prepared them.
For all the while my breath `is' in me, And the spirit of God in my nostrils.
And Jehovah God formeth the man -- dust from the ground, and breatheth into his nostrils breath of life, and the man becometh a living creature.
but from the beginning of the creation, a male and a female God did make them; on this account shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be -- the two -- for one flesh; so that they are no more two, but one flesh;
and this having said, he breathed on `them', and saith to them, `Receive the Holy Spirit;
`Ye are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant that God made unto our fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall be blessed all the families of the earth;
And the fathers! provoke not your children, but nourish them in the instruction and admonition of the Lord.
his own house leading well, having children in subjection with all gravity, (and if any one his own house `how' to lead hath not known, how an assembly of God shall he take care of?)
if any one is blameless, of one wife a husband, having children stedfast, not under accusation of riotous living or insubordinate --
and each one is tempted, by his own desires being led away and enticed, afterward the desire having conceived, doth give birth to sin, and the sin having been perfected, doth bring forth death.
and I cause thee to swear by Jehovah, God of the heavens, and God of the earth, that thou dost not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanite, in the midst of whom I am dwelling; but unto my land and unto my kindred dost thou go, and hast taken a wife for my son, for Isaac.' And the servant saith unto him, `It may be the woman is not willing to come after me unto this land; do I at all cause thy son to turn back unto the land from whence thou camest out?' And Abraham saith unto him, `Take heed to thyself, lest thou cause my son to turn back thither; Jehovah, God of the heavens, who hath taken me from the house of my father, and from the land of my birth, and who hath spoken to me, and who hath sworn to me, saying, To thy seed I give this land, He doth send His messenger before thee, and thou hast taken a wife for my son from thence;
and she hath said unto me, Both drink thou, and also for thy camels I draw -- she is the woman whom Jehovah hath decided for my lord's son.
And Rebekah saith unto Isaac, `I have been disgusted with my life because of the presence of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these -- from the daughters of the land -- why do I live?'
rise, go to Padan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel, thy mother's father, and take for thyself from thence a wife, of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother; and God Almighty doth bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and thou hast become an assembly of peoples; and He doth give to thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee, to cause thee to possess the land of thy sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.'
and unto me are gathered every one trembling at the words of the God of Israel, because of the trespass of the removal, and I am sitting astonished till the present of the evening.
And of their sons, half are speaking Ashdoditish -- and are not knowing to speak Jewish -- and according to the language of people and people.
And the man calleth names to all the cattle, and to fowl of the heavens, and to every beast of the field; and to man hath not been found an helper -- as his counterpart. And Jehovah God causeth a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he sleepeth, and He taketh one of his ribs, and closeth up flesh in its stead. And Jehovah God buildeth up the rib which He hath taken out of the man into a woman, and bringeth her in unto the man; and the man saith, `This `is' the `proper' step! bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh!' for this it is called Woman, for from a man hath this been taken; therefore doth a man leave his father and his mother, and hath cleaved unto his wife, and they have become one flesh.
Desire not her beauty in thy heart, And let her not take thee with her eyelids.
Let not thy heart turn unto her ways, Do not wander in her paths,
And I planted thee a choice vine, wholly a true seed, And how hast thou been turned to Me, To the degenerate shoots of a strange vine?
and the number of the sons of Israel hath been as the sand of the sea, that is not measured nor numbered, and it hath come to pass in the place where it is said to them, Ye `are' not My people, it is said to them, Sons of the Living God;
but I -- I say to you, that every one who is looking on a woman to desire her, did already commit adultery with her in his heart. `But, if thy right eye doth cause thee to stumble, pluck it out and cast from thee, for it is good to thee that one of thy members may perish, and not thy whole body be cast to gehenna.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Malachi 2
Commentary on Malachi 2 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 2
There are two great ordinances which divine wisdom has instituted, the wretched profanation of both of which is complained of and sharply reproved in this chapter.
Mal 2:1-9
What was said in the foregoing chapter was directed to the priests (ch. 1:6): Thus saith the Lord of hosts to you, O priests! that despise my name. But the crimes there charged upon them they were guilty of as sacrificers, and for those they might think it some excuse that they offered what the people brought, and therefore that, if they were not so good as they should be, it was not their fault, but the people's; and therefore here the corruptions there complained of are traced to the source and spring of them-the faults the priests were guilty of as teachers of the people, as expositors of the law and the lively oracles; and this is a part of their office which still remains in the hands of gospel-ministers (who are appointed to be pastors and teachers, like the priests under the law, though not sacrificers, like them), and therefore by them the admonition here is to be particularly regarded. If the priests had given the people better instructions, the people would have brought better offerings; and therefore the blame returns upon the priests: "And now, O you priests! this commandment is purely for you (v. 1), who should have taught the people the good knowledge of the Lord, and how to worship him aright.' Note, The governors of the churches are under God's government, and to him they are accountable. Even for those who command God has commandments. Nay (v. 4), you shall know that I have sent these commandments for you. They should know it either,
Let us now see what this commandment is which is for the priests, which, they must know, was sent to them; and let us put into method the particulars of the charge.
Mal 2:10-17
Corrupt practices are the genuine fruit and product of corrupt principles; and the badness of men's hearts and lives is owing to some loose atheistical notions which they have got and which they govern themselves by. Now, in these verses, we have an instance of this; we here find men dealing falsely with one another, and it is because they think falsely of their God. Observe,