Malachi 2:10-12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Marriage and Divorce
10 [a](A)Have we not all one father?
Has not one God created us?
Why, then, do we break faith with each other,
profaning the covenant of our ancestors?
11 (B)Judah has broken faith; an abominable thing
has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem.
Judah has profaned the Lord’s holy place, which he loves,
and has married a daughter of a foreign god.[b]
12 May the Lord cut off from the man who does this
both witness and advocate from the tents of Jacob,
and anyone to bring an offering to the Lord of hosts!
Footnotes
- 2:10–16 Intermarriage of Israelites with foreigners was forbidden according to Dt 7:1–4. After the exile, attempts were made to enforce this law (Ezr 9–10). Foreign marriages are here portrayed as a covenantal violation (v. 10). They were all the more reprehensible when they were accompanied by the divorce of Israelite wives (vv. 14–16), and God finds their sacrifices unacceptable (vv. 13–14). In Mk 10:2–12, Jesus forbids divorce; in Mt 19:3–12, this ideal is maintained with the provision that unlawful marriage may be grounds for divorce (see 1 Cor 7:10–16). You should be on guard, then, for your life: a warning of punishment for failure to obey God (cf. Dt 4:9; Jos 23:11; Jer 17:21).
- 2:11 Daughter of a foreign god: this unusual phrase connotes a woman who does not share the same father/creator (v. 10), since she does not share the same covenant.
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