Malachi 2:1 — Word Study
WLCוְעַתָּ֗ה אֲלֵיכֶ֛ם הַמִּצְוָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את הַכֹּהֲנִֽים׃
BSAAnd nowʻattâh [at this time, currently] thiszôʼth decreemitsvâh [commandment, law] is for youʼêl O priestskôhên [spiritual leaders, those who serve God]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֗ה | and now | Conjunction, adverb |
| אֲלֵיכֶ֛ם | [is] to you | Preposition, suffix |
| הַמִּצְוָ֥ה | the commandment | Particle, noun common feminine singular absolute |
| הַזֹּ֖את | this | Particle, particle |
| הַכֹּהֲנִֽים׃ | O priests | Particle, noun common masculine plural absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | “And now this decree is for you, O priests: |
| KJV | And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. |
| ASV | And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. |
| YLT | And now, to you [is] this charge, O priests, |
| WEB | “Now, you priests, this commandment is for you. |
| BBE | And now, O you priests, this order is for you. |
The translations agree on the key term הַמִּצְוָ֥ה — see How Translations Differ.
The sentence is straightforward, with a single main clause addressing the priests directly.







8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Malachi 2:1
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — God's Command to the Priestsgenerated
Malachi 2:1 presents a direct message from God to the priests, emphasizing the importance of their role in honoring His name. This verse serves as a prelude to a series of admonitions that follow, where God outlines the consequences of failing to uphold their responsibilities, as seen in the subsequent verses.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malachi 1:6 | “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ |
| 2 | Jeremiah 13:13 | then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land—the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the people of Jerusalem. |
| 3 | Lamentations 4:13 | But this was for the sins of her prophets and the guilt of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous in her midst. |
| 4 | Hosea 5:1 | “Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 4 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — הַמִּצְוָ֥ה, ha.mitz.Vahgenerated
The word מִצְוָה (mitzvah) refers to a commandment or law, indicating a directive that must be followed. It is derived from a root meaning to command, and it encompasses both divine and human commands. In this context, it highlights the seriousness of the priests' obligations to God.
As a feminine singular noun, it emphasizes a specific command that is currently applicable to the priests, marking it as significant in their spiritual duties.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The verse is rendered similarly across translations, with all versions choosing the commandment for הַמִּצְוָ֥ה.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of the verse centers around the finite verb implied in the command, with the main clause stating the decree directed at the priests. The phrase הַמִּצְוָ֥ה serves as the subject, while the rest of the sentence elaborates on the audience and context.
The Hebrew word order places emphasis on the commandment itself, making it clear that this is a direct and urgent message to the priests.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates הַמִּצְוָ֥ה as ἐντολὴ (entolē), which also means commandment. This choice reflects the same authoritative tone as the Hebrew, emphasizing the seriousness of the directive given to the priests.
The consistency in translation between the Hebrew and the Septuagint suggests a shared understanding of the priests' responsibilities across both texts.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Malachi 2:1 tells us that God is giving a commandment specifically to the priests. This commandment is important for their role in serving God and leading the people in worship. The following verses explain the consequences if they do not take this command seriously.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
The commandment requires the priests to honor God's name and fulfill their spiritual duties, as outlined in the subsequent verses.
The priests hold a unique position as spiritual leaders and are responsible for guiding the people in their relationship with God.
God warns that failure to honor His name will result in curses among the priests and their blessings.
This verse sets the tone for the book, highlighting the need for the priests to uphold their responsibilities and the seriousness of their role in God's covenant.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How can I better honor God in my own life, similar to the call given to the priests?
- What responsibilities do I have in my community that align with serving God?
- In what ways can I ensure that I am taking God's commandments to heart?
- How does understanding the role of the priests help me in my personal faith journey?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Early Church Fathers reference this verse to discuss the responsibilities of the priesthood and the seriousness of their role in serving God.
In which place, dearest brother, we must consider, for the sake of the faith and the religion of the sacerdotal office which we discharge, whether the account can be satisfactory in the day of judgment for a priest of God, who maintains,Early Church Fathers on Malachi 2 →
Woe to the deceitful one who has a male in his flock and makes a vow, sacrificing something weak to the Lord. For I am a great king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is feared among the nations.Early Church Fathers on Malachi 2 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Malachi 2:1 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd now, O ye priests,.... That despised and profaned the name of the Lord; that suffered such corrupt and illegal sacrifices to be brought and offered up: this commandment [is] for you: of giving
Read John Gill on Malachi 2 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
Read Robert Jamieson on Malachi 2 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleMALACHI CHAPTER 2 The priests are sharply reproved for profaning the covenant which was given them, ; and the people for marrying strange wives, , and treacherously putting away their former ones, ; and for impiety, . This commandment; either this which he had already minded them of about the sacrifices, what ought to be offered and what refused; if the people brought defective sheep or oxen, they who were priests ought not to have admitted, they ought not to have offered them upon God’ s altar: or this commandment he now brings from God to them, and which is contained in this chapter. Is for you; by especial direction it is sent to you, and look to it that you obey it.
Read Matthew Poole on Malachi 2 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsMalachi 2:1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment [is] for you.Ver. 1. And now, O ye priests, &c.] Now, that is, Now again, I must have the other bout with you, besides what I had, Malachi 1:6-11, for as once from the prophets, so now from the priests, in Jerusalem profaneness is gone forth into all the land, Jeremiah 23:15. Their white ephods covered many foul sins; and their evil example proved a public mischief. Hence the prophet is so round with them; for he knew that a wicked priest is the worst creature upon earth. Unsavoury salt is fit for no place; no, not for the dunghill. It is an old proverb, that hell is paved with the shaven crowns of evil priests. The word priest is never…
Read John Trapp on Malachi 2 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersII. (1-9) The decree against the priests.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Malachi 2 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleCHAPTER II The priests reproved for their unfaithfulness in their office, for which they are threatened to be deprived of their share of the sacrifice, (the shoulder,) and rewarded only with ignominy and ordure, 1-3. The degeneracy of the order is then complained of, and they are again threatened, 4-9. The rest of the chapter reproves the people for marrying strange and idolatrous women; and multiplying divorces, with all their consequent distress, in order to make way for such illicit alliances, 10-17. See Ne 10:30; Ne 13:27-30, &c. NOTES ON CHAP. II
Read AdamClarke on Malachi 2 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and CollegesCh. Malachi 2:1-9. Threatened Punishment of the Priests 1. O ye priests] The discourse turns again in direct appeal to the priests. The exact order of the words is emphatic: And now, for you is this commandment, O priests. this commandment] Some commentators would make “commandment” here mean purpose, or decree, and refer it to the punishment threatened in Malachi 2:2-4. There seems no reason, however, to depart here and in Malachi 2:4 from the usual meaning of the word. The passage (Malachi 2:2-4) is a commandment to reform, with threatened consequences if they disobey it.
Read Cambridge on Malachi 2 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleAnd now this is My commandment unto you - , not a commandment, which He gave them, but a commandment in regard to them.
Read Albert Barnes on Malachi 2 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
“And now this decree is for you, O priests:
“Now, you priests, this commandment is for you.
“And now this decree is for you, O priests:
“Now, you priests, this commandment is for you.
Tyndale line
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
And now, O ye Priests, this commandement is for you.
Strictly literal
And now, ye priests, this commandment is for you.
And now, to you [is] this charge, O priests,
“And now, to you [is] this charge, O priests,
And now, this commandment is for you, O ye priests.
Now you priests, this command is for you.
From the Latin
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is to you.
Simplified
Now this command is for you priests!
And now, O you priests, this order is for you.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree on the wording of this verse, with all five words matched in the Hebrew and Greek. This alignment indicates a strong consistency in the transmission of this commandment across different textual traditions.
וְעַתָּ֗ה אֲלֵיכֶ֛ם הַמִּצְוָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את הַכֹּהֲנִֽים׃
5 of the 5 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Malachi 2:1
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
עַתָּ֫ה (attah) is an adverb of time meaning 'now.' It can also function as a conjunction or expletive, indicating immediacy or a current moment. The word is derived from a related term, עַת (att), and is used in various contexts to denote the present time.
עַתָּ֫ה 435, עָ֑֫תָּה, adv. of time, now
base
H6258 עַתָּ֫ה, עָ֑֫תָּה of time, now
6258 `attah at-taw'
from 6256; at this time, whether adverb, conjunction or
expletive:--henceforth, now, straightway, this time, whereas.
see HEBREW for 06256
עַתָּ֫ה (at.tah) — now.
1) now
1a) now
1b) in phrases
Conj | Adv — Conjunction · adverbHC/D
The Hebrew word אֶל (el) is primarily a preposition indicating motion towards or direction to a person or place. It can also imply entering a limit, presence at a location, or a hostile direction (against). Additionally, it may express concepts such as concerning, in addition to, or according to. The entries highlight its versatility in both physical and metaphorical contexts.
אֶל (nearly always followed by Makkeph),
prep. denoting motion to or direction towards (whether physical or mental).of motion to or unto a person or place
Where the limit is actually entered, into
Of direction towards anything
Where the motion or direction implied appears from the context to be of a hostile character, אֶל = against
Unto sometimes acquires from the context the sense of in addition to
Metaph. in regard to, concerning, on account of
Of rule or standard according to (rare)
Expressing presence at a spot, against, at, by, not merely after verbs implying motion
Prefixed to other preps. it combines with them the idea of motion or direction to
base
H413 אֶל (nearly always followed by Makkeph), . of motion to or unto a person or place
. Where the limit is actually entered, into
. Of direction towards anything
. Where the motion or direction implied appears from the context to be of a hostile character, אֶל = against
. Unto sometimes acquires from the context the sense of in addition to
. Metaph. in regard to, concerning, on account of
. Of rule or standard according to (rare)
. Expressing presence at a spot, against, at, by, not merely after verbs implying motion
. Prefixed to other preps. it combines with them the idea of motion or direction to
413 'el ale
(but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el});
a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but
occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or
among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after,
against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and,
by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of,
over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether,
with(-in).
אֶל (el) — to(wards).
1) to, toward, unto (of motion)
2) into (limit is actually entered)
2a) in among
3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion)
4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character)
5) in addition to, to
6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of
7) according to (rule or standard)
8) at, by, against (of one's presence)
9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to)
Prep | Suff — Preposition · suffixHR/Sp2mp
מִצְוָה (mitsvah) means 'commandment' and can refer to commands from both humans and God. It encompasses laws, ordinances, and precepts, indicating a range of directives within religious and moral contexts. The term is derived from a root meaning to command, linking it to the broader framework of divine law.
מִצְוָה 181 n.f. commandment
base
H4687 מִצְוָה commandment
4687 mitsvah mits-vaw'
from 6680; a command, whether human or divine (collectively,
the Law):--(which was) commanded(-ment), law, ordinance,
precept.
see HEBREW for 06680
מִצְוָה (mits.vah) — commandment.
1) commandment
1a) commandment (of man)
1b) the commandment (of God)
1c) commandment (of code of wisdom)
Art | N-fs — Particle · noun common feminine singular absoluteHTd/Ncfsa
זֹאת (zot) is a demonstrative pronoun and adverb meaning 'this' or 'here.' It can stand alone or be used in apposition to a noun, often serving as a predicate. The word can also attach enclitically to interrogative pronouns to add emphasis. In poetry, it may function as a relative pronoun, though this is rare.
זֶה demonstr.pron. and adv.; fem. זֹאת, once זֹאתָה; this, here
standing alone
In appos. to subst.
More oft. as pred.
It is attached enclitically, almost as an adv., to certain words, esp. interrog. pronouns, to impart, in a manner often not reproducible in Engl. idiom, directness and force, bringing the question or statement made into close relation with the speaker.
In poetry, as a relative pron. (rare)
With prefixes (in special senses)
base
H2063 זֶה demonstr. pron. and adv.; fem. זֹאת, once זֹאתָה; this, here . standing alone
. In appos. to subst.
. More oft. as pred.
. It is attached enclitically, almost as an adv., to certain words, esp. interrog. pronouns, to impart, in a manner often not reproducible in Engl. idiom, directness and force, bringing the question or statement made into close relation with the speaker.
. In poetry, as a relative pron. (rare)
. With prefixes (in special senses)
2063 zo'th zothe'
irregular feminine of 2089; this (often used adverb):--
hereby (-in, -with), it, likewise, the one (other, same), she,
so (much), such (deed), that, therefore, these, this (thing),
thus.
see HEBREW for 02089
זֹאת (zot) — this.
1) this, this one, here, which, this...that, the one...the other, such
1a) (alone)
1a1) this one
1a2) this...that, the one...the other, another
1b) (appos to subst)
1b1) this
1c) (as predicate)
1c1) this, such
1d) (enclitically)
1d1) then
1d2) who, whom
1d3) how now, what now
1d4) what now
1d5) wherefore now
1d6) behold here
1d7) just now
1d8) now, now already
1e) (poetry)
1e1) wherein, which, those who
1f) (with prefixes)
1f1) in this (place) here, then
1f2) on these conditions, herewith, thus provided, by, through this, for this cause, in this matter
1f3) thus and thus
1f4) as follows, things such as these, accordingly, to that effect, in like manner, thus and thus
1f5) from here, hence, on one side...on the other side
1f6) on this account
1f7) in spite of this, which, whence, how
Art | Pron — Particle · particleHTd/Tm
כֹּהֵן (kohen) means 'priest' and is derived from the active participle of a related root. It encompasses various types of priests, including Levitical, Aaronic, and even pagan priests, as well as chief rulers or principal officers. The term is used in contexts referring to both Jewish and non-Jewish priestly roles.
כֹּהֵן 750 n.m. priest
base
H3548 כֹּהֵן priest
3548 kohen ko-hane'
active participle of 3547; literally, one officiating, a
priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a
layman):--chief ruler, X own, priest, prince, principal
officer.
see HEBREW for 03547
כֹּהֵן (ko.hen) — priest.
1) priest, principal officer or chief ruler
1a) priest-king (Melchizedek, Messiah)
1b) pagan priests
1c) priests of Jehovah
1d) Levitical priests
1e) Zadokite priests
1f) Aaronic priests
1g) the high priest
Aramaic equivalent: ka.hen (כָּהֵן "priest" H3549)
Art | N-mp — Particle · noun common masculine plural absoluteHTd/Ncmpa
