Malakias 2

1 Og nu udgår følgende Påbud til eder, I Præster;

‘Now, you priests, this command is for you.

2 Hvie I ikke adlyder og lægger eder på Sinde at holde mit Navn i Ære, siger Hærskarers HERRE, så sender jeg Forbandelse over eder og vender eders Velsignelse til Forbandelse, ja til Forbandelse, fordi I ikke lægger eder det på Sinde.

If you will not hear, and if you do not take it to heart, to give glory to my name,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘Then I will lay a curse on you. I will turn your blessings into curses. Indeed I have already done so, because you pay no attention.

3 Se, jeg afhugger Armen på eder og kaster Skarn i Ansigtet på eder, Skarnet fra eders Højtider, og eders Ofre oven i Købet;

I will punish your descendants! I will spread offal upon your faces, even the offal of your pilgrim feasts, you will be discarded.

4 og I skal kende, at jeg har sendt eder dette Påbud, fordi jeg har en Pagt med Levi, siger Hærskarers HERRE.

You will then know that I have sent this command to you, so that my covenant with Levi may be preserved,’ says the Lord of hosts.

5 Min Pagt med ham var, at jeg skulde give ham Liv og Fred, og han skulde frygte mig og bæve for mit Navn;

‘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.

6 Sandheds Lære var i hans Mund, Svig fandtes ikke på hans Læber; i Fred og Sanddruhbed vandrede han med mig, og mange holdt han fra Brøde.

The true instruction was in his mouth, and injustice was not found in his lips; He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many away from iniquity.

7 Thi Præstens Læber vogter på Kundskab, og Vejledning søger man af hans Mund; thi han er Hærskarers HERREs Sendebud.

For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

8 Men I veg bort fra Vejen; mange har I bragt til Fald ved eders Vejledning, Levis Pagt har I ødelagt, siger Hærskarers HERRE.

‘But you have turned aside from that way. You have caused many to stumble in the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,’ says the Lord of hosts.

9 Derfor har jeg også gjort eder ringeagtede og oversete af alt Folket, fordi I ikke tager Vare på mine Veje eller bryder eder om Loven.

‘So I have I made you contemptible and degraded before all the people, because you have not kept my ways, and have had no respect for me in imparting the law.’

10 Har vi ikke alle en og samme Fader, er det ikke en og samme Gud, som bar skabt os? Hvorfor er vi da troløse mod hverandre, så vi vanhelliger vore Fædres Pagt?

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?

11 Juda er troløst, og Vederstyggelighed øves i Israel og Jerusalem; thi Juda vanhelliger den Helligdom, HERREN elsker, og tager en fremmed Guds Datter til Ægte.

Judah is treacherous, and abominations are committed in Israel and in Jerusalem because Judah has profaned the holy things loved by the Lord, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.

12 HERREN unddrage den Mand. som gør sligt, en til at våge og svare i Jakobs Telte og en til at frembære Offergave for Hærskarers HERRE!

May the Lord banish from the community of Jacob anyone who does this, anyone awaking, testifying, and making an offering to the Lord of hosts.

13 Og for det andet gør l dette: I hyller HERRENs Alter i Tårer, Gråd og Klage, så han ikke mere vender sig til Offergaven eller med Glæde modtager Gaver af eders Hånd.

And you also do this: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, because he doesn’t accept the offering any more, doesn’t accept it from your hand.

14 Og I spørger: "Hvorfor?" Fordi HERREN var Vidne mellem dig og din Ungdomshustru, mod hvem du har været troløs, skønt hun hører til dit Folk og deler din Tro.

Yet you ask, ‘Why?’ Because the Lord is testifying against you on behalf of the wife you married when you were young. You have been unfaithful to her, even though she is your companion, and your legal wife.

15 Således gør ingen, så længe der er Ånd i ham. Hvorledes har det sig med ham? Han ønsker Afkom for Gud. Så tag Vare på eders Ånd, og ingen være troløs imod sin Ungdomshustru!

Did not the one God make everyone, so that all both flesh and spirit is his? And what does that one God seek but godly children? Therefore keep watch over your spirit, and let none of you deal faithlessly with the wife of your youth.

16 Thi jeg hader Skilsmisse, siger HERREN, Israels Gud, og at man hyller sin Klædning i Uret, siger Hærskarers HERRE. Så tag eder i Vare for eders Ånds Skyld og vær ikke troløse!

‘A man who divorces or puts away his wife,’ says Lord, the God of Israel, ‘overwhelms her with cruelty.’ The Lord of hosts says: ‘Keep watch over your spirit, do not be unfaithful.’

17 I trætter HERREN med eders Ord. Og I spørger: "Hvorved trætter vi?" Ved at sige: "Enhver som gør ondt, er god i HERRENs Øjne; i dem har han Behag; hvor er ellers Dommens Gud?"

You have wearied the Lord with your words. You ask, ‘How have we wearied him?’ By saying, ‘Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.’ Or, ‘Where is the God of justice?’