Until this point, the Assertion element of the dispute has concentrated on marriage to foreign wives. Only now does it become clear that this sin is all the worse because the men have divorced their Jewish wives in order to marry these foreign women. In most languages it will be good to start a new paragraph at verse 13, as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation do. See also the Additional Note on the structure of verses 13-16, which follows the comments on verse 16.

And this again you do: The sense of again is related to logic rather than time. The meaning is not “This is something you do a second time” or “This is what you do next,” but rather, as in Good News Translation, “This is another thing you do.” This refers forward to the description that follows. You is plural. The Hebrew verb translated do is the same verb as occurred in verses 11 (“committed”) and 12 (“does”), and provides a link in Hebrew, which is not obvious in Revised Standard Version. As stated in verse 14, what the people do is to divorce their original wives.

You cover the LORD’s altar with tears: Some scholars such as Petersen think that these words are to be understood as a reference to pagan rites, which involved weeping for a fertility god who “died” in winter and “revived” in spring. Most however take them as an exaggerated figurative description of insincere worship. The figurative interpretation seems best, because the majority of people did not have access to the altar, and in any case, cover the LORD’s altar with tears can only be an exaggeration for rhetorical effect. Good News Translation catches the sarcastic effect well with “You drown the LORD’s altar with tears” (similarly New English Bible/Revised English Bible). Other expressions are “You drench…” (Moffatt) and “You flood…” (New International Version, Contemporary English Version; similarly Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Another possibility is “You come to the LORD’s altar pouring out tears.” The LORD’s altar may be translated “the altar where you worship the LORD” (see 1.7).

With weeping and groaning: These words form a single construction with with tears. They are a little awkward grammatically in Hebrew, and so some translators have found it more natural to move them to the beginning of the sentence. For instance, New English Bible and Revised English Bible have “you weep and moan, and you drown/drowning…,” and Contemporary English Version has “You cry noisily and flood….” Other versions, however, link them with the clause that follows. Thus Good News Translation has “weeping and wailing because…” (similarly Moffatt, New International Version, Beck, New Living Translation).

Because he no longer regards the offering: In Hebrew the relationship of the second half of the verse with the first is ambiguous. A large majority of scholars and versions understand that the second half states the reason for the behavior described in the first half, and so they say because … (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). Others understand the sense to be that the people’s tears are not effective in gaining the LORD’s favor, so they translate “but he still refuses…” (New English Bible/Revised English Bible, Biblen: Det Gamle og Det Nye Testamente). Others again follow the Latin Vulgate in interpreting the second half of the verse to state the result of the behavior in the first half. Thus New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “so that He refuses to regard the oblation any more,” and New King James Version has “So He does not regard the offering anymore.” Some scholars such as Vuilleumier and Verhoef note the mention of crop failure in 3.10-11, and take this to be the proof that the LORD has not accepted the people’s offerings, and thus to be the cause of their tears. This supports the interpretation that leads to the translation because. Regards means “accepts” (Good News Translation) or “pays attention to” (New International Version; compare Num 16.15, where Revised Standard Version has “respect”). The Hebrew word for offering is the same term as occurred in verse 12.

Or accepts it with favor at your hand: The term here rendered with favor is from the same Hebrew root as that translated “be pleased” in 1.8 and “have … pleasure” in 1.10. At your hand simply means “from you” (Moffatt, New English Bible/Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Beck).

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Malachi. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .