The punctuation of Revised Standard Version is very strange at this point: the whole of verse 16 is enclosed in quotation marks, including the quotation verbs of speaking. It seems likely that this is a printing error, since the quotation marks are removed in New Revised Standard Version. This Handbook will ignore the quotation marks.
For I hate divorce, says the LORD the God of Israel: As the Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, the Hebrew text has “he hates.” A large majority of versions and commentaries change the vowels of the traditional Hebrew to make it read I hate. New King James Version produces the same effect without changing the vowels by rendering “For the LORD God of Israel says that He hates divorce” (similarly King James Version). For many translators the choice between direct and indirect quotation will be a matter of style rather than of a change in the text, and of course, both options are translationally valid.
The real problem is that the Hebrew words behind For I hate divorce can be taken to mean almost the opposite of what Revised Standard Version says. They could mean “If someone hates, let him divorce,” with the unstated object being “his wife” in both clauses (as brought out in Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, Septuagint, Vulgate, Luther, New English Bible/Revised English Bible). If the words carry this meaning, they could be seen as contradicting the general thrust of Malachi’s argument through this section. On the other hand, if the rendering of Revised Standard Version and most other versions is followed, Malachi may appear to be contradicting the legislation about divorce in Deut 24.1-4. We should observe, however, (1) that for the LORD to disapprove of divorce is not the same thing as forbidding it, and (2) that Deut 24.1-4 does not encourage divorce but rather sets restrictions on how it may take place. The two passages are therefore not necessarily in conflict.
Most translators will probably follow the interpretation found in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. But they should note that even versions which accept the interpretation “If someone hates, let him divorce” do not treat this sentence as a charter for casual divorce. This becomes clear when those versions take the following clause to express the unfavorable result of such conduct. See the comments below.
Some languages may lack a noun for divorce. In such cases there will usually be a verbal expression that translators can use, such as “I hate it when husbands send their wives away” or “… separate from their wives.”
The words says the LORD the God of Israel are found only here in Malachi. As an expression unique in this book, it presumably had some purpose in the eyes of the prophet, even if it is not clear to us what that purpose was. (For a suggestion, see the Additional Note on the structure of verses 13-16 below.) Accordingly, translators should preserve the expression, rather than run it in with the second quotation formula says the LORD of hosts, as do Moffatt, New English Bible, Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch.
And covering one’s garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts: The meaning of these words is uncertain. Both the internal structure of the clause, and its relationship with the previous clause are open to different interpretations. If the words carry their ordinary meaning, then covering one’s garment with violence probably carries the idea of getting blood on a garment when making a violent attack on someone else. This would be a second object of the verb hate in the previous clause, and the effect of the whole sentence would be to say that divorce is as bad as attacking innocent victims. Those versions that, like the Vulgate, translate the previous clause as “if you hate your wife, divorce her” treat this clause as the unwelcome result of such action and say, “however, iniquity will cover your garment.”
Some scholars and translators treat the word garment as a symbolic reference to a wife. They base this view on Ruth 3.9 and Ezek 16.8, where spreading a garment over a woman is a symbol of marriage. Some scholars even quote a passage in the Koran which refers to husband and wife as garments to each other (Sura 2.183), but this is hardly relevant as it comes from a period over a thousand years later than Malachi. If this view is accepted, then covering one’s garment with violence refers to a man behaving unjustly toward his wife. This view is represented in Revised English Bible, which has “If a man divorces or puts away his wife … he overwhelms her with cruelty.”
It is also possible (though much less likely) that the words can mean “cover violence with his garment” (compare King James Version). This possibility is found in New Jerusalem Bible with “I hate divorce … and people concealing their cruelty under a cloak.” Other renderings are “I detest divorce … and covering oneself with lawlessness as with a garment” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) and “I hate divorce … and I hate a man’s covering himself with violence as well as with his garment” (New International Version). These both depend on adding one letter to the traditional Hebrew text. Neither rendering however succeeds in showing what the relationship is between divorce and violence, so they cannot be recommended.
The formula says the LORD of hosts serves to close and emphasize the climax of the paragraph of verses 13-16.
So take heed to yourselves is the same expression as occurred in verse 15. See the comments there.
And do not be faithless: This is a partial repetition of the words at the end of verse 15. The phrase “to the wife of [your] youth” is not repeated, so it may be that here the command refers to wider social relationships and not just marriage. If so, it could be taking up the first and very general occurrence of the term faithless in verse 10, and forming an inclusion for the whole section.
An alternative translation model for the verse is:
• The LORD, the God of Israel says that he hates divorce. It is equivalent to a person violently attacking someone else, says the LORD Almighty. So keep guard on your attitudes, and do not be disloyal.
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 .