2:12a
In this verse Malachi expressed a strong desire or prayer. He wanted the LORD to punish all Israelite men who married women who worshipped other gods.
As for the man who does this, may the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who is awake and aware: Scholars disagree about the type of punishment that Malachi meant here. The Hebrew text of this verse is hard to understand. There are two main interpretations:
(1) Malachi meant that the LORD should remove all such men from the community of Israel. For example:
As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord cut him off from the tents of Jacob… (New International Version)
(2) Malachi meant that the LORD should not allow such men to have anyone to defend or support them. For example:
May Yahweh deprive such an offender of witness and advocate… (New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
the man who does this: This refers to any Israelite man who married a woman who worshipped idols. It includes those who had already done it and those who would do it in the future.
cut off: The expression which the Berean Standard Bible translates as cut off is an idiom in Hebrew. Here it means “remove,” that is, the LORD should remove them from the Israelite community. The Hebrew text does not state how he would remove them: whether he would banish them or kill them. You should also leave this ambiguous. Some ways to say this are:
May the Lord remove from the community of Israel those who did this. (Good News Translation)
-or-
May the Lord banish from the dwellings of Jacob any who do this. (Revised English Bible)
-or-
I pray that the Lord will no longer let those who are guilty belong to his people. (Contemporary English Version)
from the tents of Jacob: This is an idiom which refers to all the people of Israel. They were the people who had a covenant relationship with the LORD and who worshipped him. The reference to tents came from the time when the descendants of Jacob/Israel, the people of Israel, lived in tents and wandered in the desert.
everyone who is awake and aware: The Hebrew phrase which the Berean Standard Bible translates as everyone who is awake and aware is difficult to understand. Scholars make two main suggestions about its meaning in this verse:
(1) The two Hebrew words which the Berean Standard Bible translates as awake and aware function together as a Hebrew idiom, which, means “everyone.” From this interpretation comes “whoever they may be.” So the meaning of 2:12a is:
May the LORD drive away those who ⌊marry foreign wives⌋, whoever they may be, so that they may never again be part of Israel.
(2) The two words have separate meanings and represent two groups of people or two different actions. The English versions that follow this view interpret the individual words differently. For example:
…witness and advocate. (New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
2:12b
even if he brings an offering to the LORD of Hosts: Scholars differ about how this phrase relates to the previous one. There are at least three views:
(1) This phrase makes it clear that there is no exception to the punishment in 2:12a. Even offering a sacrifice to the LORD would not enable them to escape this punishment. For example:
[May the LORD banish from the dwellings of Jacob any who do this…] even though they bring offerings to the Lord of Hosts. (Revised English Bible)
(2) This phrase expresses part of the punishment that Malachi spoke about in 2:12a. For example:
and never again let them participate in the offerings our nation brings to the Lord Almighty. (Good News Translation)
(3) This phrase goes with the preceding phrase “any to witness or answer.” It lists another group of people or another action. For example:
[any to witness or answer,] or to bring an offering to the Lord of hosts! (Revised Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
In English this idea is often expressed by using connectors like “even though” or “and yet.” Express it in a natural way in your language.
the LORD of Hosts: See the note on 1:4d and 1:6e. Translate this term in the same way here.
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