The first half of this verse is one of the most obscure places in the Old Testament, and is extremely difficult to make sense of. The problems are very old ones, and none of the ancient versions seems to have followed a Hebrew text exactly the same as the one printed in Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia.

The problems arise at many levels. First, there are several places where the actual consonants of the Hebrew text are uncertain. In addition, there are some places where modern scholars have suggested that the vowel points of the traditional Hebrew text should be changed. Second, there are problems of grammar and sentence structure. It is not clear, for instance, whether the word translated one in Revised Standard Version is the subject or the object of the verb translated made. Nor is it clear how many sentences should be recognized. Third, at the level of meaning, it is not always clear who is referred to; for instance, who is the one? Fourth, in terms of the way the thoughts are connected, it is not clear whether the sentences are statements or questions, or a mixture of the two. Fifth, in terms of the discourse structure of the paragraph consisting of verses 13-16, it is not certain how this section fits in to the flow of the argument.

The sum total of the difficulties and the possibilities for resolving them is so great that a full discussion is beyond the scope of this Handbook. The best available discussion is that in Verhoef’s commentary, which though brief, simple, and clear, is fairly comprehensive, and also refrains from changing the Hebrew text.

From the point of view of the translator, it is important to put something in the text that makes reasonable sense in the context of the whole paragraph, and especially of the second half of this verse. It will also be essential to add a footnote giving one or more alternatives (New International Version), or simply stating that the meaning is uncertain (Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), or both (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, New Living Translation).

In Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament there is a full discussion of the textual problems, which will not be repeated here (see also Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). The conclusion is that the traditional Hebrew can yield tolerable sense, and the following discussion accepts that conclusion as a foundation. For that reason, it has to be based not on the rendering of Revised Standard Version but on the Hebrew, which will be expressed in a fairly literal English translation as necessary.

The opening words in Hebrew are (very literally) “And not one has made and a residue of spirit to him.” The first question is to decide whether “one” is the subject or the object of the verb “has made.” Several versions take it as the subject, and those that do so then have to decide who the “one” refers to. The majority take it to refer to God (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, New English Bible/Revised English Bible). Some hold the same view without actually using the name “God”: New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “One” and New King James Version has “He” with capital letters. Many of these versions make a very small change in the Hebrew (the addition of a single dot) so as to read “has made her” instead of just “has made.” A few take “one” closely with “not” and translate “Not one of you” (Moffatt) or “not one” (New American Standard Bible; compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Many other versions interpret “one” as the object of the verb (King James Version, Revised Version, New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, New International Version, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, New King James Version ), but they assume God or the LORD as the subject. These versions generally understand “one” to refer to Adam, the one human being created directly by God.

All the versions, except Moffatt, New American Standard Bible, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, treat the sentence as a question. This is a legitimate possibility on translational grounds and does not necessarily depend on a change in the text. The versions that treat the sentence as a statement are those that understand “not one” as the negative subject of the verb. Before giving translation models, it is necessary to consider the words that follow.

The phrase “and a residue of spirit to him” may be taken as qualifying either “God” or “no one.” Only by changing the Hebrew text to “flesh,” instead of keeping “residue,” can the words be taken to qualify an object like “Adam.”

From the multitude of possibilities, the one that is closest to the Hebrew as it stands is the one that treats the words as a statement, and takes “no one” as the subject of the verb “has made.” The second part of the sentence would then function as a conditional clause, and the translation would be “No one has acted like that if he has a remnant of the spirit.” “Like that” would refer back to a man divorcing his first wife, as described in verse 14. In this context “a remnant of the spirit” is probably best taken as “any trace of moral sense” (Moffatt) or “anything of the principles of the covenant” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). It is difficult to see what Revised Standard Version spirit of life is supposed to mean in this context.

The next words are probably to be taken as a question and answer, and may be literally rendered: “And what does the one seek? Seed of God.” Those translations that took “one” to refer to God in the first part of the verse, do so again here (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, New English Bible/Revised English Bible). Those who translated as “no one” in the first part of the verse take “the one” here to refer to a person who has moral sense or loyalty to the covenant, and does not divorce his first wife. “Seed of God” is generally understood as Godly offspring (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, New International Version, Beck) or better “godly children” (New English Bible/Revised English Bible, New Living Translation). This means children born within the covenant community, God’s chosen people (compare “… have children, and then lead them to become God’s people” in Contemporary English Version; similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Several versions describe the children as “God-given offspring” (Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible; compare Bible de Jérusalem, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente); this is a legitimate possibility, but seems less relevant to the context. The question and answer may be translated “What does such a one [or, such a person] seek? Children who will belong to God.”

The remainder of the verse is not so difficult, and the wording of Revised Standard Version again becomes convenient.

So take heed to yourselves: Similar expressions are found elsewhere. Here the Hebrew is literally “take heed to your spirits.” This repetition of the word for “spirit” with the force of moral sensitivity supports its interpretation in the same way in the first half of the verse.

Let none be faithless to the wife of his youth: These words repeat the concepts expressed in verse 14. They are clear in meaning, and the obscure material in the first part of the verse must be interpreted in such a way as to reinforce what is said here. The wife of his youth is the same phrase as occurred in verse 14. See the comments there. This wife is not to be divorced.

Alternative translation models for the whole verse are:

• No one has acted like that if he has any moral responsibility [or, spirit/sense/attitude of loyalty] toward God in him. What does a moral man seek? Children who will belong to the people of God. So guard your spirits [or, watch yourselves], and let none of you betray the wife you married when you were young.

• No one whose spirit is at all loyal to God has acted in that way. What does a loyal person desire? Children born into God’s people. So watch out for your attitudes/hearts/motives [or, watch yourselves] and do not be disloyal to the wife you married when you were young.

We should note here that Jewish interpretation has sometimes seen in this verse a reference to Abraham as “the one” who did not divorce his wife Sarah, even when she was apparently too old to bear children. Further discussion of this may be found in Cashdan. Catholic interpreters have often seen a reference to God making Adam and Eve “one flesh” (Gen 2.24). This view underlies such versions as New American Bible and Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, and is also found in Contemporary English Version and New Living Translation. See also Chary.

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 .