These two verses are treated together because they form a single structural unit. The keywords way and instruction occur both in the first part of verse 8 and in the last part of verse 9. A relationship of contrast between the parts is shown by the emphatic Hebrew pronouns you at the beginning of verse 8 andI at the beginning of verse 9.

But you have turned aside from the way: The action described here is deliberate rather than accidental. The way is the way of life that the LORD required. In view of the significance of the term way in the structure of verses 8-9, it is helpful if translators can maintain a verbal link between the two occurrences. If this is not possible, and a nonfigurative rendering is necessary, translators could say “you have betrayed your mission” (Bible en français courant) or “you have misused your position” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1. Edition). Good News Translation keeps the figure of a way with “you priests have turned away from the right path.” Another possible model is “you priests have stopped walking in the right path.”

You have caused many to stumble by your instruction: This statement is in sharp contrast to that in verse 6, where the descendants of Levi “turned many from iniquity.” The verb stumble continues the picture of walking on a way or path. Another way to express this imagery is “Your teachings have caused many people to lose their way.” This is expressed in simpler terms as “… led many to do wrong” (Good News Translation) or “… led others to do sinful things” (Contemporary English Version). As in verses 6-7, instruction refers to oral interpretation of the Law.

You have corrupted the covenant of Levi: This is a reference back to verse 4. The verb translated corrupted is used of a covenant only here. The meaning is that the priests by their bad behavior and misleading teaching deliberately violated the rules of the covenant (Moffatt and New International Version “you have violated…”). For corrupted other versions have “broken” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “destroyed” (Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, Beck). Reference to the priests’ ancestor Levi is possible; for example, “you have broken the agreement I made with your ancestor Levi.”

Says the LORD of hosts: Here this formula seems to mark the approaching conclusion of the paragraph. In some languages it may be more appropriate to put a closing quotation formula at the end of verse 9.

And so I make you despised and abased before all the people: These words introduce the second half of the unit. In Hebrew the pronoun I is given additional emphasis by a particle that comes before it. This underlines the contrast between the behavior of the priests (you) and the reaction of the LORD (I). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and Good News Translation show this with “I, in turn….” The form of the Hebrew verb translated make is actually a perfect, and a large majority of available versions keep a past tense in their renderings. However, this may well be a so-called prophetic perfect, in which an action that the LORD guarantees to take is spoken of as if it had already happened. Driver gives Gen 15.18 and Jdg 15.3 as classic examples of this. It is in recognition of this that Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version use a present tense (make; similarly Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) and Good News Translation uses a future (“will make”; similarly Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). It is possible that the prophet is describing a state of affairs already in existence, but on the whole it seems more likely that he refers to a punishment that will take place in the near future.

The Hebrew word translated despised has already occurred in 1.7 and 12 in describing the attitude of the priests toward their duties; now the LORD will treat them exactly as they have treated him. They will be abased, that is, “humiliated” (New International Version, Beck, New Living Translation), “degraded” (Revised English Bible), or made “vile” (Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). All the people refers to the people of Israel. Because the priests have failed them so badly, the people will lose all respect for them and their work. A possible model for this clause is the following: “I, in turn, will cause everyone [or, all the people of Israel] to loathe and despise you.”

Inasmuch as you have not kept my ways: The Hebrew phrase translated inasmuch conveys a sense of appropriateness—the punishment will be in proportion to the offense. Kept my ways is a metaphor, as was the use of way in the previous verse. If the metaphor was retained in the previous occurrence, it should be possible to retain it here too in order to preserve the structural balance. You have not kept my ways means “you did not obey my law.” Translators who cannot keep the metaphor may render it “you do not obey my will” (Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), “you do not honor me” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1. Edition), or “you ignore my law” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 2. Edition). Another model for the whole clause is “because you disobeyed my commands.”

But have shown partiality in your instruction: There are different views about the meaning of this clause, which is literally “lifting up faces in the law.” The first problem is to decide on the meaning of the idiom “lifting up faces.” It has already occurred in 1.8-9 in the good sense of “show favor,” and that may lead to the expectation of a good sense here. However, the same expression is also used in a bad sense in such places as Lev 19.15 and Deut 10.17, where it refers to showing undue favor in a situation where fairness is required (being “partial” in Revised Standard Version).

The problem is made more complicated because it is not clear whether the negative force of the previous clause continues into this clause. In other passages a negative can continue from one clause into the next without being repeated. Indeed there is an example of this a few verses later in verse 13.

Logically then, there are four possible ways to interpret this clause:
(1) you have “lifted up faces” in the bad sense, that is, shown partiality in your teaching;
(2) you have “lifted up faces” in the good sense, that is, shown favor to the people in your teaching;
(3) you have not “lifted up faces” in the bad sense, that is, you have not shown partiality in your teaching;
(4) you have not “lifted up faces” in the good sense, that is, you have failed to bring blessing to the people in your teaching.

The wider context requires that this clause, like the previous one, should condemn a fault in the lives of the priests, so meanings (2) and (3) must be rejected. The choice is between (1) and (4). In favor of (1), there are parallels in Micah 3.5 and 11, where prophets and priests are accused of showing undue favor to those who pay them most. In favor of (4) is Num 6.26, where the priestly blessing includes the request for the LORD to lift up his face on the worshipers to bless them. Because the priests have turned away from the LORD, their blessings are no longer effective (verse 2), and so they have failed to lift up people’s faces.

A large majority of versions prefer option (1) above, and many use the words partiality or “partial.” Some scholars such as Deissler, Ogden, and Redditt (1995) are unhappy with this. Deissler, for instance, takes option (4), but claims the meaning is that the priests have failed to lift up their own faces in their teaching, that is, they have not taken account of the LORD’s instructions. But since major versions are so heavily in favor of option (1), this Handbook recommends that translators should follow it. They should however be aware that it is open to objections, and that there is a valid alternative. This could be included in a footnote, such as “or You have failed to bring people blessing by your teaching.”

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 .