New International Reader's Version

Malachi 2:10-16 New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

10. People of Judah, all of us have one Father. One God created us. So why do we break the covenant the Lord made with our people long ago? We don't even keep our promises to one another.

11. You have broken your promises. A hateful thing has been done in Israel and Jerusalem. The Lord loves his temple. But you have polluted it. You men have married women who worship other gods.

12. May the Lord punish you who do that. It doesn't matter who you are. May the Lord who rules over all cut you off from the tents of Jacob's people. May he remove you even if you bring offerings to him.

13. Here's something else you do. You flood the Lord's altar with your tears. You sob and cry because he doesn't pay attention to your offerings anymore. He doesn't accept them from your hands with pleasure.

14. You ask, "Why?" It's because the Lord is holding you accountable. He watches how you treat the wife you married when you were young. You have broken your promise to her. You did it even though she's your partner. You promised to stay married to her. And the Lord was a witness to it.

15. Hasn't he made the two of you one? Both of you belong to him in body and spirit. And why has he made you one? Because he was looking for godly children. So guard yourself in your spirit. Don't break your promise to the wife you married when you were young.

16. "I hate divorce," says the Lord God of Israel. "I hate it when people do anything that harms others," says the Lord who rules over all. So guard yourself in your spirit. And don't break your promises.