a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
regard
הֲיִשָּׂ֤אha.yi.Sa'
H5375
to lift · interrogative particle + verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
persons
פְנֵיfe.nei-
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
saith
אָמַ֖ר'a.Mar
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD
יְהוָ֥הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
hosts
צְבָאֽוֹתtze.va.'ot
H6635
a mass of persons (or figuratively · noun, common feminine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
John 9:31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
1 Peter 1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in…
Exodus 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the…
Jeremiah 27:18 But if they be prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels whi…
2 Chronicles 30:27 Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, e…
Jeremiah 26:19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him…
Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
Hebrews 7:26-27 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Malachi 1:6–end
The prophet is here, by a special commission, calling the priests to account, though they were themselves appointed judges, to call the people to an account. Let the rulers in the house of God know that there is one above them, who will reckon with them for their mal-administrations. Thus saith the Lord of hosts to you, O priests! Mal 1:6. God will have a saying to unfaithful ministers; and it concerns those who speak from God to his people to hear and heed what he says to them, that they may save themselves in the first place, otherwise how should they help to save those that hear them? It is a severe, and no doubt a just reproof, that is here given to the priests, for the profanation of th…
now . . . beseech God that he will be gracious--Ironical. Think you that God will be persuaded by such polluted gifts to be gracious to you? Far from it.
this hath been by your means--literally, "hand." These contemptible offerings are your doing, as being the priests mediating between God and the people; and think you, will God pay any regard to you (compare Mal 1:8, Mal 1:10)? "Accept thy person" ("face"), Mal 1:8, answers to "regard your persons," in this verse.
John Gill on Malachi 1:9
And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us,.... These are the words of the prophet to the priests; and are spoken either seriously, exhorting them to that part of their office which lay in interceding for the people that God would be gracious to them, and forgive their sins; and the rather, inasmuch as they had been the means of their sin, and accessary to it, who ought to have reproved them for bringing such offerings, and should have refused to offer them for them; or otherwise, if they did not do this, they could not expect that God would accept their persons, and their offerings: or else ironically, now you have offered such sacrifices to the Lord, as the blind, th…
(V. 9) And now beseech the face of God that he may have mercy on you: for by your hand has this been done, if in any way he may accept your faces, says the Lord of hosts. Who is among you that shut the doors, and kindle my altar to no purpose? LXX: And now beseech the face of your God, and pray to him: these things have been done by your hands, if I may accept your faces, says the Lord Almighty: because even among you the doors shall be closed, and my altar shall not be kindled for nothing. In this place, the Seventy interpreters differ greatly from the Hebrew truth: and where the interpretation is different, it is necessary that the meaning also be different. Because you have offered blind, lame, and weak victims, for you have done all these things that I have said: repent, if in any way God will have mercy on you, for there is no one among you to the very end, not even a high priest, not a priest, not even a Levite, not a singer, and not even a doorkeeper, and the one who sets fire on the altar for burning sacrifices, who should not receive payment for his work from me. However, when he says this, he means tithes of all the crops that are offered by the people. By this, it is shown that servitude to the Lord is more acceptable, which does not demand a reward in the present. Hence the Apostle preaches the Gospel for free (1 Thess. 2); and he works with his hands night and day, so as not to be a burden to anyone, and he testifies that this glory of his free preaching to the Gentiles should by no means be diminished (2 Thess. 3). Furthermore, LXX others suggest a much different meaning: O priests, who offer weak sacrifices, turn to repentance, and seek the face of the Lord and pray for the works of your hands. But what it brings forth: If I 951 take your faces, I do not know if it agrees with the exhortation of repentance. For no one says, pray to me, and I will not spare you. It follows: In you the doors will be closed, namely, those of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Where the Savior says: I am the door (John 10:9). Or in other words: The doors of the Scriptures will not be opened to you, nor will you be able to understand the holy of holies or know the sacraments of the Lord; nor will you be able to offer incense on his altar, because your prayers will not reach him. And what is said to be given freely, we interpret as meaning without…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Hypocrisy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Prayer, Answers To · Denied to those who: Offer unworthy service to God — Denied to those who: Offer unworthy service to God
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
on Malachi 1:9
Malachi 1:9
9. And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.
9. Et nunc deprecamini quaeso faciem Dei, et miserabitur nostri; (e manu vestra factum est hoc;) an suscipiet ex vobis faciem, dicit Iehova exercituum.
He wounds here the priests more grievously, -- because they had so degenerated as to be wholly unworthy of their honorable office and title; "Go," he says, "and entreat the face of God." All this is ironical; for interpreters are much mistaken who think that the Prophet here exhorts the priests humbly to ask pardon from God, both for themselves and for the people. On the contr…
The condemnation of that contempt of the Lord which the priests displayed by offering bad or blemished animals in sacrifices, commences with the following verse. Mal 1:6. "A son honoureth the father, and a servant his master. And if I am a father, where is my honour? and if I am a master, where is my fear? saith Jehovah of hosts to you, ye priests who despise my name, and yet say, Wherein have we despised Thy name? Mal 1:7. Ye who offer polluted bread upon my altar, and yet say, Wherewith have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of Jehovah, it is despised. V.8. And if ye offer what is blind for sacrifice, it is no wickedness; and if ye offer what is lame and diseased, it is no wicked…
The governor was Persia’s appointed overseer of the province of Judah. The juxtaposition of my altar (1:7) and your governor (1:8) reveals a confusion of loyalties among the Levitical priests. • says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: This phrase is known as the messenger formula in prophetic speech and signifies that God’s authority stands behind the prophet’s message.
