Commentaries on the Prophet Malachi, Book One, by Saint Jerome of Stridon, Presbyter, addressed to Minervius and Alexander.
Latin Text from public domain Migne Editors, Patrologiae Cursus Completus.
Translated into English using ChatGPT.
Table of Contents
Prologue
We want to interpret the last of the twelve prophets, Malachi ((or Malachim)), whose name was translated by the Seventy as 'His Messenger'. They said, 'The assumption of the word of the Lord is upon Israel in the hand of His Messenger', which is read in Hebrew as 'Malachi' (His Messenger), which rightly and explicitly means 'His Messenger', that is, My Messenger. And it should not be thought, according to the opinion of some (Origenists), that an angel came down from heaven and assumed a human body in order to speak to Israel the things that are commanded by the Lord. If names are to be interpreted, and from names there is not spiritual understanding, but the order of history is to be woven: therefore both Hosea, who is called savior, and Joel who is interpreted as Lord God, or the beginning, and the other prophets will not be men; but either angels, or the Lord and Savior, because their names resonate with this. Finally, except for the Seventy, other interpreters translated the name Malachi as it is read in Hebrew. However, the Hebrews consider Malachi to be Ezra the priest, because he mentions all the things that are contained in his book, and even here the prophet says: The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth, for he is the angel of the Lord of hosts (Mal. II, 7). The time also matches: 941-942, and the title matches as well, as we have said in the Psalms, which do not fabricate titles, they should be believed, those whose first psalms are designated by names. Therefore, it is to be believed that Malachi, that is, Ezra, after Haggai and Zechariah, who prophesied under Darius, existed. And for this reason, he does not have a title, because his book serves as his title: in which we learn that in the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, and the others, ascended from Babylon and the king, according to the hand of his Lord God, granted all his request. And they ascended with him from the sons of Israel and the sons of the priests, and the sons of the Levites, and the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim in Jerusalem, in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, and they came to Jerusalem in the fifth month. This is the seventh year of the king, because on the first day of the first month he began to ascend from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem. These things, my Minerva (or Minerva), and Alexander, not so much united by blood as by religion, so that I might not let go of the undertaking I have begun, and so that I might not toil in vain for your benefit, I have briefly spoken in the Prologue: in order that, relying on the help of your prayers, I might explain what follows, setting forth the words of Malachi first according to the Hebrew truth, then according to the Septuagint interpreters. Origen wrote three volumes on this book; but he did not touch the history at all, and in his usual fashion he was entirely engaged in allegorical interpretation, making no mention of Ezra at all; but he thought that it was an angel who wrote, according to what we read about John: Behold, I send my angel before your face (Matt. 11:10). We absolutely do not accept that we are compelled to take on the collapse of souls from heaven. I don't know of any other commentaries that I have read on this prophet, except for a short book by Apollinaris, of which the points of interpretation rather than the interpretation itself should be mentioned.
1:1
(Chapter 1, Verse 1) The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by the hand of Malachi. LXX: The assumption of the word of the Lord upon Israel, by the hand of his angel. What the word 'onus' means, that is, a burden, which in Hebrew is called 'Massa' (), and by Aquila is called 'ἅρμα', or what 'λῆμμα' means, that is, assumption, which the Septuagint and other interpreters have also translated, we have mentioned in other prophets. For even Nahum writes: The burden of Nineveh: The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite (Nahum 2). And Habakkuk: The burden which Habakkuk the prophet saw (Hab. I). And Zechariah: The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Adrach, and Damascus shall be his rest (Zech. IX and XII). And again in the following: The burden of the word of the Lord upon Israel. Let us be content with this explanation: and now let us say only this, that the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel, or as the LXX say, upon Israel, is indeed heavy because it is called a burden, but it has something of consolation in it, for it is taken not against Israel, but to Israel. For it is one thing when, for example, we write to him or them, and another thing when we write against him and him: because in the former, there is a part of friendship, whereas in the latter, there is an open confession of enmity. And it must be known that when Israel was taken captive, that is, the ten tribes, they were indiscriminately called by the former name, while the two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, were called Israel. And when it is said, 'In the hand of his angel,' or Malachi, take 'hand' to mean 'works.' And it came to pass in the hand of Haggai, and in the hand of Jeremiah, and in the hand of Moses, the word of God was made. For in their hands is iniquity, and their right hand is filled with gifts, and their hands are full of blood, in them the word of God does not happen; but those who wash their hands among the innocent (Psalm 25). And whoever Pilate attempted to wash his hands, so that he would not consent to the blasphemies of the Jews (Matthew 27), of whom the Psalmist rejoices, saying: He led me out over the waters of refreshment (Psalm 22, 2). Concerning this water, the Lord promises through the prophet: I will sprinkle you with the cleanest water (Ezekiel 36). But whoever is a sinner, is intoxicated by the Babylonian cup, and it is said about him: Thorns are born in the hand of the drunkard (Proverbs 26, 9).
LXX: Put on your hearts. This is not found in Hebrew, but I believe it was added from Haggai, in which we read: And now put on your hearts from this day and onward (Haggai II, 16). Therefore, after the title of the prophet or the preface, it must be understood in two ways: Put on your hearts, that is, pay attention and consider, as mentioned above: The assumption of the word of the Lord on Israel in the hand of His Angel. Or carefully pay attention to what will be said afterwards, so that you may not know them with the ears of the body, but with the understanding of the mind and heart, and make for yourselves treasures in which you may receive the riches of the words of God; and let wisdom act confidently, when your hearts have been enlarged, and when the heart has been filled with the words of God, cast out evil thoughts that come from the heart, such as murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts (Matt. XV), and the rest, and fulfill what the Savior said: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke VIII, 8).
I have loved you, says the Lord. Yet you say, 'In what have you loved us?' Was not Esau Jacob's brother? says the Lord. Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert. If Edom says, 'We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,' the Lord of hosts says, 'They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called the wicked country, and the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.' And your eyes will see, and you will say: Let the Lord be magnified beyond the border of Israel. LXX: I have loved you, says the Lord: and you said, in what have you loved us? Was not Esau brother to Jacob, says the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, but Esau I hated: and I have made his borders a desolation, and his inheritance a dwelling of the desert. For Idumea will say, it is destroyed: let us return and rebuild the desolate places. Thus says the Lord almighty: They themselves will build, and I will destroy: and they will be called the borders of iniquity, and the people over whom the Lord has prepared until eternity. And your eyes shall see, and you shall say: The Lord is magnified upon the borders of Israel. Israel, that is, Judah, to whom the word of God was accustomed to be made and the vision of the Lord, is compelled to bear his burden and the weight of the heaviest punishments, in order to cast off more grievous sins and to feel through torments what he did not feel through benefits. And lest the punishment may seem unjust upon his own, the Lord subjoins: I have loved you: For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth; but every son whom he receiveth, he correcteth. (Hebrews 12:6). And in saying, I have loved, the present denies, while it confesses the past. They respond there with the rashness with which they sin, forgetting His benefits: 'In whom have you loved us?' To which the Lord says: 'In order that I should be silent about other things, I will discuss your origins, the beginnings from which you came, before you were born, indeed before Rebecca conceived Esau and Jacob in her womb (Gen. 25): I loved you in Jacob, I hated the Edomites in Esau.' The apostle Paul, expounding this passage in a mystical argument, writes to the Romans, connecting two testimonies together, one from Genesis and one from Malachi: 'But even Rebecca also, having conceived of one, even our father Isaac.' For when they were not yet born, nor had done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand: not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said to her: The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated (Rom. 9:10, et seqq.). For this saying: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, is referred to the Book of Genesis, and to the prophet Malachi. And not only she: For when they were not yet born, nor had done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand: not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said to her: The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated (Rom. 9:10, et seqq.). For this saying: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, is referred to the Book of Genesis, and to the prophet Malachi. And not only she: Before the twins were born or had done anything good or evil, in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (Romans 9:10, et seqq.). For when they were not yet born, nor had done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand: not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said to her: The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated (Rom. 9:10, et seqq.). For this saying: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, is referred to the Book of Genesis, and to the prophet Malachi. And not only she: Before the twins were born or had done anything good or evil, in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (Romans 9:10, et seqq.). For when they were not yet born, nor had done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand: not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said to her: The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated (Rom. 9:10, et seqq.). For this saying: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, is referred to the Book of Genesis, and to the prophet Malachi. And not only she: Before the twins were born or had done anything good or evil, in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (Romans 9:10, et seqq.). But if Edom, that is, Esau, shall say: We are destroyed indeed, but we will return and build up the ruinous places; thus saith the Lord of hosts: They shall build up, and I will throw down: and they shall be called the borders of wickedness, and the people with whom the Lord is angry for ever. And your eyes shall see, and you shall say: The Lord be magnified upon the border of Israel. If a son be a father, where is my honour? And if a master be a lord, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts. The Jews falsely flatter themselves that the Edomites, Romans, and Israelites prophesy about the end of the world: that when the Roman empire, that is, the Idumean empire, is destroyed, the kingdom of the world will come to the Jews. We have spoken these things, laying the foundations of history: now let us come to the spiritual understanding. Israel, a man, or rather, a person perceiving God, or as I think better, most upright before God, is loved by the Lord, and wants to know the reason for his love in himself. And the Lord answered, that Esau and Jacob, being born from the same stock, that is, vices and virtues proceed from one source of the heart: while from the freedom of our will, we lean in whichever direction we desire; but the former vices are born through infancy, childhood, and youth, which afterwards stronger age refines and supplants. The elder brother is rough and bloody (Gen. XXV): he delights in hunting, forests, and beasts. He lives a small and simple life, dwelling innocently in his home. God turns the borders of Edom, that is, the earthly and bloody ones, into solitude, and does not allow anything to grow or last on the land. But if impudent wickedness tries to rebuild what has been destroyed by the word of God, the Lord declares himself an adversary to their efforts to restore vice. And once all the boundaries of the enemies have been overthrown, then we can see with our own eyes the Israelites and all the saints saying: Let the Lord be glorified in their borders, all those who have their minds fixed on God (Wisdom 11). Moreover, love and hatred of God arise either from His foreknowledge of future events or from His works. Otherwise, we know that God loves all things and hates nothing that He has created; but He properly avenges those who are enemies and rebels against His own charity. And on the contrary, He hates those who desire to rebuild what has been destroyed by God. However, God is said to hate anthropopathetically: to weep, to grieve, to be angry; so that when we hear of His hatred towards the wicked, we may avoid what we understand God to hate.
1:6
(Verse 6.) The son honors the father, and the servant his master: if therefore I am a father, where is my honor? and if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts. LXX: The son glorifies the father, and the servant his master will fear. And if I am a father, where is my glory? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Almighty Lord. Although before you were born, I began to love you like sons: yet choose how you will call me, either father or master. If you are a father, give your father the respect that is due, and show the appropriate devotion to your parent. If you are a master, why do you despise me? Why do you not fear the master? However, he is speaking to those who have returned from the Babylonian captivity under Zerubbabel and the son of Josedech, and the priest Ezra, and Nehemiah, and have constructed an altar, but have not yet built the temple, nor have they rebuilt the walls of the city, and nevertheless they remained in their former sins, not venerating God with love or fear. But what we have called glory, or honor, is one word both among the Greeks, δόξα, and among the Hebrews 947 כָּבוֹד (Chabod), but for the sake of the Latin language we have used the word honor. For even in the Gospel where the Lord speaks and says: Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you (John 17:1), it is read as δόξασον among the Greeks, that is, glorify. But many Latin translators have rendered this passage as honorifica. At the same time, let us consider that a son and a servant in the Holy Scriptures are chosen by will, not by necessity of nature. For whoever receives the spirit of adoption becomes a son of God; but whoever receives the spirit of servitude becomes a servant of God in fear (Rom. VIII). Therefore, God desires first that we be His sons and that we do good willingly. If we wish to attain this, let us at least be His servants and depart from evil through fear of punishment. We read in a negative light the sons: We were children of wrath, and sons of Gehenna (Ephesians 2:3), whom the Pharisees, going around the sea and land, worthy progenitors of torments (Matthew 23). And Judas the traitor is called the son of perdition (John 17); and in the eighty-eighth psalm it is written about the Lord: The son of iniquity will not be able to harm him (Psalm 88:23). Also in Hosea, the sons of fornication are called, who are generated from a prostitute mother, of whom it is written: Your mother has fornicated (Hosea 2:5). And in the Gospel, the sons of the devil are criticized: You are born from the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father (John 8:44). We read the sons in a positive sense, as sons of God: Whoever received him, he gave them power to become sons of God (John 1:12). And sons of wisdom, proclaimed by the Gospel: Wisdom is justified by her children (Matthew 11:19). And sons of Abraham: Amen, amen, I say to you, God can raise up sons of Abraham from these stones (Matthew 3:9). And the apostle's children: My little children, for whom I am in labor again until Christ is formed in you (Galatians IV, 19), and many similar passages. Therefore, the Son honors, or glorifies, the Father, according to what is written: Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew V, 16). The servant also honors his master, but not with the same love as the son; rather, it is implied from the common rule that the son honors his father and the servant his master; yet Almighty God, knowing the difference between a son and a servant, seeks glory from the son and fear from the servant: For the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Ecclesiastes I, 16), so that we may pass from the fear of servants to the glory of sons.
1:7
(Verse 7) To you, O priests, who despise my name, and you say: 'How have we despised your name?' You offer on my altar defiled bread, and you say: 'How have we defiled you?' By saying that the table of the Lord is despised. LXX: You, O priests, who despise my name, and you say: 'How have we despised your name?' You offer on my altar polluted bread, and you say: 'How have we polluted it?' By saying that the table of the Lord is despised ÷ and what remains, you have despised ÷ But what follows: And what remains you have despised, we have marked with an obelus, because it is not found in the Hebrew, and it has been added from the following verses. To you, therefore, O priests, who despise my name, this discourse is directed: you who have returned from Babylon, fearful of past servitude, should have turned to the Lord with a full heart. And not only do you not do this, but imitating Cain, you respond with arrogant words against God, and you ask Him whom hidden things do not deceive, and it is said: Wherein have we despised thy name? (Gen. IV) so that with the impudence of dissimulation, you may cover the wound of conscience. Do you want to know in what way you despise my name? You offer on my altar polluted bread: that is, the bread of offering, which according to Hebrew traditions, you yourselves should sow, you yourselves should reap, you yourselves should grind, you yourselves should cook. And now you take whatever you please from the midst, and with a reckless voice you respond, and you say, in what way do we pollute them, or you? For while the sacraments are violated, he himself, of whom they are sacraments, is violated. But we can interpret this in the following way: In what you say, the Lord's table has been despised, referring to the fact that, when they returned from Babylon and the temple had not yet been rebuilt, they dwelled in huts and in the ruins of the ancient city. They only built an altar, but it did not have the same glory as the previous one, and they believed that the sanctity of the religious practice was lacking because there was no ambition for construction. We have drawn thin lines to highlight the spiritual explanation that must be imprinted. He reproaches the divine word to bishops, as well as to neglectful priests and deacons, whether because we are of the priestly and royal lineage, or because all those who are baptized in Christ are considered (or should be considered) in the name of Christ. Why do they despise the name of God? And when asked in what way they have despised His name, He reveals the reasons for their offense: 'You offer on my altar polluted bread,' He says. We pollute the bread, that is, the body of Christ, when we unworthy approach the altar, and when we, dirty, drink the world's blood, and say, 'The table of the Lord has been despised.' Not that anyone would dare to say this, and not that anyone would think of uttering such an impious thought with a wicked voice, but the deeds of sinners despise the table of God. We can also say this: The Doctor of the Church who makes the spiritual bread and distributes it to the people, if he speaks to the people and flatters the rich either for human glory or for worldly gains that follow glory, and honors sinners, and according to James, welcomes those who come to him with gold rings (James 2), and rejects the holy poor, despises the name of God, defiles the bread of teachings, and hurls insults at God himself, thinking that the table of his writings is a common table of idols and secular teachings.
1:8
(Verse 8) If you offer the blind animal for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and sick animal, is it not evil? Offer it to your governor; see if he is pleased with it or accepts your face, says the Lord of hosts. LXX: For if you offer the blind animal for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and sick animal, is it not evil? Offer it to your governor; see if he receives you, if he accepts your face, says the Almighty Lord. We learn more fully about the diversity of victims and what should or should not be offered in Leviticus (Lev. 21 and 22). Therefore, the priests and Levites, gatekeepers and singers, and the servants of Solomon who returned from Babylon, including those whose names were listed by Ezra, offered illicit victims to God, namely blind and lame animals, and those weakened by various infirmities (1 Esd. 2); for this is what is meant by 'languid,' encompassing everything in one word. If you were to offer gifts to your leader, would he not reject them? Would he not consider it an injustice done to him? And yet, you dare to offer this to God, when you do not dare to give it to humans? It would take too long to explain the mysteries of all the sacrifices; I will only speak about those that are contained in this present chapter. The victim of the soul is blind, as it is not enlightened by the light of Christ, nor does it have an eye that gazes upon the Gospel (Matthew 6). The prayer of the petitioner is lame, as it approaches prayer with a divided mind and listens to the people of the Jews: How long will you limp with both feet? (1 Kings 18:21) And weak, and covered with all infirmity, which does not have the power of Christ God, and the wisdom of God. Prayers of this kind, which are without the light of truth, and do not have firm traces of wisdom, decay with various weaknesses, if they are offered to the leader of the Church, or to any educated and wise teacher, will they not be rejected, and fall into contempt for him who dared to offer such things?
1:9
(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 reward: those who follow this understanding that we now explain turn it into a favor, so that they do not have the grace to serve at the Lord's altar.
1:10-14
(Verse 10 seqq.) I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. But you profane it when you say: 'The table of the Lord is polluted, and its fruit, its food, is despised.' And you have said: 'Behold, we have labored and blown it away', says the Lord of hosts. And you have brought in the lame, and the sick, and you have brought in an offering: will I accept it from your hand? says the Lord. LXX: It is not my will in you, says the Lord Almighty, and I will not accept a sacrifice from your hands, for from the rising of the sun to its setting my glorious name is among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure sacrifice, for great is my name among the nations, says the Lord Almighty. But you have defiled it by saying, 'The table of the Lord is polluted, and its fruit, its food, is despised.' You also say, 'These things are from affliction,' and you scoff at them,' says the Lord Almighty. You bring stolen goods, lame or sick animals, and offer them as sacrifices. Should I accept them from your hands?' says the Lord Almighty. The rule of Scriptures is this: When a clear prophecy about the future is given, do not diminish what is written by uncertain allegories. So now, specifically, the Lord's message is addressed to the priests of the Jews, who offer the blind and the lame and the sick for sacrifice, so that they may know that spiritual victims will succeed the carnal victims. And not the blood of bulls and goats, but incense, that is, the prayers of the saints, are to be offered to the Lord, not in one province of the world, Judea, nor in one city of Judea, Jerusalem, but in every place, an offering is to be made, not unclean, like the people of Israel, but clean, like in the ceremonies of the Christians. For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, the name of the Lord is great among the Gentiles, as the Savior says: Father, I have manifested your name to men (John 17:6). And when, he says, my name shall become great among the Gentiles, oh you princes of the Jews, you have defiled it and continue to defile it. Thus, the prophecy covers both the future and the present time. But therefore, oh priests and princes of the Jews, in every place a clean offering is presented to me, and my name is great among the Gentiles, because you say the Lord's table is defiled, and what is placed on it is contemptible with the fire that devours it. The people, upon returning from Babylon, built an altar made only of random and unpolished stones, according to the book of Ezra (Ezra 1:6), without a temple, without city buildings, without the construction of walls, and they believed that the worship of the religion was of lesser value because it lacked the adornments of the temple. To them, the Lord says: Do you think that the altar and the burnt offerings and the sacrifices placed on it are polluted? Do you also think that the fire, which consumes the sacrifices, is polluted? You do not understand that the almighty God does not seek gold, gems, or a multitude of sacrifices, but rather the will of those who offer. 953. But those who think that the altar should be understood as the table on which the loaves were placed, how can they interpret what follows, when I do not see at all the fire that devours it: for the fire does not devour the loaves of the offering, which were always exchanged for new ones instead of the old ones, and taken away to be used by the priests (Leviticus 2:4). Or certainly it should be understood in this way: You have defiled my name by saying: What good is it if we offer the best? Whatever is offered must be consumed by fire. But the fruit of the altar is fire, and the food of fire is the offerings of the host or the holocaust. And it is not enough that you spoke blasphemy in the previous discourse, but you also said this: 'Behold, we have labored and blown away what we had, says the Lord of hosts.' The meaning of this statement is as follows: You said, 'We have returned from captivity, we have been plundered by our enemies, we have labored greatly on a long journey, we are poor, whatever we could have, has been consumed by the hardships of the road. Whatever we have, we offer.' And by saying this, you have blown away your own sacrifices, that is, you have made them unworthy by my exhalation. Or as it can be read in Hebrew: 'And you have blown me away by saying this.' You have done injury not to the sacrifice, but to me, to whom you were sacrificing. Therefore, I will by no means accept that from your hand, says the almighty Lord. Some think that this is specifically said to the Jews because their offerings are unclean and polluted, and sacrifice is transferred to the Gentiles. It should be understood as pertaining to the priests of the Church who offer sacrifices to the Lord negligently. But if we accept this, then the offerings must be transferred again from the Church to another religion. And just as I read the Gospel, so again what is not yet future will happen in accordance with the Gospel. They also refer to the contaminated table of the Lord in holy Scriptures, if they are understood differently than they are written.
2:1-2
(Chapter 2, verses 1, 2.) Woe to the deceitful one who has a male in his flock and makes a vow, sacrificing something weak to the Lord. For I am a great king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is feared among the nations. + And now, to you, O priests, I give this command: If you will not listen and if you will not set it on your heart to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, I will send poverty upon you and curse your blessings, yes, I have cursed them, because you have not set it on your heart. LXX: And cursed is the one who is powerful and has a male in his flock, and his vow is upon him, and he sacrifices a weakling to the Lord. For I am a great King, says the Lord Almighty, and my name is renowned among the nations. And now I have this command for you, O priests. If you do not listen and if you do not set your heart to give glory to my name, says the Lord Almighty, I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me. This which is written, and I will scatter your blessing, is added in the Septuagint, and is not found in Hebrew. Whatever the human mind can find to excuse its sin and defend itself with false satisfaction, this divine word, foreseeing it, rebukes and condemns. And the meaning is, because you offer the blind and the lame and the sick, and this is not from your own, but from robberies and spoils and the tears of the miserable, and moreover you say, we offer what we have from labor and poverty: therefore I say generally, that your own conscience may accuse you. Certainly you hide poverty and the injustice of captivity, and the weakness of your family affairs: listen to what I say: Cursed is the deceitful one who has a male in his flock, and making a vow he sacrifices an inferior one to the Lord. If you do not have a male, the curse does not harm you. By saying this, he shows that they have what is best and offer what is worst. Therefore, priests, this commandment is for you, you have done what is wicked in contempt of me. But because I prefer the repentance of a sinner to death, I say even now: If you refuse to listen and understand, so as to give glory to my name, which is terrible among the nations, I will send a true plague to you, so that you will not lie; but, compelled by the lack of all things, you will say that you do not possess the best things to offer. And I will curse, he says, your blessings, that is, those things which you now possess through my blessings; whatever is blessed by you will be cursed by me. And I will curse them, implied by your blessings; for you did not want to understand what is being said; for it is said: you have not set it upon your heart. We can receive the curse and deception of the Jewish people, who, although they had in their flock the male Lord Savior, and the spotless Lamb who takes away the sins of the world (John 1), and being warned by the prophecy of all the prophets, to sacrifice and accept the ram, which was caught by its horns in the thicket of Sabec (Genesis 22), they did not want to do this; but instead, they sacrifice the weak to the Lord, crucifying the Savior, and choosing Barabbas, the author of robbery and sedition (John 18), who is interpreted according to mystical understanding as referring to the devil: and for those despising and preferring the devil to the Savior, the name of Christ is horrible among the nations, who have received the passion of the Lord and fearfully honor Him. It can also be said about us: If we, created by God, wise and possessing a nature suitable for sacred disciplines, neglect our own skill and give ourselves to vices and excesses, and having power, we sacrifice the weak to the Lord. However, our prayer is weak and tainted, when it is corrupted by anger, envy, enmities, and other disturbances of the soul: if we offer a gift at the altar and remember that our brother has something against us, we do not proceed and make amends to him (Matthew 5:23). And so the Apostle commands: 'I desire therefore that the men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without anger and dispute' (I Tim. II, 8). And the shepherd is the one who knows our thoughts and the senses of our virtues, as it is said in the one hundred and second Psalm (Verse 1): 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let all that is within me bless his holy name'. If he governs his flock well, he fulfills that blessing: 'Blessed shall be the offspring of your cattle and the produce of your ground' (Deut. XXVIII, 4). But if he who naturally possesses masculinity, that is, strength, rigidity, and robustness, sacrifices lightness or excessive femininity and lasciviousness, or if he is weakened and corrupted by various disturbances of the soul, he will feel within himself that which is written: The powerful endure torments powerfully (Wisdom 6:7). And: To whom much is given, much will be demanded from him (Luke 8). Therefore, it is specifically said to priests that if they refuse to listen and hold it in their hearts, so as to give glory to the name of the Lord through good conduct (Romans 2); but on the contrary, his name is cursed among the nations because of them, he will send upon them poverty of all good things, and will turn their blessings into a curse. Those who abuse their health for pleasure, and turn their wealth into luxury, and tarnish their good reputation with impure conduct, they change the blessings of God into curses. Indeed, it is specifically the priests who are commanded, and their blessings are turned into curses when they do not bless the saints with true heartfelt affection, like Isaac with Jacob, and Jacob with the patriarchs, and Moses with the twelve tribes (Genesis 27 and 49, and Deuteronomy 23), but they deceive the hearts of the innocent with sweet words and blessings (Romans 16), and those who act wickedly are blessed by them, and they flatter sinners as long as they are rich and indulge in their vices, of whom it is said: My people, those who call you blessed are leading you astray and causing you to stumble in your paths (Isaiah 3:11).
2:3-4
(Vers. 3, 4.) Behold, I will cast the branch to you, and I will scatter the refuse of your solemnities upon your faces, and it shall take you away with it. And you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant might be with Levi, says the Lord of hosts. LXX: Behold, I will separate for you the shoulder, and I will scatter the belly upon your faces, the belly of your solemnities, and I will take you together: and you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my testament may be with the Levites, says the Lord Almighty. Because he speaks to the priests, he says: I will cast in your faces those things which you consider holier in the Law, and which have been forgiven to you by God as a gift of virtues from sacrifices: The arm, which the Seventy translated as shoulder, that is, the right arm of the animal. And I will scatter, he says, the dung, that is, the abdomen; or according to the Hebrews, excrement, that is, Phares, metaphorically using the term to refer to what contains, calling that which is contained, for the priests received both the arm and the chest, as well as the tongue and the abdomen, and those things which are described in Leviticus (Lev. VII and IX) from sacrifices. He testifies that all these things are cast away for their sins, and that they are sent upon the faces of the priests (Num. 18; Deut. 18), so that those who offer may be such as those things that are offered. And He says that He will take you with Him, that is, the dung of your solemnities, so that the filthy faces may be defiled by the mixture of foul dung, and from that which I cast away from you, you may understand that I am He who once chose your father Levi, and through Levi Aaron, and granted you the glory of the priesthood, so that it might be My covenant or testament with Levi, and he might minister to Me in an eternal priesthood. Note that 'Brit' in Hebrew is translated as 'pact' or 'covenant' by Aquila, 'testament' by the LXX, and in many places in Scripture, 'testament' does not mean the will of the deceased, but a covenant of the living. God desired that all people, especially priests, not have any blemish and adorn their shoulder or arm with good works. A good conscience is signified by the heart, holy confession by the tongue, so that what we believe in our hearts for righteousness, we confess with our mouths for salvation (Romans 10). In the stomach, there is nothing deadly; but rather that which sustains and nourishes our life: for if food is not digested in the stomach and its juice irrigates the body, it becomes weak and leads to death. However, we turn everything the opposite way, so that the Lord may reject us or separate our works from the works of the saints, and it is prescribed for us to anoint our heads (Matt. VI) and to wash our faces from the filth of sins while fasting, and to contemplate the glory of the Lord with unveiled face (III Cor. III). Now we say: Confusion covers my face (Ps. XLIII, 16) and like Cain, our face falls (Gen. IV), and we cannot fulfill what is commanded: Lift up your eyes and see (Jer. XIII, 20); but we have faces covered with the filth of vices and we say: My wounds have putrefied and have become corrupt, because of my foolishness (Ps. XXXVII, 6). Wherefore all these things are turned into dung, as the Scripture saith: And he shall take you with him as dung, even the faces of our sacrifices which ought to have come full and clean to the solemnities of God, and to eat the flesh of the lamb shod with shoes (Exod. XII), or after seven weeks, to offer the fruits of our works to God (Lev. XXIII), or to live passing through in the tabernacles of this world, and to say: I am a stranger and a pilgrim, as were all my fathers (Ps. XXXVIII). And because for this reason we translate: He will take you with himself to the dung, the Septuagint translated it as: I will take you together, intelligence is added, that after the priests have been covered with disgrace and ignominy, and have recognized their sin and repented, then they shall be taken by the Lord, and it is fitting for this meaning what follows: And you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you. But the interpretation that seems true to me is superior, lest between the words of threat, he may have inserted words of flattery, especially since even the things that follow sound like God's indignation.
2:5-7