(Verse 5 onwards) My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave him fear, and he feared me, and trembled at the presence of my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity. For the lips of the priest preserve knowledge, and people seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. LXX: My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave him fear to fear me, and he was in awe of the presence of my name. The law of truth (also called truth itself) was on his lips, and iniquity was not found on his tongue. He walked with me in peace and turned many away from wickedness. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Almighty. It is described from the perspective of God, the perfect duty of a priest, what he should be like, and how God wanted him to be, whom he commanded to be. For He had said above, 'On account of the pact between Me and Levi,' says the Lord of Hosts, 'and it was through Levi the Patriarch that the pact reached his descendants, Aaron, Eleazar, Phinehas, and others who were generated from his lineage. But now in the end, He says, 'You have made void the pact with Levi,' says the Lord of Hosts. From this, it is clear that everything that is said about Levi pertains to the priests and specifically to the high priest. We read in Numbers about Phinehas, who killed Zimri and the Midianite woman with a sword. Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, caused My fury to rest upon the Israelites because he was zealous for My honor and did not let Me destroy the Israelites in My anger. Therefore, I said, 'Behold, I will give him the covenant of peace, and it shall be for him and his descendants after him a covenant of eternal priesthood.' This is because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.' (Numbers 25:11) But let us not consider the testament or pact of life to be that which is common to us with animals and all living creatures, but that which says: I am the life (John 14:7). For indeed our life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3): of whom we can say that he himself is our peace, as the Apostle affirms: For he himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). Therefore, the Lord gave to Levi and through him to his descendants, that they might fear him; for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10), and they should fear and withdraw themselves from his presence, showing the fear of the mind by the horror of the body, according to what is written: On whom shall I rest, except on the humble and quiet and trembling one who keeps my words? (Isaiah 66:2) The law of truth was on his lips, that is, the teaching of the peoples, which in the priest should not be defiled by any falsehood; but should proceed entirely from the fountain of truth. And injustice was not found on his lips, so that he might imitate his Lord, of whom it is said: 'He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth' (1 Peter 2:22). He walked with me in peace and equity, so that he himself may have peace within him and may bring peace to others, and may show no partiality in judgment, and therefore he walks with God as Enoch walked, who was taken up by God and was found no more (Genesis 5); and he turned many away from iniquity. Whoever is a priest and does not correct wrongdoers, passes over the duty of the priest. The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge: they shall not say, pronounce, but shall keep, so that they may speak at the proper time, and give food to the servants in due season, and seek the law from his mouth. The same is written in Haggai: 'Ask the priests about the law of the Lord' (Haggai 2:12). It is the duty of the priest to respond to the disciplined inquiry about the law. If someone is diligent in ignorance of other things, but negligent in the Holy Scriptures, they boast in vain of a dignity whose works they do not exhibit. This is what the apostle Paul writes to Titus: That he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict (Titus 1:9). And to Timothy: Since from childhood you have known the sacred writings, which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, so that the one who sins in the presence of all may be rebuked (2 Timothy 3:13). It follows: Because the angel of the Lord of hosts is. He explains his name as Ezra, the priest of God, that is, Malachi, which is interpreted as the angel of the Lord; however, an angel, that is, a messenger, is truly called a priest of God, because he is the mediator between God and men, and he announces God's will to the people: and therefore in the priest's breastplate it is the rational (Exodus 29), and in rational learning and truth is placed, so that we may learn that a priest must be learned and a proclaim of the Lord's truth. Some falsely think that what is said about Levi and through Levi to the priests should be understood about Christ, not considering the things that follow, which are contrary to the person of Christ.
2:8-9
(Vers. 8, 9.) But you have departed from the way, and have caused many to stumble in the law: you have made void the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts. Therefore I also have made you contemptible and base before all the people, because you have not kept my ways, and have had respect of persons in the law. LXX: But you have turned aside from my way, and have made many weak in the law, you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Almighty Lord. And I gave you contemptible and dissolute ones to all nations, because you did not keep my ways, but showed partiality in the law. This does not pertain to the person of Christ, nor to those who are dedicated to his worship, even if I remain silent, the wise reader understands. And the meaning is: I wanted to make you do what is contained in the previous chapter, and what I spoke through Moses in Deuteronomy: Give his teaching and truth to the righteous man (Deut. XXXIII, 8, sec. LXX), and the rest: but you have departed from the straight path, or deviated, as I said: Do not turn to the right or to the left (Deut. V, 32); and you have made many weak in the law, or caused them to stumble, as Aquila and Symmachus translated. To turn to the right is to abstain from the foods that God created for use; to condemn marriage and to fall into that which is written in another place: Do not be overly righteous (Eccl. 7:17). To turn to the left is to give oneself over to luxury and lust, and to cause scandal to many in the law. It is better for such a person to have a millstone tied around their neck and be thrown into the sea, than to cause one of the least of these to stumble. But many make the weak, who, having received the strength of faith in Christ, make them weak by their negligent behavior, of whom rightly it is said: You have made void the covenant of Levi, the covenant of life and peace, and other things which we have said pertain to the priest's duty. For this reason, I too have made you contemptible and lowly to all the people, so that they would despise you and trample upon your honor and glory: Because you have not kept my ways and have shown partiality in the law. Among all the sins of Levi, or those who are from Levi, the priests of God, that one is placed last and greatest, why they receive faces in the law, so that they consider not causes, but persons, despising the just poor, receiving and honoring unjust rich. To whom it is said in the eighty-first psalm: How long will you judge unjustly and accept the faces of sinners (Psalm 81:2)? And Paul says to the Galatians: God, he says, does not accept the person of man (Galatians 2:6). The apostle James more fully argues this sin and condemns it (James 2). However, whatever is said to the previous people, let us consider it also said to us, so that we may be more cautious in avoiding vices and not adopt a face against the law, nor prefer falsehood to the truth as worshippers of God.
2:10-12
(Verse 10 and following) Is not the Father one of us all? Is not God one who created us? Why then does each one of us despise his brother, violating the covenant of our fathers? Judah has transgressed, and abomination has been made in Israel and in Jerusalem: because Judah has defiled the sanctification of the Lord, which he loved, and has taken the daughter of a foreign god. The Lord will destroy the man who does this, the master and the disciple from the tents of Jacob, and the one who offers an offering to the Lord of hosts. LXX: Is not the Father of you all one? Did not one God create you? Why have you each forsaken his brother, making the abominable testament of your fathers? Judas has been abandoned, and abomination has been made in Israel and in Jerusalem, because Judas defiled the holy things of the Lord, in which he loved, and he discovered foreign gods. May the Lord destroy the man who does these things, until he is driven out from the tents of Jacob, and from those who offer sacrifice to the Almighty Lord. Before we discuss the current chapter, the tradition of the Hebrews must be presented, indeed the truth of the Scriptures must be explained. We read in a volume titled Ezra, spoken in the person of Ezra himself: The leaders approached me, saying: The people of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands and from their abominations, namely the Canaanites, Ethiopians, Persians, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: and the holy seed is mixed with the people of those lands. Moreover the hand of the princes and magistrates hath been first in this transgression. And when I had heard this thing, I rent my mantle and my coat, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down mourning (1 Esdras 9:1). And again in the following: And there were found of the sons of the priests that had taken strange wives: of the sons of Jesus, the son of Josedec, and his brethren, Maasia, and Eleazar, and Jarib, and Godolia: and they gave their hands to put away their wives, and to offer for their offence a ram of the flock (1 Esdras 10:18-19). At the end of the chapter, after listing those who had taken foreign wives ((or had taken)), the Scripture states: All of these took foreign wives, and there were women among them who gave birth to sons. Therefore, upon their return from the Babylonian captivity, both the leaders, priests, and Levites, as well as the rest of the people, rejected their wives of Israelite descent, who, due to poverty and the injustice of a long journey, as well as the frailty of their gender, could not bear the labor and had become worn out, and had contracted physical weakness and deformity. And they had entered into matrimony with foreigners, who were either in the prime of life or possessed more attractive physical appearances, or were the daughters of the powerful and wealthy. So Ezra the prophet rebukes them and challenges them to reject their new wives and take back the wives they had divorced. He says, 'Is not Abraham our father? Didn't Isaiah write about him: Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah, who bore you; for he was one, and I called him.' Isn't it one God who created us, who chose our lineage from Abraham? Why then do we despise our old wives and cast aside the daughters of our brothers, in order to abandon the covenant of our fathers and not take wives according to the Law? Juda transgressed (for this tribe alone returned from Babylon with the priests and Levites, and abomination was committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. Not from the ten tribes which were held by the Assyrians did this happen, but from those who returned under the authority of King Cyrus, Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah from Babylon. Because Judah defiled the sanctification of the Lord, which he loved, and took a daughter of a foreign god, mixing Israel's seed with foreigners and the daughters of the nations, that is, with non-Israelite women who served idols, by marrying them. Therefore, the word of the prophets is directed towards them, and they are drawn away from sin by curses. May the Lord destroy the man who does this. How beautifully he does not pardon the error, nor does he say, 'May the Lord curse the one who did this,' but the one who does it, stretching the curse towards the future, in order to provoke sinners to repentance. The teacher, he says, the disciple from the tents of Jacob, whether he be a priest or a layperson, they shall be struck with the same curse, and there shall be no difference in punishment for those in whom the sins are equal. And the one offering a gift to the Lord of hosts: it is understood that the Lord will destroy him as well, who wishes to offer a gift at the altar for men of this kind, whose only remedy is not to do what they have done. Some, not understanding this passage, nor knowing the truth of history, understand what he says: 'Is not the father of us all one?' concerning Abraham, so as to also mention Abraham as the father of the Gentiles, according to what is written: 'God is able from these stones to raise up children of Abraham' (Matt. 3:9). Certainly they affirm one God the Father according to what we read in Deuteronomy: Is not this the same Father who possessed you, and made you, and created you (Deut. XXXII, 6)? And again: You have deserted the God who created you (Ibid., 18). And elsewhere: I have begotten sons and exalted them, but they have forsaken me (Isaiah I, 2). And in the Book of Psalms: The sons of strangers have lied to me: the sons of strangers have grown old and stumbled from their paths (Ps. XVII, 46). 964 From this one father, who sinned, departing, they made many fathers of their vices: For everyone who commits sin is born of the devil. And this is what follows: Therefore each one of us despises his brother, violating the covenant of our fathers, they interpreted it in such a way as to say: We who are all generated from one father ought to be one, and to have one confession of faith; but afterwards by pride and the building of the tower against God, they were divided into many languages and opinions (Gen. XI). They also refer to acts of charity, saying: Let us despise our brothers when we do not share with them what we have received from God for sustaining life. And they further allege that our brother is called Lord according to the Scriptures, who commanded Mary Magdalene to announce to his brothers that the Lord has risen (John 20), and he speaks in the Psalm: I will declare your name to my brothers, in the midst of the Church I will sing praise to you (Psalm 22:23). So the Jews deserted their brother and contaminated the covenant of their fathers, which God had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that in their descendants, who is interpreted as Christ, all the nations would be blessed. They suspect these things in various ways because they do not find a certain way. Finally, even this which follows according to the Septuagint: Judas has been forsaken, and abomination has been made in Israel and in Jerusalem, they explain thus: The Jews have been deserted because they have blasphemed the Lord Savior and have endured what is written: According to the multitude of their wickedness, drive them out, for they have provoked you, O Lord (Ps. 5:11), so that they would be scattered as wanderers and fugitives into all the provinces. For they have polluted the holy things of the Lord, being devoted to the Son of God, and approaching foreign gods: For whoever does not accept the Son, does not accept the Father who sent him (Luke IX, 43). And because they have done this, they will continue to be destroyed until they are humbled, either by the injustice of captivity, or by the guilt of their conscience: and they will be cast out from the tents of Jacob, so that with the temple and altar destroyed, no sacrifices may be offered among them (or by them). Not content with this explanation (because Judas is interpreted as the confession of the Lord), they transfer understanding to the penitent, who, after confessing the Lord, if he sins, commits an abomination in Israel, and in Jerusalem, in the sense of seeing God, and in the vision of peace. For he pollutes the mysteries of Christ, unworthily receiving his body and blood (I Cor. XI), because he loves vices and finds for himself foreign gods, having the number of gods according to the number of sins. According to the Apostle Paul: God is a voracious belly (Phil. III), and according to Peter (also James). Whoever is conquered by him, is subjected to him (II Petr. II, 19). And whoever does this, will be exterminated from the Church, and from the tents of Jacob, who supplants vices and sins, until he is humbled for his own good, and a victim is offered for him to the Almighty Lord.
2:13-16
(v. 13 ff.) And you have done this again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, weeping and groaning, so that I will no longer look upon your sacrifices or accept anything pleasing from your hands. Yet you ask, 'Why?' Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, whom you have despised, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. Did not one God create us all? Did not one God give us life and breath? And what does one seek, except the seed of God? Therefore, guard your spirit and do not despise the wife of your youth. When you have hatred, let it go, says the Lord God of Israel; but iniquity will cover its clothing, says the Lord of hosts: guard your spirit and do not despise. LXX: And you have done these things that I hated: you covered the altar of the Lord with tears, weeping and groaning, looking for a sacrifice still worthy of labor, or to receive something acceptable from your hands. And you said, why? Because the Lord has testified between you and the wife of your youth, whom you have abandoned, and she is your companion, and the wife of your covenant, and no other person has done this, and the remainder of your spirit. And you said, what else does God seek besides offspring? And guard in your spirit, and do not abandon the wife of your youth. But if you hate her and divorce her, says the Lord God of Israel, he will cover your thoughts of wickedness, says the Almighty Lord. And guard in your spirit, and do not abandon. Let us interpret the story, and connecting short sentences to each verse, let us discuss what has been handed down to us from the Hebrews. The abandoned wives of the Israelites, contemplating the women of foreign nations in the beds of their husbands, sought refuge only in God's help, prostrating themselves before the altar of the Lord for 966 days and nights with tears, groans, and wails, causing envy towards His providence; because He did not regard human affairs and did not alleviate their miseries. Where God says that he cannot accept sacrifice and offering from the hands of priests who have committed these things, being hindered by the weeping and lamentations of their wives, and moreover, he asks why he does not accept sacrifice from their hands, and immediately he declares: Because the Lord has testified between you and the wife of your youth, whom you have despised, saying: Because of this, a man will leave his father and mother and cling to his wife, and the two will become one flesh (Gen. II, 24): and therefore she is called a partner and wife of union and covenant, who was made from the rib of man by God. And the remainder of his spirit, whether of God, as some suppose, or of the husband, as others suspect, because on this account it seems that, in a certain manner, one soul exists in two (persons), with the spirit and mind united. Therefore, when one (person) has made both the man and the woman, on this account the conjunction of both was made by God, so that children would be born. For there is only one God, what does he seek except the seed of God, that is, children generated from the Israelite stock? So when you have fruitful wives and rejoice in children, why do you seek the beauty of women, which is suitable for prostitutes, not for wives? Therefore, God commands through the prophet and says: Guard your spirit; do not be led astray by desire, so that you are not overcome by the love of strangers. And do not despise the wife of your youth, who was first joined to you in virgin marriage, let her remain with you until old age. But it could happen that the rulers, priests, Levites, and people would respond: God commanded through Moses that when we hate our wives, we should divorce them. And it is written: You say to me that it is written: When you hate your wife, divorce her, says the Lord God of Israel (Deut. XXIV). And immediately he replied: Indeed, this is a commandment in the Law, but because of the hardness of your hearts. Which the Lord further expounds in the Gospel: But whoever, except for the cause of fornication, unjustly divorces his wife (Mat. V, 52), his garment of iniquity will cover him, that is, the body in which the soul is clothed, says the Lord of hosts: so that he may be punished in the same way he sinned. Therefore, in this dissolved question, it inculcates and repeats what it said above: Guard your spirit, and do not despise, either the guardianship of your spirit, or certainly a wife, if she is poor or ugly. What we specifically explained according to the book of Ezra concerning abandoned wives, some people believe this statement is generally against those who plunder the possessions of others and unjustly amass wealth, daring to offer gifts to God, which it says it cannot accept, forbidden by the tears of those who have been devastated, and by weeping and groaning. And it is fitting to apply this testimony to that place: Honor God from your just labors (Prov, III, 9). But they also mix in this feeling, those who on account of the loss of family property, the death of their children, shipwreck, and other things that pertain to the loss of worldly possessions, are turned to weeping, and give themselves wholly to mourning and lamentation: not with the strength of mind and hope in God, and disregard everything for the rewards of the future; even if they direct their prayers to God, they are not received by him, because they are defiled by unseemly and incongruous lamentations for a man. But as for what follows: Because the Lord has testified between you and the wife of your youth, whom you have despised; and she is your partner, and the wife of your covenant or testament; and no other has done so; and the remnants of your spirit are interpreted in such a way that they say the natural understanding of the wife of your youth, and the law written in the heart, which is inherent in all human beings. Therefore, even the nations without the law of God do the things that are of the law. And about this wife, it is preached in Proverbs: A wife is joined to a man by God (Prov. XIX, 24); and we are commanded to drink from our own wells and fountains, and let no one share in drinking, and to take delight in the wife of our youth. This wife even impels us to say to the gullible: God will judge, and God will see (Judges VII, 13); and I leave all things to be judged between me and you, about which even Ecclesiastes speaks: And live your life with the woman whom you have loved all the days of your vanity, which have been given to you under the sun (Eccl. IX, 9). This wife is the remaining spirit of ours, because she is always joined to our perception: and if she departs from us, we immediately offend God, and our impiety covers us. Hence it is again suggested: Keep your spirit (Galatians 6), not the flesh in which those who are cannot please God, not the soul: For the animalistic man does not receive those things which are of the spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14); but the spirit: for the Spirit intercedes for us with unspeakable groanings (Romans 8:16).
2:17
(Verse 17.) You have wearied the Lord with your words, and you say: in what way have we wearied Him? In that you say: everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and such please Him; or certainly where is the God of justice? LXX: You have provoked the Lord with your words, and you say: in what way have we provoked you? In that you say: everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and in these things he delights; and where is the God of righteousness? This place is more fully described by the seventy-second psalm, the beginning of which is: How good is God to those who are upright in heart! But my feet were almost moved: my steps were almost poured out: for I was jealous of the wicked, seeing the prosperity of sinners: For there is no regard for their death, nor is there a firm foundation in their affliction. They are not troubled by the toil of men, and they will not be scourged with men (Ps. 72, 1 seqq). And then I said, therefore I have justified my heart without cause: and have washed my hands among the innocent. So when the people returned from Babylon and saw all the nations around them, and saw them serving the idols of Babylon, and abounding in wealth, and flourishing in their bodies, and possessing all the things that are considered good in this world; but as for me who have knowledge of God, I am covered in squalor, hunger, and servitude, and I am scandalized and say: There is no providence in human affairs, everything is carried by uncertain chance, and is not governed by God's judgment, but rather evil pleases Him, and good displeases Him. Or surely if God judges all things, where is His fair and just judgment? This kind of question, unbelievably, is continually raised to God regarding the future, and when He sees the wicked powerful, He sees the humble saints abounding in all things, even not having those things necessary for sustenance; and sometimes with deaf ears and blind eyes, and with sores in every part of their bodies, and burdened by weakness, like Lazarus in the Gospel (Luke 16) who, covered in purple, desired to be nourished by the crumbs that were thrown from the remnants of tables; but the rich person, in such great cruelty and brutality, does not have compassion on a fellow human, whom even the tongue of dogs has compassion on, not understanding the time of judgement, nor that those things which are eternal are the true goods, saying: Evil things please him, and where is the judgement of God?
3:1
Chapter 3, Verse 1: Behold, I send (or will send) my angel, and he will prepare the way before me: and immediately he will come to his temple, the Lord whom you seek, and the angel of the covenant whom you desire. LXX: Behold, I will send my angel, and he will prepare the way before me: and suddenly the Lord whom you seek will come to his temple, and the angel of righteousness whom you desire. This the Lord interpreted in the Gospel according to John the Baptist, saying: This is he of whom it is written; Behold, I send my angel before your face, and he will prepare your way before me (Matthew 11:10); and he did not use the same words that the translators of the LXX rendered. Marcus the evangelist also, combining two testimonies of Malachi and Isaiah in the discourse of one prophet, began as follows: The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as it is written in the prophet Isaiah: Behold, I send my angel before your face, who will prepare your way (Mark 1:2). This we also read in other words in Malachi. And what follows: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths (Isaiah 40:3), is said by the prophet Isaiah. And immediately explaining both testimonies, he says: There was, he said, John in the wilderness, baptizing and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4). But even the evangelists have interpreted the prophecy of the prophets concerning John, and while they agree in meaning, they differ in wording. For what the LXX translated as 'Make straight the paths of our God,' Mark and Luke said, 'Make straight his paths.' But John said, 'Prepare the way of the Lord.' From this it is clear that the apostles, the evangelists, and the Lord Himself, do not follow the authority of the LXX translators, whom having knowledge of the Hebrew language, they do not need; but they transfer from the Hebrew what they have read, not caring about the syllables and punctuation of the words, as long as the truth of the meaning is transferred. Indeed, we have taught that they did this in many places, especially in the book which is titled by us, on the best method of interpretation, it is confirmed by many testimonies together. Therefore, what is said: Behold, I send my angel and he will prepare the way before my face, it is said in the person of Christ, that he sent John into the desert of Judea to preach the baptism of repentance, for the remission of sins. But what follows: And immediately he will come to his temple, the Lord whom you seek, and the angel of the testament whom you desire, he speaks of himself as if of another, according to the custom of the Scriptures. There is no doubt that this Lord is the Savior, who is the Creator of all, and is called the Angel of the Covenant, and the Angel of Great Counsel. However, others think that what is said, 'Behold, I send my angel and he will prepare the way before me,' is spoken from the person of the Father. And what follows, 'The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Dominator and the Angel of the Covenant whom you desire,' they understand as being said by the Lord Savior himself. But John prepares the way and makes straight paths for the hearts of the faithful of our God, in which, because of wickedness and unbelief, God could not walk first. However, the temple or the Church is interpreted, or each of the faithful in the Church: Build spiritual houses, a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices, and acceptable to God through Christ Jesus (I Peter 2:5). But to those who believe: Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you (I Corinthians 3:16)? The Jews understand this which is said: 'Behold, I send my angel', to refer to Elijah the prophet, and what follows: 'He will immediately come to his temple, the ruler whom you seek' they attribute to the anointed one, that is, their Christ, whom they say will come at the end of time. But I wonder how the course of events does not teach them the truth. For if the ruler will find his temple, which is destroyed down to its foundations, or if it is to be rebuilt by another before Christ comes, what more will their Christ do, since all things have already been restored by another? Our Lord, in the Gospel, interpreting Elijah the prophet, speaks of John the Baptist, saying: If you want to know, he is Elijah who is to come (Matthew 11:14), of whom also the same prophet whom we have been discussing writes at the end: Behold, I am sending to you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes (Malachi 4:5). But how John is Elijah, he has given us the way of understanding, by mentioning that he came in the power and spirit of Elijah.
3:2-5
(Verse 2 and following) Look, says the Lord of Hosts, who can think of the day of his coming? And who will stand to see him? For he will come like a refining fire and like the fullers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will offer sacrifices to the Lord in righteousness. And the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years. And I will come to you in judgment, and I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers, and perjurers, and those who oppress the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless, and those who thrust aside the sojourner: they have not feared me, says the Lord of hosts. For I the Lord do not change. Behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts, and who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. And I will come to you in judgment, and I will be a swift witness against evildoers, and against adulterers, and against those who swear falsely by my name. And those who cheat hired workers of their wages, and oppress widows, and orphaned children, and pervert the justice due to foreigners, and those who do not fear me, says the Lord Almighty. For I am the Lord your God, and I do not change. Above, we have read the question raised to the Lord by those who say: 'Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.' Or surely, if He is displeased, where is the God of judgment? This is where is the truth of justice? To which the Lord's response was: I will send my angel, who will prepare my way, and he will come to his temple, the ruler whom you seek, who is the judge of truth, of whom it is said in the Psalm: O God, grant your judgment to the king, and your justice to the son of the king (Psalm 71:1). For the Father does not judge anyone; but he has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). And that Son is the angel of the covenant whom you seek, who does not delight in evil, who does not show partiality in judgment (Colossians 3:25), who is not changed by either mercy or severity: for the cup in the Lord's hand is full of mixed wine, and he pours from one side to the other (Psalm 75:8-9), meaning that mercy tempers justice, and justice tempers mercy. So he will come immediately and swiftly to his temple, that is, the Church. And who will be able to conceive the day of his coming? If no one can conceive the day of his coming because of the power of his majesty, who will be able to endure it? And who will stand to see him, that is, who will be able to behold him in his glory with dimmed and blinded eyes, he who is the sun of righteousness, and in whose wings is healing? He will come like a consuming fire, and like the fuller's herb. For fire will burn before him, and around him will be a mighty tempest. Then He will call the heavens from above, and the earth, that He may judge His people. The rivers of fire will go before Him, and will engulf the sinners. The Lord is said to be a consuming fire (Deut. IV), that will burn up our wood, hay, and stubble. And not only fire; but also the herb of fullers, which in Hebrew is called Borith, and in the Septuagint πόαν, that is, the herb of fullers, they translate. For those who commit grave sins, it is a fire that melts and consumes; but for those who commit lesser sins, it is the herb of fullers that restores cleanliness, according to what is written in Isaiah: The Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and will cleanse their blood from their midst, with the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning (Isai. IV). Those who have filth need the spirit of judgment in order to be cleansed; those who are full of blood need the spirit of burning in order for the blood that is externally attached to them to be removed. And the one who sits and melts and purifies like silver, according to Ezekiel (Chapter 22), whatever is mixed in our gold and silver, that is, in our understanding and speech, in bronze, tin, iron, and lead, let it be cooked in the furnace of the Lord, so that pure gold and silver may remain. And the Lord also says in the Gospel: I came to cast fire upon the earth, and what will I but that it be kindled (Luke 12:49); and he shall purify the sons of Levi. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). And elsewhere it is written: Begin at my sanctuary (Ezekiel 9:6). But in the sons of Levi: understand all priestly dignity. If, however, the priests are to be purified and worshiped, so that pure gold and silver may remain, what is to be said of the others? When they have been cleansed and purified, then they will offer righteous sacrifices to the Lord, and their sacrifice will be pleasing, which they offer for Judah and Jerusalem, that is, for those who confess the Lord and contemplate His peace with their minds, as in the days of old and the years of ancient times, so that just as they pleased God in the beginning, they may begin to please Him again after sin and repentance, having been cleansed from all the filth of sins. And I will approach, he says, to you in judgment, and I will be a swift witness. How great is the fear of judgment, when he himself is witness and judge. He is a witness against all wrongdoers and adulterers, for these crimes are committed in secret and therefore are brought to light, so that they may not remain hidden for long. After the wrongdoers come the adulterers: after the adulterers come the perjurers: after the perjurers come those who falsely accuse for the payment of a hireling, and they refuse to repay for the labor of their work that they owe. Widows and orphans are also understood to be falsely accused, and they oppress the stranger and foreigner, or at least the catechumen, who has not yet become a citizen of the city of Christ. And if they have not done all these things, it is enough for them to be punished, because they did not fear the Lord. Therefore, we should not consider perjury, not giving wages to the laborer, slandering the widow and the orphan, and oppressing the foreigner and the stranger as light sins: which are compared to wickedness, sorceries, and adultery. We understand this both according to history and according to metaphor, so that what was said at that time to the rulers of the Jews may now be said to the rulers of the Churches. And that which follows: I am the Lord and I do not change, he states this because he had said earlier: he is like a consuming fire, and like the soap of fullers, so that we do not think that he changes his divine nature, since he is called an angel, or fire, or Borith for us.
3:6
(Verse 6) And you, sons of Jacob, were not consumed. For from the days of your fathers, you have strayed from my commandments and have not kept them. LXX: And you, sons of Jacob, have not strayed from the sins of your fathers, you have turned away from my commandments, and have not kept them. As I said before: I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, adulterers, perjurers, those who exploit hired workers, widows and orphans, and those who oppress the foreigners, for they have not feared me, says the Lord of hosts. Calling Himself a just judge, He brought in the statement: 'I am the Lord and I do not change.' And the meaning is this: You are daily changed by wickedness, adultery, perjury, slander, and violence, but I, in judgment, am not swayed by the diversity of persons. And though I admit to being a severe and just judge, O sons of Jacob, you are not consumed by the variety of torments, according to what is written in Jeremiah: 'Without cause I struck your sons, you did not receive discipline' (Jer. 2:30): and you have not done this only recently, nor once, to merit forgiveness for your error, but you will have inherited impiety, departing from my statutes from the days of your fathers, and not keeping what I commanded. But the sons of Jacob according to the supplanter's reckoning, and the brothers of the original snatcher, who do not depart from the sins of their fathers, and deviate from what is lawful, and do not keep the commandments, let us understand those who in the Church constitution depart from vices, and falsely assume for themselves the name of Christian religion.
3:7-12
(Verse 7 and following) Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, 'How shall we return?' Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? And you say: in what way have we deceived you? Because the tithes and first fruits are with you, and you look upon them, and you defraud me ((or: deceive me)): the year is complete, and you have brought in the fruits into the storehouse, and there will be plunder in your houses. Therefore, return to this, says the Lord Almighty: unless I open for you the floodgates of heaven, and pour out my blessing upon you until it is sufficient, and I will divide food for you, and your land will not be destroyed, and your vineyard will not wither in the field, says the Lord Almighty: and all the nations will call you blessed, because you will be a land of delight, says the Lord Almighty. And in the beginning we said that Malachi should be understood as the prophet Ezra; and all the things that are written about him in history, are contained in this book as well: and now we say that during his time and that of Nehemiah (whom it is clear lived together) there was a very severe famine, and because of the famine there was a revolt, and the poor, compelled by the necessity of things, sold their sons and daughters, and all their possessions, and their entire substance. Finally they say: Our sons and daughters are too many, let us take their price in wheat, and eat and live. And there were those who said: Let us sell our fields and vineyards, and our houses, and let us take wheat in hunger. And I was angry, says Ezra, when I heard their outcry according to these words: and my heart thought within me, and I reproached the nobles and magistrates, and the rest. Therefore, during a time of famine, food was so scarce that they were forced to sell their own children, and even those who had little and had stored many crops in barns refused to give tithes out of necessity or due to the magnitude of the price to the Levites, who did not have a share in the inheritance of Judah; but the firstfruits and tithes were their inheritance. Lest it be thought to be ours, let us consider the testimony of Ezra: 'And I realized,' he said, 'that the portions of the Levites had not been given, and each one had fled to his own region from the Levites, from the singers, and from those who served. And I brought a complaint against the officials, and I said, 'Why have we abandoned the house of God?' And I gathered them together and made them stand in their stations. And all of Judah brought the tithes of grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses, and we appointed Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe (Nehemiah 13:10-11),' and so on. We have heard the story of Ezra, now let us repeat the words of the prophets, carefully considering whether the prophecy and the history agree. When it is said, 'Return to me, and I will return to you,' says the Lord Almighty, it is clear that those whom he exhorts to return have departed from the Lord. And behold the mercy of the Lord, he promises an equal return, so that the measure with which they have measured will be measured back to them (Matt. 7:1). And as it is written in Leviticus: 'If you walk contrary to me, then I will also walk contrary to you in fury' (Lev. 26:27-28). So now he encourages the people to return, so that he himself may also return to them. Those who do not understand that they have fallen away from the Lord impudently ask: Where are we returning to? And they say: When did we fall away, that we should be compelled to return? The Lord answered: If a man opposes God, because you are opposing me? The Hebrew word, which is written 'Hajecba', the LXX translated as 'if he supplants': for which Aquila, and Symmachus, and Theodotio substituted 'if he defrauds', so that the meaning is: If a man defrauds God, because you defraud me? And truly, according to the order of history, because the people did not give the tithes and firstfruits to the Levites, 977 the Lord says that he himself suffered fraud, whose ministers were forced by hunger and shortage to abandon the temple. For if he is visited by others in prison, if he is received as a sick person, and if he receives food and drink when hungry and thirsty, why should he not himself receive tithes from his own ministers, and if they are not given, be deprived of his own portion? What we have said, Hajecba interprets in the language of the Syrians and Chaldeans, if it is affixed: from where also we translated it many years ago, more towards the mystery of the Lord's passion, in which men crucified God, than towards tithes and firstfruits (by which one is visited in prison, and received by the sick, and receives food while hungry and thirsty, and is given to drink), referring to written things. Let the prudent reader inquire how our interpretation agrees with the following: In tithes and firstfruits, and see if we can say this: 'For you to crucify me: for you to lay wicked hands on your God', you have done by meditating upon many things, by withholding tithes and firstfruits, I do not say from my priests and Levites, but from me, who commanded them to be given through Moses (Exodus 23). This has been said to us about one word, leaving the judgment of understanding to the reader; now let us follow the order of prophecy. Because you have not given me tithes and firstfruits, therefore you are cursed with hunger and poverty, and you deceive me, or defraud and deprive me, the whole nation for the nation, which is written in Hebrew as Aggoi, the year Seventy was interpreted as a nation. And this is the meaning. Behold, the year has come to an end, and you have gathered nothing into my treasure, but into your barns: And for tithes and firstfruits, which were small, if given to me, you have lost the abundance of your possessions and all the abundance of crops. But in order for you to know, I, being angry with you, because you have cheated me of what is mine, urge and remind you to bring the tithes into the barns, that is, into the treasury of the temple, and let the priests and Levites, who minister to me, have food: and test me, if I will not pour out such great rains, that the floodgates of the heavens seem to be opened. And I will pour out blessing upon you until abundance. The word 'effusion' shows the name 'generosity'. But it is possible for fertility to exist in the fields that are irrigated by rain, yet locusts or weevils, or rust or caterpillars may destroy them, and the labors of humans perish. Therefore, He joins and says: And I will rebuke for you the devourer, namely the locust, and the rest that we have mentioned; and it shall not corrupt the fruit of your land. And vineyards will fill vine-presses also, and all nations around will marvel at the fertility of your land, to such an extent that everyone will desire to live in it, and the abundance of all things will be an example to all peoples. Understand also concerning tithes and first fruits, which were once given by the people to the priests and Levites, in the same way for the people of the Church, to whom it is commanded not only to give tithes and first fruits, but also to sell all that they have and give to the poor, and to follow the Lord Savior (Matthew 19 and Mark 10). But if we do not want to do this, let us at least imitate the beginnings of the Jews, so that we give a portion to the poor from the whole, and defer the due honor to the priests and Levites. Hence the Apostle says: Honor widows who are truly widows (I Tim. V, 3): and let the presbyter be honored with double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine of God. Whoever does not do this is proved to defraud and supplant God, and is cursed in the lack of all things: as he who sows sparingly, shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows in blessings, shall gather abundant fruits in blessings (II Cor. IX, 6). If at any time hunger and poverty, and the lack of all things oppress the world: let us know that this comes from the anger of God, who speaks of being defrauded and deprived of their portion if the poor do not receive alms. We can interpret tithes and firstfruits in this way: if someone is learned and educated in the Law of God, they can teach others, but they should not attribute their knowledge and abilities to their own wisdom and talent, but rather give thanks first to God, who bestows everything, and then to his priests and teachers, from whom they have learned. For if one does not give thanks, but claims knowledge for oneself, they will be cursed in poverty. But if one, understanding God as the giver, and giving thanks to those through whom they have been taught by God, humbles oneself and brings the food into the storehouse of God, that is, ministers the nourishment of Holy Scripture to the people in the Church, then the floodgates of heaven will immediately open upon them, and a spiritual rain will pour forth, and God will command his clouds to rain upon them, and they will enjoy the abundance of all things, and God will even rebuke the devourer for their sake, bringing forth opposing strengths, and their efforts will bear fruit, and they will attain what is written: Blessed is the one who speaks into the ears of those who listen. He will also lift up his eyes and see the regions, for they are already white for harvesting (John 4); and he will gather fruits for eternal life. The vineyard in his field will not be sterile, as he who says in the Gospel: I am the vine (John 15, 1). And he who speaks through the prophet: I have planted a fruitful vineyard, the whole truth (Jeremiah 2, 21); and through humble confession, gratitude to God, and his teachers in the Church, he will attain such blessedness that all nations will call him blessed, and desire to dwell in his land and teachings, those who have heard him speaking in the Church.
3:13-15
(Verse 13 and following) Your words have become burdensome to me, says the Lord, and you have said: What have we spoken against you? You have said, 'It is vain to serve God, and what profit is it that we have kept his precepts, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?' Therefore now we call the arrogant blessed, for they who practice wickedness are built up and they have tested God, and they have escaped.' LXX: You have wearied me with your words, says the Lord. And you said, 'In what way have we spoken against you?' And you said, 'It is vain to serve God; and what good is it that we have kept his ordinances, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Yes, they who work wickedness are built up; yes, they tempted God and escaped.' In that, when you were saying 980: Whoever does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and such people please Him; or certainly where is the God of judgment? Now, he repeats the same more fully: For the people who appeared to have knowledge of God and to observe the law, and to understand their sin, and to offer victims for their sins, to give tithes, to observe the Sabbath, and all the other things that are commanded by the Law of God, seeing that all the nations around them are abundant in all things, he was scandalized by his own poverty, hunger, and misery, and he said: What advantage is it to me that I worship the one true God, reject idols, and in sorrow I go before God with a guilty conscience? The 72nd Psalm, which we mentioned previously, continues more fully and extensively in the same place. Therefore, the prophet, who is a spiritual physician, heals all wounds and declares that blasphemous words against the Creator are cut off. And he speaks in the person of God, saying: 'Your words have prevailed against me, or they have become burdensome.' Indeed, according to Zachariah, wickedness sits upon a talent of lead (Zach. V): and what is said against God is crushed under the heavy weight of blasphemy. Those who do not understand the most serious words and their blasphemy ask, What have we spoken against you? To whom the Lord replied: You have said, It is in vain to serve God, and what profit is it that we have kept his precepts? In this present world they demand reward for serving God, therefore they do not receive it. And because we have walked sorrowful before the Lord, according to what is written in the Psalms: All the day long I walked in sadness (Psalm 37:7). Therefore, we call those arrogant individuals blessed, who boast against God and hurl impious blasphemies. Indeed, they have been successful and enjoy prosperity even after their crimes and blasphemies. They have tested God, whether they resist Him or not, and have been saved. They consider worldly health and happiness to be salvation, and therefore they are deceived by errors. We can understand this about the heretics Marcion and Valentinus, and others who do not accept the Old Testament and speak against the Creator of the world, that they make progress in their impiety and have many partners in crime. Those who are scandalized by them, but persevere in the Church, and are ignorant of the reasons for God's judgment, weave together the words of the prophets.
3:16
(Verse 16) Then those who feared God spoke to one another. LXX: These are the ones who spoke, those who fear the Lord, each one to his neighbor. According to the Hebrews, it is to be understood in this way: those who blaspheme against God's judgment, those who fear God have spoken to one another, that the retribution of good or evil is not in the present and brief age, but in the future and eternal; and that man cannot know God's judgments and argue about his fairness and justice; and other things that a just person should speak with a just person. And he did not say what they had spoken; but from what he brought forth: Then they spoke, fearing God, each with their neighbor, we must understand that those who feared God spoke what is contained in the words of all the Scriptures. But according to the LXX it should be read as exceptional, and with a strong voice, so that we may say: These are the ones who spoke, fearing the Lord, each to their neighbor: that is, those who boast in vain and say, 'What is the benefit, because we have kept his commandments and walked sorrowfully before the Lord?' For if they feared the Lord, they would not say such things.
3:17-18
(Ver. 17, 18.) And the Lord waited, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and meditate on His name. 'They shall be Mine,' says the Lord of hosts, 'on the day that I make them My special possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.' LXX: And the Lord waited, and heard, and wrote a book of remembrance in His sight for those who fear the Lord and revere His name. And they shall be mine, says the Almighty Lord, on the day that I make, as a possession, and I will choose them as a man chooses his own son who serves him. And you shall return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. These are the words of the righteous and those who fear God, speaking to each other and not wanting to hear or speak blasphemy. The Lord listens and hears, and a book of remembrance is written before him for those who fear and think of his name, so that when the day of judgment comes, he may give punishment to the blasphemers and rewards to those who fear him. However, a book was written, about which we read in Daniel: Thrones were set up, and books were opened (Dan. VII, 10). And they will be a possession of the Lord of hosts, in the day when the time of judgment comes. In Hebrew, possession is called Sgolla (), which Aquila interpreted as περιούσιον, and the others as περιποίησιν. Therefore, those who fear the Lord, those who have spoken with their neighbor and have answered words of blasphemy, will be a possession on the day of judgment, and He will spare them, because every man is under sin. Whether you choose them, just as a man chooses his son to be his servant. In this there is a twofold affection, both of a father towards his son, and of servitude towards a servant. And then those of you who now blaspheme and say: What benefit is it, because we have kept his commandments, and have walked sadly before the Lord? From their choice and happiness, you will know their misery, and turned to repentance, you will see what difference there is between the just and the wicked, and between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
4:1-3
(Chapter 4, verse 1 onward) Behold, for the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the proud and all the evildoers will be stubble; and the coming day will set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. LXX: For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when it will burn them up, and all the aliens and all the evildoers will be stubble; the day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. For the wicked have made me labor in their speeches, and have said: Every one that doth evil, is good in the sight of the Lord, and such please him: and if it be not so, who will confront him? and since he is good to those who serve him not, they have said: Where is the God of justice? And behold I speak these things to justify myself, for I am full of complaints against the ungodly; but if I had a cause, I would just speak, and would not fear him as he is. And when He shall have inflamed and burnt them, He will leave in them no root nor germ of wickedness. This is what the impious will suffer on the day of judgment. On the contrary, it is said what will happen to those who fear the name of God: And the sun of justice shall rise upon you, who ((elsewhere: because)) will judge all things truly: and neither good nor evil, neither virtues nor vices, shall be able to remain hidden. And health shall be in His wings, to carry the repentant on His shoulders, according to what is written in Deuteronomy: Spreading His wings, He has received them, and has carried them on His shoulders. (Deut. XXII, 11). Then those who are now included in the world as if in prison will go out, and they will leap like calves from the herd, or like calves freed from chains. Hence the Apostle says: I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ (Philippians 1:23), so that he may go out and leap like a calf freed from chains, and like a victim of the Lord. And he is not content with the end of this joy; but he will trample on the wicked when they become ashes. Hence, there is also an imprecation for the righteous: But the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet swiftly (Romans 16:20). Abraham spoke to the Lord, feeling himself to be like the ashes of divine majesty: 'I am dust and ashes' (Gen. XVIII, 27); and therefore he will see the sun of justice, and will rest among its chosen ones, and carried by him, he will be raised up to the heavens. But he, through pride, said: 'I will set my throne above the stars, I will be like the Most High' (Isai. XIV, 13); he will be cast down to the earth, and will be like ashes under the feet of the holy ones, when the day of the Lord of judgment comes.