Scripture · Old Testament
Malachi 2:16
Malachi 2:16 is verse 16 of Malachi chapter 2, shown here in the Berean Standard Bible.
Berean Standard Bible
“For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.
Literally “For He hates sending away,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “And he covers his garment with violence,”
King James Version
For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
World English Bible
One who hates and divorces”, says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “covers his garment with violence!” says Yahweh of Armies. “Therefore pay attention to your spirit, that you don’t be unfaithful.
Read in context
Malachi 2:14–17 · Berean Standard Bible
14 Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
15 Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.
16 “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.
17 You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He delights,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”
Read all of Malachi 2Hebrew words
Data created by STEPBible.org based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Study Malachi 2:16
Cross-references
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge lists these related verses. Scripture text comes from the Berean Standard Bible.
Deuteronomy 24:1If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.
Deuteronomy 24:2If, after leaving his house, she goes and becomes another man’s wife,
Deuteronomy 24:3and the second man hates her, writes her a certificate of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house, or if he dies,
Deuteronomy 24:4then the husband who divorced her first may not remarry her after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination to the LORD. You must not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Isaiah 50:1This is what the LORD says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of My creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold for your iniquities, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
Matthew 5:31It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’
Matthew 5:32But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matthew 19:3Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
Matthew 19:4Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’
Matthew 19:5and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
Matthew 19:6So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
Matthew 19:7“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
Matthew 19:8Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart; but it was not this way from the beginning.
Matthew 19:9Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman, commits adultery.”
Mark 10:2Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired.
Mark 10:3“What did Moses command you?” He replied.
Mark 10:4They answered, “Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
Mark 10:5But Jesus told them, “Moses wrote this commandment for you because of your hardness of heart.
Mark 10:6However, from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’
Mark 10:7‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,
Mark 10:8and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Mark 10:9Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
Mark 10:10When they were back inside the house, the disciples asked Jesus about this matter.
Mark 10:11So He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.
Mark 10:12And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
Luke 16:18Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Proverbs 28:13He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
Isaiah 28:20Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the blanket too small to wrap around you.
Isaiah 59:6Their cobwebs cannot be made into clothing, and they cannot cover themselves with their works. Their deeds are sinful deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands.
Micah 7:2The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.
Micah 7:3Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.