Malachi 1:8
in Malachi 1When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present the lame and sick ones, is it not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when ye offer the blind for sacrifice, it is no evil! and when ye offer the lame and sick, it is no evil! Present it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee? or will he accept thy person? saith Jehovah of hosts.
KJV
And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts.
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This verse in Malachi 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil?.... Certainly it is, according to the law in Lev 22:22 or, as Kimchi interprets it, when they bring to you a lamb that is blind for sacrifice to offer it up, ye say, this is not evil; but it is good to offer it up, because the table is contemptible.
This site's exposition
A son honoureth his father
on Malachi 1:6-8
A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: the Lord presses the priests with the plainest household logic, asking where his honour and his fear are if he is truly their father and master. Their answer is not repentance but another skeptical question, Wherein have we despised thy name, and the Lord names it for them at once, polluted bread offered on his altar, food unfit for any earthly governor set before the King of heaven. The bench reads the priests' offense as contempt bred by familiarity, the sacred grown so routine that its corruption no longer registered to them as an insult.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(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.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Such was the offering of the murderous Cain that was rejected. He had been told by God, "If you act well, I will receive it." Such again were all the offerings of the Israelites that were rejected, whereby they received the curse of the prophet …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The L ORD will be magnified from the border of Israel. The prophecy of this book is entitled, The burden of the word of the Lord (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Could they imagine that such sacrifices as these would be pleasing to God, or answer the end of sacrifices? " Should I accept this at your hand, saith the Lord?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Offer it now unto thy governor - פחת pechath, a word signifying a lieutenant, or viceroy, among the Chaldeans, Syrians, and Persians; for neither at this time, nor ever after, was there a king in Israel.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Your earthly ruler would feel insulted, if offered by you the offering with which ye put off God (see Le 22:22, 24). is it not evil?--MAURER translates, "There is no evil," in your opinion, in such an offering; it is quite good enough for such a purpose.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? - Others, “it is not evil,” as we should say, “there is no harm in it.” Both imply, alike, an utter unconsciousness on the part of the offerer, that it was evil: the one, in irony, that this was always their answer, “there is nothing amiss;” the other is an indignant question, “is there indeed nought amiss?” And this seems the most natural. The sacrifice of the “blind” and “lame” was expressly forbidden in the law Deu 15:21, and the sick in manifold varieties of animal disease. “Whatever hath a blemish ye shall not offer Lev 22:22, blind or with limb broken, or wounded or mangy or scabby or scurfy.” Perfectness was an essential principle of sacrifice; whether, as in the daily sacrifice, or the sin or trespass-offerings, typical of the all-perfect Sacrifice, or in the whole-burnt-offering, of the entire self-oblation. But these knew better than God, what was fit for Him and them. His law was to be modified by circumstances. He would not be so particular (as people now say so often.) Is it then fit to offer to God what under the very same circumstances man would not offer to man? Against these idle, ungrateful, covetous thoughts God saith, “Offer it now unto thy governor.” He appeals to our own instinctive thought of propriety to our fellow creature, which may so often be a test to us. No one would think of acting to a fellow-creature, as they do to Almighty God. Who would make diligent preparation to receive any great one of the earth, and turn his back upon him, when come? Yet what else is the behavior of most Christians after holy communion? If thou wouldest not do this to a mortal man, who is but dust and ashes, how much less to God Almighty, the King of kings and Lord of lords! […]
The words behind it
22 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכִֽי־ | vekhi- | and if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תַגִּשׁ֨וּן | tagishun | you bring near ! | H5066 → | 125 times |
| עִוֵּ֤ר | ʾiver | a blind [animal] | H5787 → | |
| לִזְבֹּ֙חַ֙ | lizboach | to sacrifice | H2076 → | |
| אֵ֣ין | ʾein | not? | H369 → | 789 times |
| רָ֔ע | ra' | [is it] evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וְכִ֥י | vekhi | and if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תַגִּ֛ישׁוּ | tagishu | you bring near | H5066 → | 125 times |
| פִּסֵּ֥חַ | piseach | a lame [animal] | H6455 → | |
| וְחֹלֶ֖ה | vecholeh | and a sick [animal] | H2470 → | 76 times |
| אֵ֣ין | ʾein | [is it] not? | H369 → | 789 times |
| רָ֑ע | ra' | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| הַקְרִיבֵ֨הוּ | hakrivehu | bring near it | H7126 → | |
| נָ֜א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| לְפֶחָתֶ֗ךָ | lefechatekha | to governor your | H6346 → | |
| הֲיִרְצְךָ֙ | hayirtzekha | ¿ will he be pleased with you | H7521 → | 56 times |
| א֚וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | |
| הֲיִשָּׂ֣א | hayisa' | ¿ will he lift up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| פָנֶ֔יךָ | faneikha | face your | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אָמַ֖ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָאֽוֹת׃ | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
וְכִֽי־and if
vekhi-H3588 →4482 times
תַגִּשׁ֨וּןyou bring near !
tagishunH5066 →125 times
עִוֵּ֤רa blind [animal]
ʾiverH5787 →
לִזְבֹּ֙חַ֙to sacrifice
lizboachH2076 →
אֵ֣יןnot?
ʾeinH369 →789 times
רָ֔ע[is it] evil
ra'H7451 →662 times
וְכִ֥יand if
vekhiH3588 →4482 times
תַגִּ֛ישׁוּyou bring near
tagishuH5066 →125 times
פִּסֵּ֥חַa lame [animal]
piseachH6455 →
וְחֹלֶ֖הand a sick [animal]
vecholehH2470 →76 times
אֵ֣ין[is it] not?
ʾeinH369 →789 times
רָ֑עevil
ra'H7451 →662 times
הַקְרִיבֵ֨הוּbring near it
hakrivehuH7126 →
נָ֜אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
לְפֶחָתֶ֗ךָto governor your
lefechatekhaH6346 →
הֲיִרְצְךָ֙¿ will he be pleased with you
hayirtzekhaH7521 →56 times
א֚וֹor
ʾoH176 →
הֲיִשָּׂ֣א¿ will he lift up
hayisa'H5375 →656 times
פָנֶ֔יךָface your
faneikhaH6440 →2123 times
אָמַ֖רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָאֽוֹת׃of hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 14:10This is what the LORD says about this people: “Truly they love to wander; they have not restrained their feet. So the LORD does not accept them; He will now remember their guilt and…
it leads to
- Hosea 9:9
They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Amos 5:22
Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 8:13
Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: They will return to…
- Psalms 119:101
I have kept my feet from every evil path, that I may keep Your word.
- Jeremiah 6:20
What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please Me.”
- Hosea 9:9
Through
Hosea 8:13Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: They will return to…
it leads to
- Hosea 9:6
For even if they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them and Memphis will bury them. Their precious silver will be taken over by thistles, and thorns will overrun their tents.
- Hosea 9:6
Through
Deuteronomy 15:21But if an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 17:1
You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep with any defect or serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God.
- Malachi 1:7–8
By presenting defiled food on My altar. But you ask, ‘How have we defiled You?’ By saying that the table of the LORD is contemptible.
- Deuteronomy 17:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About Malachi
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Malachi; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Sahdona the Syrian, BOOK OF PERFECTION 18.