Malachi Chapter 2 verse 4 Holy Bible
And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant may be with Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts.
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And you will be certain that I have sent this order to you, so that it might be my agreement with Levi, says the Lord of armies.
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And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts.
read chapter 2 in DARBY
And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
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You will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant may be with Levi," says Yahweh of Hosts.
read chapter 2 in WEB
And ye have known that I have sent unto you this charge, For My covenant being with Levi, Said Jehovah of Hosts.
read chapter 2 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 4. - Ye shall know. My threats are not vain; this ye shall experience and be forced to acknowledge. This commandment is the purpose and threat, as in ver. 1 (where see note). That my covenant might be with Levi; i.e. that my covenant with Levi might remain firm. The covenant with Levi was the election of that tribe to be the ministers of the sanctuary. There is here a special allusion to the blessing pronounced on Phinehas for his conduct in the matter of Zimri (Numbers 25:12, 13). This election is called "a covenant," because, while conferring certain privileges, it involved certain duties. The difficulty in this interpretation is that the verb used here (hayah) does not mean "to remain," "to continue," but only "to be, to exist." Hence many critics take "the commandment" as the subject, translating. "That it (my purpose) may be my covenant with Levi, i.e. that as God observed the covenant made with the tribe of Levi in old time, so for the future this commandment and threat will be as vigorously observed and take the place of the old covenant. This explanation is too involved and refined to be acceptable. It is easiest to translate, with Henderson and Reinke, "Because my covenant was with Levi," and to understand God as implying that he warned and punished the priests, because he willed that the covenant with Levi should hold good, and he thus desired to have a body of priests who would keep their vows and maintain the true priestly character. What that character is he procoeds to unfold.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(4) Commandment.--Or rather, decree, as in Malachi 2:1.That my covenant might be.--Better, to be my covenant--i.e., so that this new decree, which I have been compelled to make against the house of Levi, may be my covenant with him instead of the old one, of which the prophet goes on to speak.Levi denotes throughout the tribe of Levi, and especially the priests, the sons of Aaron. (See Note on Malachi 3:3.)