Malachi 1:10 kjv
Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
Malachi 1:10 nkjv
"Who is there even among you who would shut the doors, So that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you," Says the LORD of hosts, "Nor will I accept an offering from your hands.
Malachi 1:10 niv
"Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands.
Malachi 1:10 esv
Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.
Malachi 1:10 nlt
"How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies, "and I will not accept your offerings.
Malachi 1 10 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isa 1:11-15 | "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD... When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you..." | God rejects ritual without righteousness. |
| Amos 5:21-24 | "I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies... But let justice roll down like waters..." | Divine rejection of religious ceremony devoid of justice. |
| Hos 6:6 | "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." | Prioritization of heart-attitude over mere ritual. |
| Mic 6:6-8 | "With what shall I come before the LORD...? He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice..." | Emphasis on obedience and justice, not ritual. |
| Ps 50:7-15 | "Hear, O my people, and I will speak... I will not reprove you for your sacrifices; your burnt offerings are continually before me." | God owns all; what He truly desires is praise/thanksgiving. |
| Prov 21:27 | "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with evil intent." | Wicked intent makes sacrifices an abomination. |
| Mt 15:8-9 | "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me..." | Jesus quoting Isa 29:13; heart matters most in worship. |
| Mk 7:6-7 | "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites... they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." | Condemnation of external worship without internal devotion. |
| Jn 4:23-24 | "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth..." | True worship is internal and sincere, not ceremonial. |
| Rom 12:1 | "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God..." | Presenting oneself as a spiritual sacrifice. |
| Heb 13:15-16 | "Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God... Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have..." | Spiritual sacrifices of praise and good deeds. |
| 1 Pet 2:5 | "You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices..." | Believers as priests offering spiritual sacrifices. |
| Phil 4:18 | "I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God." | Practical acts of giving as acceptable offerings. |
| Neh 13:10-14 | Nehemiah confronted neglect of the temple and Levitical support, similar theme of decay in temple service. | Neglect and abuse of temple practices. |
| Jer 6:13 | "From the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely." | Corrupt spiritual leaders motivated by greed. |
| Jer 7:4, 8-10 | "Do not trust in these deceptive words: 'This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.'" | False security in ritual without true change. |
| Zech 7:4-7 | The LORD declared that their fasting and feasts were not truly for Him, highlighting hypocrisy. | External religious acts done without proper motive. |
| Mal 1:6-9 | Immediately precedes this verse, showing God's charge against priests for despising His name and presenting defiled food. | Context of blemished offerings and disrespect. |
| Mal 1:11 | "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..." | God's ultimate desire for pure worship globally. |
| Isa 49:6 | "I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." | God's universal plan for worship beyond Israel. |
| Isa 22:22 | "And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open." | Divine authority over opening/shutting, ultimate control. |
| Rev 3:7 | "The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens." | Christ's authority over spiritual access and closure. |
Malachi 1 verses
Malachi 1 10 Meaning
Malachi 1:10 powerfully expresses the LORD's utter rejection of the corrupted and insincere worship offered by the priests and the people of Israel. He would rather have the temple doors shut and the sacrificial fires extinguished than accept their blemished, defiled offerings given without true devotion. It declares that God derives no pleasure from their ritualistic service and will not accept sacrifices that are devoid of reverence, offered for selfish gain, or are inherently defiled, preferring cessation of activity over profanity.
Malachi 1 10 Context
Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, set in the post-exilic period (mid-5th century BC), roughly a century after the first exiles returned from Babylon. The people have rebuilt the temple and restored the sacrificial system, but their spiritual fervor has waned. Malachi's prophecies address the spiritual complacency, cynicism, and disobedience prevalent among the Jewish community in Jerusalem, specifically highlighting the failure of the priests who were supposed to be examples of holiness. The book is structured as a series of disputations where the LORD makes an accusation, the people question it, and the LORD offers a strong rebuttal and evidence. Malachi 1:10 is the indignant climax of the first major disputation (Mal 1:6-14), where God directly confronts the priests for their defiled worship. They were offering blind, lame, and sick animals, despising the altar, and making light of God's holy requirements. The verse essentially states God's desire for the cessation of their sacrilege, expressing His utter dissatisfaction with their mockery of worship.
Malachi 1 10 Word analysis
- Who is there: A rhetorical question (mî gam bākhem) conveying deep exasperation and sorrow from God. It's a lamentable wish, not an expectation.
- among you: Specifically targeting the priests (kohanim), who were responsible for the proper functioning of the temple and its sacrifices. Their failure was most grievous because of their spiritual office.
- who would shut: The desire for cessation. This is an indictment: God prefers an inactive, closed temple to one desecrated by insincere worship.
- the doors: Hebrew dĕlāthôt (דלתות), referring to the gates or entrances of the temple precincts. Closing them would signify a halt to all religious activity, particularly the offering of sacrifices.
- or kindle fire: A direct reference to the regular morning and evening burnt offerings (olah) which required fire on the altar. Its cessation would mean no more sacrifices were being made.
- on My altar: Emphasizes the sacred ownership. The altar was not merely a structure but consecrated for holy use to the LORD Himself, further highlighting the defilement of their actions.
- for nothing: Hebrew chinnam (חִנָּם), meaning "for no cost," "gratis," but in this context carries the sense of "in vain," "without purpose," or "to no advantage." Their corrupted service provided no benefit to God, no acceptance for themselves, and perhaps even indicated the priests were performing duties without a stipend, highlighting their mercenary spirit. It implies futility or self-serving motives.
- I have no pleasure: Hebrew chēphetz (חֵפֶץ) conveys deep displeasure or delight. Here, it denotes God's absolute lack of delight or satisfaction in their offerings and in them as worshippers.
- in you: Direct rejection of the priests themselves, not just their actions. Their spiritual condition was unacceptable.
- nor will I accept: Hebrew rāṣāh (רָצָה), to be pleased with, to accept favorably. A strong divine refusal to consider their offerings legitimate or efficacious.
- an offering: Hebrew minḥāh (מִנְחָה), which primarily refers to a grain offering but can be a general term for any tribute or gift. In context with "kindle fire," it implicitly includes the animal sacrifices (burnt offerings) upon which other offerings might be presented or associated with. Here, it signifies all that was presented to God.
- from your hand: Specifies the priests as the conduit and primary agents of this unacceptable worship.
Words-group analysis:
- "Who is there among you who would shut the doors? Or kindle fire on My altar for nothing!": This passionate rhetorical outburst shows God's profound grief and anger. He yearns for someone to stop the meaningless ritual, preferring silence and cessation of formal worship over continuation of the profanity. It contrasts human perception of performing religious duties with God's evaluation of their true spiritual value.
- "I have no pleasure in you, nor will I accept an offering from your hand": This conclusive declaration underscores God's personal and ultimate rejection. It's not just the sacrifice that is rejected, but the priests and the state of their heart as worshippers. This statement establishes a boundary for true worship—it must be pure in intent and action to be acceptable.
Malachi 1 10 Bonus section
The profound lament in Malachi 1:10 echoes throughout scripture concerning the inadequacy of mere ritual without righteousness, foreseeing the New Testament's emphasis on worship "in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:24). It serves as a strong indictment of a spiritual system that had become corrupt from within. This passage indirectly critiques any spiritual leader or community whose service becomes a duty done for external reasons (tradition, public image, personal gain) rather than from a genuine, heartfelt reverence for God. The divine wish for the "doors to be shut" can also be interpreted as foreshadowing God's turning away from Israel's corrupt system in anticipation of a new covenant where worship would be universally pure, as suggested in Malachi 1:11, encompassing Gentiles in sincere devotion, which would not require specific temple gates or sacrificial fires.
Malachi 1 10 Commentary
Malachi 1:10 is a pivotal verse, serving as a powerful divine protest against hypocrisy in worship. It cuts to the core of genuine devotion, stating unequivocally that God prefers an absence of ritual over defiled, formalistic practice. The priests, who were the mediators of worship and keepers of God's statutes, had themselves become the greatest offenders. Their mercenary spirit—evidenced by offering blemished animals or, as some scholars suggest, wanting remuneration for closing temple doors—demonstrated a profound disregard for God's holiness and their own sacred calling. The "for nothing" implies a total lack of spiritual value in their actions, serving only to further defile the altar and grieve God. This verse starkly reminds us that God desires truth in the inward parts and not merely outward adherence to religious duties. The ultimate criterion for acceptable worship is a reverent heart and genuine obedience, exemplified by offerings that reflect honor, not contempt, for God.