Malachi 1 12

Malachi 1:12 kjv

But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.

Malachi 1:12 nkjv

"But you profane it, In that you say, 'The table of the LORD is defiled; And its fruit, its food, is contemptible.'

Malachi 1:12 niv

"But you profane it by saying, 'The Lord's table is defiled,' and, 'Its food is contemptible.'

Malachi 1:12 esv

But you profane it when you say that the Lord's table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised.

Malachi 1:12 nlt

"But you dishonor my name with your actions. By bringing contemptible food, you are saying it's all right to defile the Lord's table.

Malachi 1 verses

Malachi 1 12 Meaning

Malachi 1:12 unveils the deep-seated spiritual contempt within the hearts of the priests and people during the post-exilic period. Despite outwardly participating in temple worship, they internally devalued God's sacred institutions, speaking words that declared the Lord's altar ("table") as defiled and its consecrated offerings as worthless. This verbal denigration exposed their profound hypocrisy and disregard for the holiness of God and His covenant.

Malachi 1 12 Context

Malachi's prophecy targets a deeply cynical and complacent post-exilic Judah, particularly its priests. Following their return from Babylonian exile, the initial zeal for rebuilding the temple and restoring worship had waned. The people and especially the priestly class had succumbed to spiritual apathy, discouragement, and moral decay, driven by hardship and delayed eschatological hopes. Malachi 1 begins with God expressing His continued love for Israel, then immediately transitions into a series of rebukes against the priests for their dishonorable conduct. They were offering substandard, blemished animals as sacrifices, despising God's name, and ultimately viewing their sacred duties as burdensome. Verse 12 explicitly quotes their inner thoughts or outward murmurs, revealing the core of their disrespect: they genuinely believed God's "table" and its offerings were intrinsically defiled and contemptible. This was not mere carelessness, but a profound perversion of holiness that permeated their religious practices.

Malachi 1 12 Word analysis

• But you (וְאַתֶּם – ve’attem): The conjunction "but" (וְ) indicates a strong contrast with God's holiness or with the expected behavior of His covenant people. "You" (אַתֶּם) is emphatic, directly pointing to the specific individuals being accused – primarily the priests, but also the people who shared this attitude. This highlights their direct responsibility and conscious defilement.
• profane it (מְחַלְלִים – mechalelîm): From the Hebrew verb חָלַל (chalal), meaning to desecrate, defile, or make common that which is holy. This term carries strong connotations of impurity and active sacrilege. It indicates a deliberate and ongoing action, not merely an oversight. They are not simply neglecting but actively diminishing the sacredness.
• when you say (בְּאָמְרְכֶם – bə’omrəḵem): This phrase highlights that their verbal expressions were the manifestation of their internal spiritual decay. It points to a cynical attitude deeply ingrained in their hearts, demonstrating that their lack of reverence wasn't just in action (offering poor sacrifices) but in their very words and beliefs. Jesus often taught that what comes out of the mouth reveals the heart.
• The table of the Lord (שֻׁלְחַן יְהוָה – shulḥan YHVH): Refers to the altar of burnt offering in the Temple, where sacrifices were made to God. It is called a "table" metaphorically, representing God's feasting place where offerings were presented and consumed by fire. The term "Lord" (YHVH, the covenant name of God) underscores the holiness and authority of the divine host, making their profanation even more egregious.
• is defiled (מְגֹאָל – mĕḡoʾāl): From גָאַל (ga'al), to soil, stain, pollute. This passive participle indicates that they perceived the table as already polluted or ritually unclean. The irony is profound: they were the ones polluting it by their attitudes and actions, yet they blamed the sacred object itself. This reflects a twisted moral and spiritual logic, shifting blame away from themselves.
• and its food (וְנִיבֹו – wĕnîḇōw): Refers to the sacrificial offerings—the animals, grain, or drink offerings—that were placed upon the altar. The Hebrew nîḇ can refer to "fruit" or "produce" and, in context, means the "yield" or "produce of the table" i.e., the actual offerings. This specifies the exact items they held in contempt.
• is contemptible (נִבְזֶה – nibzeh): From בָזָה (bazah), meaning to despise, scorn, hold in low regard, or treat as worthless. This describes their internal assessment of the sacrifices. They viewed them as insignificant and valueless, contrasting sharply with the divine view of sacrifices as holy and essential for atonement and communion.

Words-group analysis:

• "But you profane it when you say": This group emphasizes the active role of the priests/people in desecrating God's worship, specifically through their cynical and disrespectful spoken words or internal attitudes. Their pronouncements are not innocent remarks but acts of defilement.
• "The table of the Lord is defiled": This phrase encapsulates their inversion of truth. They attribute defilement to God's holy altar, implying it's not worthy of pure offerings, rather than acknowledging that their own lack of reverence is the source of the profanity. This is a deflection of guilt onto the sacred.
• "and its food is contemptible": This further solidifies their utter disdain. Not only the "table" (altar), but the very substance of the worship (the sacrifices) is deemed worthless in their eyes. This justification for offering inferior sacrifices points to a profound spiritual malady where reverence for God has been completely lost.

Malachi 1 12 Bonus section

The Hebrew terms chalal (profane) and ga'al (defile) found in Malachi 1:12 are strong words often used in Levitical law to describe forbidden acts against God's holiness or ritual purity (e.g., priests profaning their heritage, holy things defiled by touch). Their usage here emphasizes the gravity of the spiritual decline; the people were committing transgressions against holiness not just by accident, but seemingly intentionally or with open disdain. This situation represents a critical crisis in the covenant relationship, as the very means of approaching God were being denigrated. This sets the stage for God's impending judgment and promise of purification and restoration.

Malachi 1 12 Commentary

Malachi 1:12 provides a startling glimpse into the spiritual depravity of the post-exilic community and its religious leaders. Their open declaration, "The table of the Lord is defiled, and its food is contemptible," reveals a cynical and blasé attitude towards worship. This was not a passive indifference but an active desecration, termed "profaning." The term "profane" means to treat something holy as common or unclean, diminishing its sacredness. They shifted blame from their own impure motives and inadequate offerings to the sacred institutions themselves, declaring the altar already defiled and the offerings worthless. This rationalization justified their minimal and half-hearted adherence to God's commands regarding sacrifice. True worship, as underscored by this verse, is not merely outward ritual but must spring from a heart that holds God, His holiness, and His provisions in high esteem. The priests, meant to be custodians of holiness and teachers of God's law, tragically failed, normalizing irreverence and becoming purveyors of defiled worship.