Malaquias 1
Jerome · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Malaquias 1:1
(Chapter 1, Verse 1) The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by the hand of Malachi. LXX: The assumption of the word of the Lord upon Israel, by the hand of his angel. What the word 'onus' means, that is, a burden, which in Hebrew is called 'Massa' (), and by Aquila is called 'ἅρμα', or what 'λῆμμα' means, that is, assumption, which the Septuagint and other interpreters have also translated, we have mentioned in other prophets. For even Nahum writes: The burden of Nineveh: The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite (Nahum 2). And Habakkuk: The burden which Habakkuk the prophet saw (Hab. I). And Zechariah: The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Adrach, and Damascus shall be his rest (Zech. IX and XII). And again in the following: The burden of the word of the Lord upon Israel. Let us be content with this explanation: and now let us say only this, that the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel, or as the LXX say, upon Israel, is indeed heavy because it is called a burden, but it has something of consolation in it, for it is taken not against Israel, but to Israel. For it is one thing when, for example, we write to him or them, and another thing when we write against him and him: because in the former, there is a part of friendship, whereas in the latter, there is an open confession of enmity. And it must be known that when Israel was taken captive, that is, the ten tribes, they were indiscriminately called by the former name, while the two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, were called Israel. And when it is said, 'In the hand of his angel,' or Malachi, take 'hand' to mean 'works.' And it came to pass in the hand of Haggai, and in the hand of Jeremiah, and in the hand of Moses, the word of God was made. For in their hands is iniquity, and their right hand is filled with gifts, and their hands are full of blood, in them the word of God does not happen; but those who wash their hands among the innocent (Psalm 25). And whoever Pilate attempted to wash his hands, so that he would not consent to the blasphemies of the Jews (Matthew 27), of whom the Psalmist rejoices, saying: He led me out over the waters of refreshment (Psalm 22, 2). Concerning this water, the Lord promises through the prophet: I will sprinkle you with the cleanest water (Ezekiel 36). But whoever is a sinner, is intoxicated by the Babylonian cup, and it is said about him: Thorns are born in the hand of the drunkard (Proverbs 26, 9). LXX: Put on your hearts. This is not found in Hebrew, but I believe it was added from Haggai, in which we read: And now put on your hearts from this day and onward (Haggai II, 16). Therefore, after the title of the prophet or the preface, it must be understood in two ways: Put on your hearts, that is, pay attention and consider, as mentioned above: The assumption of the word of the Lord on Israel in the hand of His Angel. Or carefully pay attention to what will be said afterwards, so that you may not know them with the ears of the body, but with the understanding of the mind and heart, and make for yourselves treasures in which you may receive the riches of the words of God; and let wisdom act confidently, when your hearts have been enlarged, and when the heart has been filled with the words of God, cast out evil thoughts that come from the heart, such as murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts (Matt. XV), and the rest, and fulfill what the Savior said: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke VIII, 8). I have loved you, says the Lord. Yet you say, 'In what have you loved us?' Was not Esau Jacob's brother? says the Lord. Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert. If Edom says, 'We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,' the Lord of hosts says, 'They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called the wicked country, and the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.' And your eyes will see, and you will say: Let the Lord be magnified beyond the border of Israel. LXX: I have loved you, says the Lord: and you said, in what have you loved us? Was not Esau brother to Jacob, says the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, but Esau I hated: and I have made his borders a desolation, and his inheritance a dwelling of the desert. For Idumea will say, it is destroyed: let us return and rebuild the desolate places. Thus says the Lord almighty: They themselves will build, and I will destroy: and they will be called the borders of iniquity, and the people over whom the Lord has prepared until eternity. And your eyes shall see, and you shall say: The Lord is magnified upon the borders of Israel. Israel, that is, Judah, to whom the word of God was accustomed to be made and the vision of the Lord, is compelled to bear his burden and the weight of the heaviest punishments, in order to cast off more grievous sins and to feel through torments what he did not feel through benefits. And lest the punishment may seem unjust upon his own, the Lord subjoins: I have loved you: For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth; but every son whom he receiveth, he correcteth. (Hebrews 12:6). And in saying, I have loved, the present denies, while it confesses the past. They respond there with the rashness with which they sin, forgetting His benefits: 'In whom have you loved us?' To which the Lord says: 'In order that I should be silent about other things, I will discuss your origins, the beginnings from which you came, before you were born, indeed before Rebecca conceived Esau and Jacob in her womb (Gen. 25): I loved you in Jacob, I hated the Edomites in Esau.' The apostle Paul, expounding this passage in a mystical argument, writes to the Romans, connecting two testimonies together, one from Genesis and one from Malachi: 'But even Rebecca also, having conceived of one, even our father Isaac.' For when they were not yet born, nor had done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand: not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said to her: The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated (Rom. 9:10, et seqq.). For this saying: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, is referred to the Book of Genesis, and to the prophet Malachi. And not only she: For when they were not yet born, nor had done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand: not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said to her: The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated (Rom. 9:10, et seqq.). For this saying: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, is referred to the Book of Genesis, and to the prophet Malachi. And not only she: Before the twins were born or had done anything good or evil, in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls she was told, "The older will serve the younger." Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." (Romans 9:10, et seqq.). For when they were not yet born, nor had done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand: not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said to her: The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated (Rom. 9:10, et seqq.). For this saying: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, is referred to the Book of Genesis, and to the prophet Malachi. And not only she: Before the twins were born or had done anything good or evil, in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls she was told, "The older will serve the younger." Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." (Romans 9:10, et seqq.). For when they were not yet born, nor had done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand: not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said to her: The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated (Rom. 9:10, et seqq.). For this saying: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, is referred to the Book of Genesis, and to the prophet Malachi. And not only she: Before the twins were born or had done anything good or evil, in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls she was told, "The older will serve the younger." Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." (Romans 9:10, et seqq.). But if Edom, that is, Esau, shall say: We are destroyed indeed, but we will return and build up the ruinous places; thus saith the Lord of hosts: They shall build up, and I will throw down: and they shall be called the borders of wickedness, and the people with whom the Lord is angry for ever. And your eyes shall see, and you shall say: The Lord be magnified upon the border of Israel. If a son be a father, where is my honour? And if a master be a lord, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts. The Jews falsely flatter themselves that the Edomites, Romans, and Israelites prophesy about the end of the world: that when the Roman empire, that is, the Idumean empire, is destroyed, the kingdom of the world will come to the Jews. We have spoken these things, laying the foundations of history: now let us come to the spiritual understanding. Israel, a man, or rather, a person perceiving God, or as I think better, most upright before God, is loved by the Lord, and wants to know the reason for his love in himself. And the Lord answered, that Esau and Jacob, being born from the same stock, that is, vices and virtues proceed from one source of the heart: while from the freedom of our will, we lean in whichever direction we desire; but the former vices are born through infancy, childhood, and youth, which afterwards stronger age refines and supplants. The elder brother is rough and bloody (Gen. XXV): he delights in hunting, forests, and beasts. He lives a small and simple life, dwelling innocently in his home. God turns the borders of Edom, that is, the earthly and bloody ones, into solitude, and does not allow anything to grow or last on the land. But if impudent wickedness tries to rebuild what has been destroyed by the word of God, the Lord declares himself an adversary to their efforts to restore vice. And once all the boundaries of the enemies have been overthrown, then we can see with our own eyes the Israelites and all the saints saying: Let the Lord be glorified in their borders, all those who have their minds fixed on God (Wisdom 11). Moreover, love and hatred of God arise either from His foreknowledge of future events or from His works. Otherwise, we know that God loves all things and hates nothing that He has created; but He properly avenges those who are enemies and rebels against His own charity. And on the contrary, He hates those who desire to rebuild what has been destroyed by God. However, God is said to hate anthropopathetically: to weep, to grieve, to be angry; so that when we hear of His hatred towards the wicked, we may avoid what we understand God to hate. — Commentary on Malachi
Malaquias 1:6
Be obedient to your bishop and obey him as your spiritual father. Sons love and slaves fear. "If I am a father," he says, "where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear?" In your case one man combines in himself many titles to your respect. He is at once monk, bishop and uncle. But the bishops also should know themselves to be priests, not lords. Let them render to the clergy the honor that is their due that the clergy may offer to them the respect which belongs to bishops. — LETTER 52.7
Malaquias 1:6
(Verse 6.) The son honors the father, and the servant his master: if therefore I am a father, where is my honor? and if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts. LXX: The son glorifies the father, and the servant his master will fear. And if I am a father, where is my glory? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Almighty Lord. Although before you were born, I began to love you like sons: yet choose how you will call me, either father or master. If you are a father, give your father the respect that is due, and show the appropriate devotion to your parent. If you are a master, why do you despise me? Why do you not fear the master? However, he is speaking to those who have returned from the Babylonian captivity under Zerubbabel and the son of Josedech, and the priest Ezra, and Nehemiah, and have constructed an altar, but have not yet built the temple, nor have they rebuilt the walls of the city, and nevertheless they remained in their former sins, not venerating God with love or fear. But what we have called glory, or honor, is one word both among the Greeks, δόξα, and among the Hebrews 947 כָּבוֹד (Chabod), but for the sake of the Latin language we have used the word honor. For even in the Gospel where the Lord speaks and says: Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you (John 17:1), it is read as δόξασον among the Greeks, that is, glorify. But many Latin translators have rendered this passage as honorifica. At the same time, let us consider that a son and a servant in the Holy Scriptures are chosen by will, not by necessity of nature. For whoever receives the spirit of adoption becomes a son of God; but whoever receives the spirit of servitude becomes a servant of God in fear (Rom. VIII). Therefore, God desires first that we be His sons and that we do good willingly. If we wish to attain this, let us at least be His servants and depart from evil through fear of punishment. We read in a negative light the sons: We were children of wrath, and sons of Gehenna (Ephesians 2:3), whom the Pharisees, going around the sea and land, worthy progenitors of torments (Matthew 23). And Judas the traitor is called the son of perdition (John 17); and in the eighty-eighth psalm it is written about the Lord: The son of iniquity will not be able to harm him (Psalm 88:23). Also in Hosea, the sons of fornication are called, who are generated from a prostitute mother, of whom it is written: Your mother has fornicated (Hosea 2:5). And in the Gospel, the sons of the devil are criticized: You are born from the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father (John 8:44). We read the sons in a positive sense, as sons of God: Whoever received him, he gave them power to become sons of God (John 1:12). And sons of wisdom, proclaimed by the Gospel: Wisdom is justified by her children (Matthew 11:19). And sons of Abraham: Amen, amen, I say to you, God can raise up sons of Abraham from these stones (Matthew 3:9). And the apostle's children: My little children, for whom I am in labor again until Christ is formed in you (Galatians IV, 19), and many similar passages. Therefore, the Son honors, or glorifies, the Father, according to what is written: Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew V, 16). The servant also honors his master, but not with the same love as the son; rather, it is implied from the common rule that the son honors his father and the servant his master; yet Almighty God, knowing the difference between a son and a servant, seeks glory from the son and fear from the servant: For the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Ecclesiastes I, 16), so that we may pass from the fear of servants to the glory of sons. — Commentary on Malachi
Malaquias 1:7
(Verse 7) To you, O priests, who despise my name, and you say: 'How have we despised your name?' You offer on my altar defiled bread, and you say: 'How have we defiled you?' By saying that the table of the Lord is despised. LXX: You, O priests, who despise my name, and you say: 'How have we despised your name?' You offer on my altar polluted bread, and you say: 'How have we polluted it?' By saying that the table of the Lord is despised ÷ and what remains, you have despised ÷ But what follows: And what remains you have despised, we have marked with an obelus, because it is not found in the Hebrew, and it has been added from the following verses. To you, therefore, O priests, who despise my name, this discourse is directed: you who have returned from Babylon, fearful of past servitude, should have turned to the Lord with a full heart. And not only do you not do this, but imitating Cain, you respond with arrogant words against God, and you ask Him whom hidden things do not deceive, and it is said: Wherein have we despised thy name? (Gen. IV) so that with the impudence of dissimulation, you may cover the wound of conscience. Do you want to know in what way you despise my name? You offer on my altar polluted bread: that is, the bread of offering, which according to Hebrew traditions, you yourselves should sow, you yourselves should reap, you yourselves should grind, you yourselves should cook. And now you take whatever you please from the midst, and with a reckless voice you respond, and you say, in what way do we pollute them, or you? For while the sacraments are violated, he himself, of whom they are sacraments, is violated. But we can interpret this in the following way: In what you say, the Lord's table has been despised, referring to the fact that, when they returned from Babylon and the temple had not yet been rebuilt, they dwelled in huts and in the ruins of the ancient city. They only built an altar, but it did not have the same glory as the previous one, and they believed that the sanctity of the religious practice was lacking because there was no ambition for construction. We have drawn thin lines to highlight the spiritual explanation that must be imprinted. He reproaches the divine word to bishops, as well as to neglectful priests and deacons, whether because we are of the priestly and royal lineage, or because all those who are baptized in Christ are considered (or should be considered) in the name of Christ. Why do they despise the name of God? And when asked in what way they have despised His name, He reveals the reasons for their offense: 'You offer on my altar polluted bread,' He says. We pollute the bread, that is, the body of Christ, when we unworthy approach the altar, and when we, dirty, drink the world's blood, and say, 'The table of the Lord has been despised.' Not that anyone would dare to say this, and not that anyone would think of uttering such an impious thought with a wicked voice, but the deeds of sinners despise the table of God. We can also say this: The Doctor of the Church who makes the spiritual bread and distributes it to the people, if he speaks to the people and flatters the rich either for human glory or for worldly gains that follow glory, and honors sinners, and according to James, welcomes those who come to him with gold rings (James 2), and rejects the holy poor, despises the name of God, defiles the bread of teachings, and hurls insults at God himself, thinking that the table of his writings is a common table of idols and secular teachings. — Commentary on Malachi
Malaquias 1:8
(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. We learn more fully about the diversity of victims and what should or should not be offered in Leviticus (Lev. 21 and 22). Therefore, the priests and Levites, gatekeepers and singers, and the servants of Solomon who returned from Babylon, including those whose names were listed by Ezra, offered illicit victims to God, namely blind and lame animals, and those weakened by various infirmities (1 Esd. 2); for this is what is meant by 'languid,' encompassing everything in one word. If you were to offer gifts to your leader, would he not reject them? Would he not consider it an injustice done to him? And yet, you dare to offer this to God, when you do not dare to give it to humans? It would take too long to explain the mysteries of all the sacrifices; I will only speak about those that are contained in this present chapter. The victim of the soul is blind, as it is not enlightened by the light of Christ, nor does it have an eye that gazes upon the Gospel (Matthew 6). The prayer of the petitioner is lame, as it approaches prayer with a divided mind and listens to the people of the Jews: How long will you limp with both feet? (1 Kings 18:21) And weak, and covered with all infirmity, which does not have the power of Christ God, and the wisdom of God. Prayers of this kind, which are without the light of truth, and do not have firm traces of wisdom, decay with various weaknesses, if they are offered to the leader of the Church, or to any educated and wise teacher, will they not be rejected, and fall into contempt for him who dared to offer such things? — Commentary on Malachi
Malaquias 1:9
(V. 9) And now beseech the face of God that he may have mercy on you: for by your hand has this been done, if in any way he may accept your faces, says the Lord of hosts. Who is among you that shut the doors, and kindle my altar to no purpose? LXX: And now beseech the face of your God, and pray to him: these things have been done by your hands, if I may accept your faces, says the Lord Almighty: because even among you the doors shall be closed, and my altar shall not be kindled for nothing. In this place, the Seventy interpreters differ greatly from the Hebrew truth: and where the interpretation is different, it is necessary that the meaning also be different. Because you have offered blind, lame, and weak victims, for you have done all these things that I have said: repent, if in any way God will have mercy on you, for there is no one among you to the very end, not even a high priest, not a priest, not even a Levite, not a singer, and not even a doorkeeper, and the one who sets fire on the altar for burning sacrifices, who should not receive payment for his work from me. However, when he says this, he means tithes of all the crops that are offered by the people. By this, it is shown that servitude to the Lord is more acceptable, which does not demand a reward in the present. Hence the Apostle preaches the Gospel for free (1 Thess. 2); and he works with his hands night and day, so as not to be a burden to anyone, and he testifies that this glory of his free preaching to the Gentiles should by no means be diminished (2 Thess. 3). Furthermore, LXX others suggest a much different meaning: O priests, who offer weak sacrifices, turn to repentance, and seek the face of the Lord and pray for the works of your hands. But what it brings forth: If I 951 take your faces, I do not know if it agrees with the exhortation of repentance. For no one says, pray to me, and I will not spare you. It follows: In you the doors will be closed, namely, those of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Where the Savior says: I am the door (John 10:9). Or in other words: The doors of the Scriptures will not be opened to you, nor will you be able to understand the holy of holies or know the sacraments of the Lord; nor will you be able to offer incense on his altar, because your prayers will not reach him. And what is said to be given freely, we interpret as meaning without reward: those who follow this understanding that we now explain turn it into a favor, so that they do not have the grace to serve at the Lord's altar. — Commentary on Malachi
Malaquias 1:10-13
(Verse 10 seqq.) I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. 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, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. But you profane it when you say: 'The table of the Lord is polluted, and its fruit, its food, is despised.' And you have said: 'Behold, we have labored and blown it away', says the Lord of hosts. And you have brought in the lame, and the sick, and you have brought in an offering: will I accept it from your hand? says the Lord. LXX: It is not my will in you, says the Lord Almighty, and I will not accept a sacrifice from your hands, for from the rising of the sun to its setting my glorious name is among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure sacrifice, for great is my name among the nations, says the Lord Almighty. But you have defiled it by saying, 'The table of the Lord is polluted, and its fruit, its food, is despised.' You also say, 'These things are from affliction,' and you scoff at them,' says the Lord Almighty. You bring stolen goods, lame or sick animals, and offer them as sacrifices. Should I accept them from your hands?' says the Lord Almighty. The rule of Scriptures is this: When a clear prophecy about the future is given, do not diminish what is written by uncertain allegories. So now, specifically, the Lord's message is addressed to the priests of the Jews, who offer the blind and the lame and the sick for sacrifice, so that they may know that spiritual victims will succeed the carnal victims. And not the blood of bulls and goats, but incense, that is, the prayers of the saints, are to be offered to the Lord, not in one province of the world, Judea, nor in one city of Judea, Jerusalem, but in every place, an offering is to be made, not unclean, like the people of Israel, but clean, like in the ceremonies of the Christians. For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, the name of the Lord is great among the Gentiles, as the Savior says: Father, I have manifested your name to men (John 17:6). And when, he says, my name shall become great among the Gentiles, oh you princes of the Jews, you have defiled it and continue to defile it. Thus, the prophecy covers both the future and the present time. But therefore, oh priests and princes of the Jews, in every place a clean offering is presented to me, and my name is great among the Gentiles, because you say the Lord's table is defiled, and what is placed on it is contemptible with the fire that devours it. The people, upon returning from Babylon, built an altar made only of random and unpolished stones, according to the book of Ezra (Ezra 1:6), without a temple, without city buildings, without the construction of walls, and they believed that the worship of the religion was of lesser value because it lacked the adornments of the temple. To them, the Lord says: Do you think that the altar and the burnt offerings and the sacrifices placed on it are polluted? Do you also think that the fire, which consumes the sacrifices, is polluted? You do not understand that the almighty God does not seek gold, gems, or a multitude of sacrifices, but rather the will of those who offer. 953. But those who think that the altar should be understood as the table on which the loaves were placed, how can they interpret what follows, when I do not see at all the fire that devours it: for the fire does not devour the loaves of the offering, which were always exchanged for new ones instead of the old ones, and taken away to be used by the priests (Leviticus 2:4). Or certainly it should be understood in this way: You have defiled my name by saying: What good is it if we offer the best? Whatever is offered must be consumed by fire. But the fruit of the altar is fire, and the food of fire is the offerings of the host or the holocaust. And it is not enough that you spoke blasphemy in the previous discourse, but you also said this: 'Behold, we have labored and blown away what we had, says the Lord of hosts.' The meaning of this statement is as follows: You said, 'We have returned from captivity, we have been plundered by our enemies, we have labored greatly on a long journey, we are poor, whatever we could have, has been consumed by the hardships of the road. Whatever we have, we offer.' And by saying this, you have blown away your own sacrifices, that is, you have made them unworthy by my exhalation. Or as it can be read in Hebrew: 'And you have blown me away by saying this.' You have done injury not to the sacrifice, but to me, to whom you were sacrificing. Therefore, I will by no means accept that from your hand, says the almighty Lord. Some think that this is specifically said to the Jews because their offerings are unclean and polluted, and sacrifice is transferred to the Gentiles. It should be understood as pertaining to the priests of the Church who offer sacrifices to the Lord negligently. But if we accept this, then the offerings must be transferred again from the Church to another religion. And just as I read the Gospel, so again what is not yet future will happen in accordance with the Gospel. They also refer to the contaminated table of the Lord in holy Scriptures, if they are understood differently than they are written. — Commentary on Malachi