Malachi 2:15

Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Malachi addresses the post-exilic community of Judah, answering their question about divorce (v. 14) with a divine assertion of the marriage covenant.

The words — עָשָׂה ('a.Sah, "he made") is the same verb that describes God's creative act in Genesis 1, and ר֥וּחַ (Ru.ach, "spirit") appears in the unusual phrase "a portion of the Spirit," linking the marital bond to a shared spiritual inheritance.

The thread — Jesus cites the same "made them" language (Gen 1:27) in Matthew 19:4 and Mark 10:6 to ground the permanence of marriage in creation.

Why it lands — The verse issues a direct command: guard your inner life and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. It treats divorce not as a civil matter but as a covenant violation before God.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְלֹא־ve./lo'-and/ not אֶחָ֣ד'e.Chadone עָשָׂ֗ה'a.Sahhe made וּשְׁאָ֥רu./she.'Arand/ a remnant of ר֙וּחַ֙Ru.achspiritל֔וֹl/oto/ himוּמָה֙u./Mahand/ what?הָֽאֶחָ֔דha./'e.Chad[was] the/ one מְבַקֵּ֖שׁme.va.Keshseeking זֶ֣רַעZe.ra'offspring of אֱלֹהִ֑ים'E.lo.HimGod וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם֙ve./nish.mar.Temand/ you will take heed בְּר֣וּחֲכֶ֔םbe./Ru.cha./Khemin/ spirit/ your וּבְאֵ֥שֶׁתu./ve./'E.shetand/ with/ [the] wife of נְעוּרֶ֖יךָne.'u.Rei./khayouth<s>/ your אַל־'al-may not יִבְגֹּֽד׃yiv.Godanyone deal treacherously

King James Version

And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.

Cross-references

Matthew 19:4 Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’
Malachi 2:14 Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
Mark 10:6 However, from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 2:20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
1 Timothy 3:11 In the same way, the women must be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in all things.
1 Corinthians 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.
2 Corinthians 6:18 And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
Hosea 1:10 Yet the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’
1 Timothy 3:4 An overseer must manage his own household well and keep his children under control, with complete dignity.