Malachi 2:13 · Bible study
Malachi 2:13 Commentary: Study, Tears on the Altar
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does God reject worship covered with tears? Malachi 2:13 examined with commentary, context, and application for pastors and students.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Tears of wronged wives cover the altar, causing God to reject the worship of husbands who have divorced them.
- Key words: 'Cover' (H3680 kasah, to conceal or overwhelm); 'weeping' (H1065 bekhi); 'groaning' (H0603 anaqah); 'turning' (H6437 panah, God no longer turns to the offering).
- Main debate: Whether the tears are those of the divorced wives (majority) or the people themselves lamenting rejected sacrifices (Calvin).
- Theological theme: Worship is unacceptable when offered with unaddressed injustice in close relationships; God sees the oppressed and rejects hypocrisy.
- Best use: Sermon or study on the connection between ethics and worship, particularly marital faithfulness and care for the vulnerable.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
And this is another thing you do: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and groaning, because He no longer regards your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.
WEB World English Bible 2000
“This again you do: you cover Yahweh’s altar with tears, with weeping, and with sighing, because he doesn’t regard the offering any more, neither receives it with good will at your hand.
KJV King James Version 1769
And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And this again ye do: ye cover the altar of Jehovah with tears, with weeping, and with sighing, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, neither receiveth it with good will at your hand.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And this a second time ye do, Covering with tears the altar of Jehovah, With weeping and groaning, Because there is no more turning unto the present, Or receiving of a pleasing thing from your hand.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And further ye do this: ye cover the altar of Jehovah with tears, with weeping, and with sighing, insomuch that he regardeth not the oblation any more, nor receiveth [it] with satisfaction at your hand.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And this again have you done, you have covered the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and bellowing, so that I have no more a regard to sacrifice, neither do I accept any atonement at your hands.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y esta otra vez haréis cubrir el altar de Jehová de lágrimas, de llanto, y de clamor; así que no miraré más á presente, para aceptarlo con gusto de vuestra mano.
Também fazeis esta segunda coisa: cobris o altar do SENHOR de lágrimas, de pranto, e de gemidos; por isso ele não dará mais atenção à oferta, nem a aceitará com prazer de vossa mão.
Voici encore ce que vous faites:
Weiter tut ihr auch das: ihr bedeckt den Altar des HERRN mit Tränen und Weinen und Seufzen, daß ich nicht mehr mag das Speisopfer ansehen noch etwas Angenehmes von euren Händen empfangen.
Dit tweede doet gijlieden ook, dat gij het altaar des HEEREN bedekt met tranen, met wening en met zuchting; zodat Hij niet meer het spijsoffer aanschouwen, noch met welgevallen van uw hand ontvangen wil.
Ed ecco un’altra cosa che voi fate: coprite l’altare dell’Eterno di lacrime, di pianto e di gemiti, in guisa ch’egli non bada più alle offerte e non le accetta con gradimento dalle vostre mani.
A toście drugi raz uczynili, okrywając łzami ołtarz Pański, płaczem i wołaniem, tak, że więcej nie patrzy na dar, i nie przyjmuje wdzięcznej ofiary z ręki waszej.
И вот еще что вы делаете: вы заставляете обливать слезами жертвенник Господа с рыданием и воплем, так что Он уже не призирает более на приношение и не принимает умилоствительной жертвы из рук ваших.
你們又 行 了一件這樣的事，使前妻歎息 哭泣 的眼淚 遮蓋 耶和華 的壇，以致耶和華不 再 看顧 那供物，也不樂意 從你們手 中收納。
And this again you do: covering the altar of the Lord with weeping and with grief, so that he gives no more thought to the offering, and does not take it with pleasure from your hand.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Malachi 2:13
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that the tears covering Yahweh's altar are the tears of Israelite wives who have been wrongfully divorced. Barnes, Gill, and Adam Clarke all identify the weeping and groaning as coming from these women, who come to the sanctuary to cry out to God against the injustice done to them. Keil and Delitzsch clarify the grammar: the infinitive kasot ('to cover') defines the 'second thing' the people do, their treacherous treatment of wives produces literal tears that stain the altar. The result, as Barnes puts it, is that 'God regarded the tears of the oppressed, not the sacrifices of the oppressors.' The consensus is clear: ritual worship becomes unacceptable when offered by those who have broken covenant faithfulness, especially in marriage.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Tears of wronged wives: The immediate context of divorce in Malachi 2:14-16 and parallel passages like Ezra 10, Nehemiah 13. Supported by Barnes, Gill, Clarke, Keil-Delitzsch.
- Tears of the people lamenting rejection: Calvin's reading, where the people weep because they sense God has turned away from their offerings, cited by JFB. This view leans on the phrase 'he does not regard the offering anymore' as a cause rather than a result.
What is clear: The verse insists that God's acceptance of worship is contingent on the worshiper's covenant faithfulness, especially in marriage, and that the suffering of the innocent affects the validity of the worship offered by the guilty.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Source of the tears | Commentators across traditions agree the tears are a real, physical response to the people's sins, and they are present at the altar. | Most identify the tears as those of wronged Jewish wives (Barnes, Gill, Clarke, Keil-Delitzsch). Calvin and JFB mention an alternative: the tears might be the people's own mourning when they feel their sacrifices are rejected. |
| Why God rejects worship | All agree that the tears are a sign that something is deeply wrong in the community, and God therefore refuses the offering. | Some emphasize the judicial cause: the tears testify against the worshipers because of their sin (Barnes, Matthew Henry). Others stress the relational dimension: God cannot accept worship while covenant relationships are broken (Keil-Delitzsch, Calvin). |
| The 'second thing' (shenit) and its relation to chapter 1 | The verse introduces a new offense in addition to the blemished offerings already condemned in Malachi 1. | Calvin and Henderson treat the two sins as distinct: first defective sacrifices, now treachery against wives. A few older Jewish interpreters (Kimchi, Aben Ezra, as cited by Gill) see the first evil as marrying foreign wives and the second as divorcing the Jewish wives. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Malachi prophesied in the mid-fifth century BC, during the early Persian period, when the returned exiles in Judah were rebuilding temple and community. The book addresses two generations after Ezra and Nehemiah's reforms had called the people back to covenant obedience. Yet the old sins had resurfaced: mixed marriages with foreign women (Malachi 2:11) and, as a result, the divorce of Jewish wives (Malachi 2:14-16).
The 'second thing' in verse 13 refers to this divorce treachery. The tears come from women who, like Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:9-10, brought their grief to the sanctuary. In ancient Israel the temple was a place of lament as well as praise, the oppressed could appeal to God at the altar. Deuteronomy 15:9 warns that if a person refuses to help a poor brother, 'he cry to Yahweh against you, and it be sin to you.' Here the wives' cries function the same way: their tears become an indictment against the men who divorced them and against the priests who tolerated it.
The altar in view is likely the bronze altar of burnt offering in the temple court, where blood and grain were normally placed. But now it is 'covered', the Hebrew verb kasah means to overwhelm or conceal, with tears, weeping, and groaning. This is a shocking inversion: the place of atonement becomes a witness against the worshiper. No wonder God 'does not turn to the offering anymore' (the Hebrew penot, turning, suggests God’s face is averted). The people still bring their offerings, but the altar’s true covering, the evidence of broken covenant, blocks acceptance.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Malachi 2:13. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The primary interpretive challenge is not textual but semantic: identifying whose tears are in view and why they cause divine rejection.
Reception History
Malachi 2:13 has been most often read within the context of marriage and worship. Early Jewish and Christian commentators connected the tears to the plight of divorced women, echoing the prophetic tradition that God defends the vulnerable. During the Reformation, Calvin and others used the verse to argue that righteous worship cannot coexist with personal injustice, a theme that resonated with reformers’ emphasis on the heart’s posture over mere ritual. In modern times, the verse has been cited by pastors and ethicists to challenge churches that overlook marital unfaithfulness or abuse in their midst. The image of tears covering the altar has become a vivid symbol of how suffering speaks louder than religious performance.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The second sin, The people commit treachery against their wives (divorce) on top of their earlier blemished sacrifices (Malachi 1). Their worship has become a double offense: first to God, then to neighbor.
- Tears that speak louder than offerings, The weeping of the wronged wives literally covers the altar. God hears the cry of the oppressed more than any sacrifice. Worship cannot rise where injustice remains.
- God’s refusal, Because of this, Yahweh no longer regards the offering or receives it with goodwill. The priests wonder why, but the answer is written in the tears on the altar.
Five-point outline
- Context: the covenant community after exile, struggling with faithfulness (Malachi 1-2).
- The people’s puzzlement: they do not see why God rejects them (v.14).
- The hidden tears: the wives’ suffering at the altar becomes visible to God.
- The divine verdict: rejection of worship is not arbitrary but rooted in broken relationships.
- The call: return to covenant faithfulness, especially in the most intimate commitments.
Illustration hooks
- A spouse who has been betrayed, sobbing in a church pew, while the one who wronged them sits across the aisle taking communion. The tears are a testimony.
- A employee who has been treated unfairly by a boss who then goes to church and leads worship. The boss' worship rings hollow because the injustice has not been addressed.
- A congregation deeply divided, yet everyone sings loudly on Sunday. The 'tears' are unspoken grievances, and God may regard the divided heart rather than the harmonious music.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does God seem to ignore my worship when I am trying my best?
- Can my private sins, especially in my marriage, affect how God responds to my public worship?
- What do I do if I have wronged someone and still want to come to church?
Leading a Discussion
Malachi 2:13 lifts the lid off a dangerous illusion: that worship can be divorced from ethics, especially the ethics of our closest relationships. The people were offering sacrifices, but God was more moved by the tears of the wives they had wronged. As you explore this verse, let it press you both to honesty about how you treat others and to renewed trust in the God who sees every tear.
Discussion questions
- Read Malachi 2:13 aloud. What does the image of the altar being 'covered with tears' suggest about the intensity of the situation?
- The verse says the tears are 'with weeping and with sighing/groaning.' Why do you think the prophet uses three words for the same basic action?
- What do the surrounding verses (Malachi 2:10-16) tell us about the kind of sin that caused these tears?
- Barnes writes that 'God regarded the tears of the oppressed, not the sacrifices of the oppressors.' How does this principle challenge our assumptions about worship?
- In what ways might we be 'covering the altar with tears' today, how do the sins we commit against others affect our worship?
- How can a person who has wronged a spouse or neighbor approach worship honestly, without being hypocritical? What steps does Scripture suggest?
- What does this passage teach us about God's character, especially God's concern for the vulnerable?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 15:9 | Beware that there not be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, “The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,” and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing; and he cry to Yahweh against you, and it be sin to you. |
| Deuteronomy 26:14 | I have not eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor given of it for the dead. I have listened to Yahweh my God’s voice. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. |
| I Samuel 1:9 | So Hannah rose up after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of Yahweh’s temple. |
| I Samuel 1:10 | She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to Yahweh, weeping bitterly. |
| II Samuel 13:19 | Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her garment of various colors that was on her; and she laid her hand on her head and went her way, crying aloud as she went. |
| II Samuel 13:20 | Absalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother. Don’t take this thing to heart.” So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house. |
| Nehemiah 8:9 | Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “Today is holy to Yahweh your God. Don’t mourn, nor weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. |
| Nehemiah 8:12 | All the people went their way to eat, to drink, to send portions, and to celebrate, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
11 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that some women bring their complaints to the priests at the altar because cruel husbands force them to divorce. He points out that the priests fail to speak up against this unfair treatment. Your hope lies in Christ and the resurrection.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes points out that the people's mistreatment of their wives caused the women to weep at the altar, and God counted those tears as a stain on the altar itself. Because of this cruelty, God rejected their offerings entirely, valuing the tears of the oppressed over the sacrifices of the oppressors.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin notes that priests were blamed first because they were meant to correct people’s sins yet instead covered up those sins. Their failure to speak truth allowed others to grow more sinful.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges sees the word deal treacherously as the core description of their sin. It shows they broke the covenant they made with God.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes emphasise that the people's tears and mourning at the altar are not signs of true repentance but of frustration. They weep because God no longer accepts their offerings, not because they have turned from their sin.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill presents two Jewish interpretations for the "second evil" in Malachi: either the people's hypocritical tears and prayers for a Messiah they reject, or their marriage to foreign women, which drove their lawful wives to weep at the altar. Either way, the tears show their offerings are no longer accepted by God.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Calvin notes the second offense involves sin against one’s own wives after the first sin of offering flawed sacrifices. The unoffending wives shed tears covering the altar because their husbands reject them to take foreign wives.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch argues that no reasonable person would divorce his wife as the people were doing. They rebut the common appeal to Abraham sending away Hagar, noting that Abraham acted in obedience to God’s specific promise of Isaac. Thus Abraham’s case does not justify faithless divorce, which God hates.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange notes that the Hebrew word for one refers to the man and woman created as one flesh in Genesis 2:24. He explains that God kept a part of his creative spirit available so he could produce a godly lineage through marriage.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that God created all people as one family and hates breaking marriage vows. He says people sin by marrying those who serve other gods which causes God to stop accepting their offerings.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley notes that the men wronged their Jewish wives by mistreating them instead of caring for them. You can find hope in the fact that the Lord hears their cries.