Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
The priests cannot evade their guilt by blaming the people's coldness. They were appointed to teach the right way; when they dissembled, their silence was consent, and they robbed God's people of His fear, letting spurious sacrifices corrupt the whole worship. The command falls on them first.
AI summary
Commenting on Malachi 2:1-17
False hearts breed false hands. A man who cheats God in his tithes has already broken his conscience; the bonds that hold him to his brother snap just as easily. These Jews dealt treacherously with one another because they had first dealt treacherously with their God, and by marrying heathen women and casting off their own wives, they violated the sacred covenant itself.
AI summary
Commenting on Malachi 2:10-17
Yet ye say, Wherefore?.... What is the meaning of the women covering the altar with tears? as if they knew not what was the reason of it, when they were so notoriously guilty of breach of covenant with them; which is an instance of their impudence, as Abarbinel observes: or, "if ye say, wherefore?" as the Targum and Kimchi interpret the words; should you say...