The Meaning of Malachi 1:8 Explained

Malachi 1:8

KJV: And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.

YLT: And when ye bring nigh the blind for sacrifice, 'There is no evil,' And when ye bring nigh the lame and sick, 'There is no evil;' Bring it near, I pray thee, to thy governor -- Doth he accept thee? or doth he lift up thy face? Said Jehovah of Hosts.

Darby: And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Present it now unto thy governor: will he be pleased with thee? or will he accept thy person? saith Jehovah of hosts.

ASV: And when ye offer the blind for sacrifice, it is no evil! and when ye offer the lame and sick, it is no evil! Present it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee? or will he accept thy person? saith Jehovah of hosts.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And if ye offer  the blind  for sacrifice,  [is it] not evil?  and if ye offer  the lame  and sick,  [is it] not evil?  offer  it now unto thy governor;  will he be pleased  with thee, or accept  thy person?  saith  the LORD  of hosts. 

What does Malachi 1:8 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Furthermore the priests were offering blind, lame, and sick animals as sacrifices. These were unacceptable according to the Law ( Leviticus 22:18-25; Deuteronomy 15:21). The Lord asked them if this was not evil. Of course it was. They would not offer such bad animals to their governor because they would not please him, but they dared offer them to their King. The governor in view would have been one of the Persian officials who ruled over the territory occupied by Judah. Nehemiah held this position for a while, but others preceded and followed him in it. The Book of Malachi seems to date from Nehemiah"s leadership of Israel, but Nehemiah refused to receive offerings from the people ( Nehemiah 5:14; Nehemiah 5:18). So the governor in view here was probably not Nehemiah. Elnathan, Yeho"ezer, and Ahzai were evidently the governors of Judah between Zerubbabel and Nehemiah. [1]
Anything second-rate that we offer to God is inappropriate in view of who He is. This includes our worship, our ministries, our studies, physical objects, anything. The Lord is worthy of our very best offerings to Him, and we should give Him nothing less. To give Him less than our best is to despise Him. Shoddiness is an insult to God. Shoddy holy is still shoddy.

Context Summary

Malachi 1:1-14 - Sincerity Of Worship Sought
The love referred to in these opening Malachi 1:1-5, was exemplified in the divine choice, that through Israel the whole world might be blessed. Hate does not mean positive dislike but a forfeiture of the supreme place of privilege and ministry. Esau's sensuous nature preferred the mess of pottage to the birthright, and this was characteristic of his people. In Malachi 1:6-14 the prophet turns to the priests. They despised God's name and without scruple offered on his altar the lame, the blind, and the sick. They did not hesitate to speak of the routine of Levitical service as a weariness. Notice the pathetic appeal of Malachi 1:10, r.v., "Oh that there were one to shut the doors of my house, that ye might not offer vain sacrifices!" In contrast to this indifference, the truly marvelous outlook in Malachi 1:11 is very significant. Far away from Jewish altars, God's name was revered in Gentile lands, and sacrifices were offered which He accepted. The words remind us of Acts 10:34-35. [source]

Chapter Summary: Malachi 1

1  Malachi complains of Israel's unkindness;
2  of their irreverence and profaneness

What do the individual words in Malachi 1:8 mean?

And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice [Is it] not evil and when you offer the lame and sick evil Offer it then to your governor would he be pleased with you or would he accept favorably you says Yahweh of hosts
וְכִֽי־ תַגִּשׁ֨וּן עִוֵּ֤ר לִזְבֹּ֙חַ֙ אֵ֣ין ؟ רָ֔ע וְכִ֥י תַגִּ֛ישׁוּ פִּסֵּ֥חַ וְחֹלֶ֖ה ؟ רָ֑ע הַקְרִיבֵ֨הוּ נָ֜א לְפֶחָתֶ֗ךָ הֲיִּרְצְךָ֙‪‬‪‬ א֚וֹ הֲיִשָּׂ֣א ؟ פָנֶ֔יךָ אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֽוֹת

וְכִֽי־  And  when 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
תַגִּשׁ֨וּן  you  offer 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, second person masculine plural, Paragogic nun
Root: נָגַשׁ  
Sense: to draw near, approach.
עִוֵּ֤ר  the  blind 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עִוֵּר  
Sense: blind.
לִזְבֹּ֙חַ֙  as  a  sacrifice 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: זָבַח  
Sense: to slaughter, kill, sacrifice, slaughter for sacrifice.
אֵ֣ין  [Is  it]  not 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
؟ רָ֔ע  evil 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רַע 
Sense: bad, evil.
וְכִ֥י  and  when 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
תַגִּ֛ישׁוּ  you  offer 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, second person masculine plural
Root: נָגַשׁ  
Sense: to draw near, approach.
פִּסֵּ֥חַ  the  lame 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: פִּסֵּחַ  
Sense: lame.
וְחֹלֶ֖ה  and  sick 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: חָלָה 
Sense: to be or become weak, be or become sick, be or become diseased, be or become grieved, be or become sorry.
؟ רָ֑ע  evil 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רַע 
Sense: bad, evil.
הַקְרִיבֵ֨הוּ  Offer  it 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: קָרַב  
Sense: to come near, approach, enter into, draw near.
לְפֶחָתֶ֗ךָ  to  your  governor 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: פֶּחָה  
Sense: governor.
הֲיִּרְצְךָ֙‪‬‪‬  would  he  be  pleased  with  you 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, second person masculine singular
Root: רָצָא 
Sense: to be pleased with, be favourable to, accept favourably.
הֲיִשָּׂ֣א  would  he  accept  favorably 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָשָׂא  
Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
אָמַ֖ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֥ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
צְבָאֽוֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.