Malachi 1:6

KJV

¶ A son honoureth [his] father, and a servant his master: if then I [be] a father, where [is] mine honour? and if I [be] a master, where [is] my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?

KJV (with Strong's)

A son {H1121} honoureth {H3513} his father {H1}, and a servant {H5650} his master {H113}: if then I be a father {H1}, where is mine honour {H3519}? and if I be a master {H113}, where is my fear {H4172}? saith {H559} the LORD {H3068} of hosts {H6635} unto you, O priests {H3548}, that despise {H959} my name {H8034}. And ye say {H559}, Wherein have we despised {H959} thy name {H8034}?

Complete Jewish Bible

"A son honors his father and a servant his master. But if I'm a father, where is the honor due me? and if I'm a master, where is the respect due me? - says ADONAI-Tzva'ot to you cohanim who despise my name. You ask, 'How are we despising your name?'

Berean Standard Bible

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

American Standard Version

A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master: if then I am a father, where is mine honor? and if I am a master, where is my fear? saith Jehovah of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?

Commentary

### SUMMARY
Malachi 1:6 initiates God's direct indictment against the post-exilic priests of Israel, challenging their perfunctory service and disrespectful attitude. God asserts His rightful claim to honor as a Father and fear as a Master, drawing a stark contrast with the priests' contemptuous actions, which they ironically deny, revealing a profound spiritual blindness to their own rebellion against His holy name.

### CONTEXT
* **Literary Context:** This verse marks the beginning of the first of six disputations or "oracles" that structure the book of Malachi. Following an opening declaration of God's enduring love for Israel (Malachi 1:2-5), Malachi 1:6 pivots sharply to confront the spiritual apathy and moral corruption prevalent among the priests. This oracle (Malachi 1:6-2:9) specifically targets the priests, accusing them of offering defiled sacrifices and showing contempt for God's name. The dialogue format, characterized by God's accusation followed by the people's (or priests') incredulous question, is a hallmark of Malachi's prophetic style, designed to expose the hypocrisy and spiritual dullness of the audience. This initial indictment sets the stage for the subsequent detailed charges regarding their flawed worship and teaching.
* **Historical & Cultural Context:** Malachi prophesied during the Persian period, likely around 450-430 BC, approximately a century after the return of the first exiles under Zerubbabel and Joshua, and possibly contemporary with or just after the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah. The temple had been rebuilt (completed 516 BC), and sacrificial worship had resumed. However, the initial fervor had waned. The people, including the priests, had grown complacent, disillusioned by the lack of immediate messianic fulfillment and the continued foreign domination. Economic hardship and social injustice were prevalent, leading to a decline in religious devotion. In this context, the priests, who were meant to uphold the covenant and mediate between God and the people, had become lax, offering blemished sacrifices and failing to instruct the people in righteousness, thereby contributing to the spiritual decay. Their actions reflected a broader societal malaise and a departure from the covenant stipulations.
* **Key Themes:** Malachi 1:6 introduces several critical themes that permeate the book. Firstly, it highlights the **Covenant Lordship of Yahweh**, emphasizing His supreme authority and the rightful honor and fear due to Him from His covenant people, particularly those in leadership. Secondly, it underscores the **corruption of the Priesthood** and the severe consequences of their failure to uphold their sacred duties, which defiled the very worship of God. This theme is further developed in [Malachi 2:1-9](/malachi/2-1-9 "Malachi 2:1-9 - God's Judgment on the Priests"). Thirdly, the verse exposes the **Spiritual Blindness and Hypocrisy** of the people, especially the priests, who are unaware or unwilling to admit their sin, despite clear evidence of their contempt for God's name. This spiritual dullness is a recurring motif, as seen in their questioning of God's love in [Malachi 1:2](/malachi/1-2 "Malachi 1:2 - God's Love for Israel") and their denial of wrongdoing throughout the book. Finally, it sets the stage for the theme of **God's Demand for Righteous Worship**, challenging the superficiality and irreverence that had infiltrated the temple service.

### EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
#### Key Word Analysis
* **Honour (Hebrew, _kâbôwd'_):** (H3519) Properly meaning "weight," this term figuratively denotes splendor, glory, or copiousness. In this context, it refers to the respect, esteem, and reverence due to God, acknowledging His inherent worth, majesty, and authority. It is the opposite of treating something lightly or with contempt. God asks for the "weight" of recognition that His divine person and role as Father deserve.
* **Fear (Hebrew, _môwrâʼ'_):** (H4172) Derived from a root meaning "to dread" or "to be afraid," this word signifies not merely terror, but a profound awe, reverence, and respectful submission to God's power, holiness, and authority. It implies a recognition of His sovereignty and a careful obedience born out of deep respect for His character and commands. God, as Master, expects this reverential fear from His servants.
* **Despise (Hebrew, _bâzâh'_):** (H959) This primitive root means "to disesteem," "to disdain," or "to contemn." It describes the act of regarding something as worthless, insignificant, or contemptible. When applied to God's name, it signifies treating God Himself with utter disregard, showing a lack of respect for His character, authority, and covenant relationship. The priests' actions, though they deny it, reveal this deep-seated contempt.

#### Verse Breakdown
* **"A son honoureth [his] father, and a servant his master:"** This opening clause establishes a universal, foundational principle of human relationships. It posits that honor is naturally due from a son to his father, and fear (respect, obedience) from a servant to his master. This sets up a rhetorical baseline, appealing to common human decency and societal norms to highlight the priests' egregious failure.
* **"if then I [be] a father, where [is] mine honour? and if I [be] a master, where [is] my fear?"** Here, God applies the established human principle to Himself. He asserts His divine roles as "Father" to Israel (a covenantal relationship, e.g., [Exodus 4:22](/exodus/4-22 "Exodus 4:22 - Israel, My Firstborn Son")) and "Master" (Lord, Sovereign) over all His creation and covenant people (e.g., [Isaiah 45:11](/isaiah/45-11 "Isaiah 45:11 - God as Creator and Master")). The rhetorical questions are not born of ignorance but of indignant accusation, implying that the expected honor and fear are conspicuously absent from the priests' conduct.
* **"saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name."** This declaration identifies the accuser ("the LORD of hosts," emphasizing His sovereign power and authority over all creation) and the accused ("O priests"). The direct address to the priests underscores their specific culpability. The core accusation is that they "despise" God's "name," which represents His very character, reputation, and presence. Their actions, though they might not consciously articulate it as such, effectively demonstrate contempt for who God is.
* **"And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?"** This final clause reveals the priests' shocking spiritual blindness, ignorance, or defiant denial. Their question is not one of humble inquiry but of self-justifying incredulity. It highlights a profound disconnect between their outward religious practice and their inward heart attitude, demonstrating their inability or unwillingness to perceive their own sin and the gravity of their disrespect towards God.

#### Literary Devices
Malachi 1:6 is rich in **rhetorical questions**, a hallmark of Malachi's prophetic style, designed not to elicit information but to expose truth and provoke conviction. God's questions, "where is mine honour?" and "where is my fear?", serve to highlight the glaring absence of the reverence due to Him. The verse also employs striking **parallelism**, contrasting the expected honor from a son to a father and a servant to a master with the priests' failure to render such to God. This creates a powerful analogy, making God's accusation undeniably logical and morally weighty. There is also significant **irony** in the priests' response, "Wherein have we despised thy name?", as their very question underscores their spiritual dullness and the depth of their contempt, which they fail to recognize. The use of **direct address** ("unto you, O priests") makes the accusation personal and inescapable, emphasizing the specific responsibility of those in religious leadership.

### THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This verse lays bare a fundamental theological truth: God's inherent worthiness of honor and fear. As the sovereign Creator and covenant-keeping Father, He is not merely a distant deity but an active participant in the lives of His people, deserving of their deepest reverence and obedience. The priests' failure to acknowledge this truth, manifested in their defiled worship and casual attitude, reveals a profound breakdown in their covenant relationship with Yahweh. Their contempt for God's name is not just a minor infraction but an assault on His very character and authority, demonstrating a lack of understanding of who He is and what He demands. This spiritual blindness is a dangerous state, as it prevents repentance and perpetuates sin, undermining the very purpose of their priestly office to mediate between a holy God and His people.

* [Leviticus 10:3](/leviticus/10-3 "Leviticus 10:3 - God's Holiness and Those Who Approach Him")
* [Hebrews 12:28-29](/hebrews/12-28-29 "Hebrews 12:28-29 - Serving God with Reverence and Awe")
* [Deuteronomy 28:58](/deuteronomy/28-58 "Deuteronomy 28:58 - Fear the Glorious and Awesome Name")

### REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Malachi 1:6 serves as a timeless mirror, reflecting the state of our own hearts and worship. It challenges us to examine whether our service to God, whether in formal ministry or daily life, is truly characterized by genuine honor and reverential fear, or if it has become perfunctory, self-serving, or even contemptuous. Do we truly grasp the magnificent identity of the "LORD of hosts," our Heavenly Father and Sovereign Master? Our actions, attitudes, and the quality of our worship reveal the depth of our esteem for Him. Like the priests, we can become so accustomed to religious routines that we lose sight of the holy God whom we claim to serve, inadvertently despising His name through our apathy, disobedience, or self-righteousness. This verse calls us to a profound self-assessment, urging us to cultivate a heart that truly honors and fears the Lord, ensuring that our worship and obedience flow from a place of deep reverence and love for His glorious name.

#### Questions for Reflection
* **In what ways might I, like the priests, be unwittingly despising God's name through my actions or attitudes, even if I claim to honor Him?**
* **How does my daily life, including my work, relationships, and leisure, reflect my honor and fear of God as my Father and Master?**
* **What practical steps can I take to cultivate a deeper sense of reverence and awe for God in my personal worship and corporate gatherings?**

### FAQ
**What does "despise my name" mean in this context?**

Answer: To "despise my name" (Hebrew: _bâzâh shêm_) means to treat God's character, reputation, and authority with contempt, to regard Him as worthless or insignificant. It's not necessarily an open, defiant rejection, but often a subtle, insidious disregard that manifests in actions rather than explicit words. In the context of Malachi 1:6, the priests were despising God's name by offering Him blemished, impure, and unacceptable sacrifices (as detailed in [Malachi 1:7-8](/malachi/1-7-8 "Malachi 1:7-8 - Defiled Sacrifices")), by failing to teach His law properly, and by generally treating their sacred duties with apathy and irreverence. Their actions demonstrated a profound lack of honor and fear for the God they were called to serve, effectively devaluing Him in the eyes of the people and themselves.

### CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Malachi 1:6, with its indictment of the priests for despising God's name, finds its ultimate resolution and fulfillment in Jesus Christ. As the perfect Son, Jesus perfectly honored His Father, declaring, "I always do what pleases Him" ([John 8:29](/john/8-29 "John 8:29 - Jesus Always Pleases the Father")). Unlike the priests who offered defiled sacrifices, Jesus offered Himself as the spotless Lamb of God, the ultimate and perfect sacrifice that truly honored God and took away the sin of the world ([John 1:29](/john/1-29 "John 1:29 - Jesus, the Lamb of God")). As the true Master, He perfectly submitted to the Father's will, even to the point of death on a cross ([Philippians 2:8](/philippians/2-8 "Philippians 2:8 - Christ's Humility and Obedience")). Furthermore, Jesus is our Great High Priest, not after the order of Aaron, but of Melchizedek, a priesthood that is eternal and undefiled ([Hebrews 7:23-28](/hebrews/7-23-28 "Hebrews 7:23-28 - Christ, Our Superior High Priest")). He perfectly mediates between God and humanity, ensuring that true honor and fear are rendered to God through His perfect obedience and sacrifice. Through faith in Christ, believers are made part of a "royal priesthood" ([1 Peter 2:9](/1_peter/2-9 "1 Peter 2:9 - A Chosen Race, a Royal Priesthood")), called to offer spiritual sacrifices of praise and service that are acceptable to God through Him, thereby fulfilling the very honor and fear that the Malachi priests had failed to provide.

Note: Commentary is generated by AI with a directive for Biblical fidelity. Always rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

Cross-References

Luke 6:46

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Isaiah 1:2

¶ Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

Exodus 20:12

¶ Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

John 13:13

Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for [so] I am.

John 13:17

If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

1 Peter 2:17

Honour all [men]. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

1 Peter 2:19

For this [is] thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.