This is another mistranslated passage that we will try to unravel. The reality is, Mal 2.16 is a verse that endorses divorce under certain circumstances. It does not prohibit a divorce, but instructs a treacherous husband to divorce his wife. This is consistent with other passages in Scripture that allow and even recommend a divorce (Deut 21.14, 24.1-4; Matt 19.9; 1 Cor 7.15). Mal 2.16 commands a treacherous husband to let his wife go, and commands him to compensate her for what he has done to her. The Tanak upholds the rights of an abused wife and it is consistent with Paul’s instructions in 1 Cor 7.15. So, let’s look at the whole context of Mal 2.16 to get the idea of what is being communicated.
In Mal 2.13 it says, “And this is another thing that you do: you (compel the wives who have been wronged to) cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with groaning, so that he (God) no longer regards the food offering (minchah) or accepts it with favor from your hand (the divorced lawful wives come to the Temple and weep because of the injury and damage done to them, and Yehovah rejects the husband’s lawful korbanot-no blessing).”
Then Mal 2.14 says, “Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth (God witnessed their acts and she was the love of his young life), against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion (and shared joy and pain with you) and the wife of your covenant (unscriptural divorce was prevalent at the time).”
Mal 2.15 continues to say, “And not one did so who still had a remnant of the spirit (in other words, no one who had any sense of right and wrong would have done this). And what of the one (the well-known one; Abraham, who put away Hagar; he is rebutting their appeal to Abraham’s conduct with Hagar)? He sought the seed of God (Abraham did it because he sought to obtain the seed promised to him by God, so he put Hagar away because God promised to give him an heir, not with Ishmael, but through Sarah in Isaac; Abraham was also acting on the word of Yehovah). Take heed then, to your spirit (your attitude), and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth.”
Now we come to the verse in question. Mal 2.16 says in many translations, “For I hate divorce” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong” says the Lord of hosts (but this is a mistranslation; the Hebrew says, “For he (the husband) covered his garment with violence hated divorce.” The Hebrew word for divorce here is “shalach” meaning “to send her out, let her go, release, set her free.” This is the same word used in Exo 5.1 when Moses told Pharaoh, “Let my people go (send my people out).” Malachi’s usage here is alluding to Exodus where we have the “oppressive husband” Pharaoh being told to “send out or away, release, let go” the “oppressed wife” Israel. But how did the treacherous husband in our verse do that? He may have been messing around and didn’t want a divorce, or he married another woman, or he left her without a divorce, leaving her without the ability to get divorced and remarry, making her an “agunah” meaning “chained or an anchored woman.” The meaning here is, if he hates her, put her away.
Myles Coverdale wrote the first complete printed translation of the Bible in English in 1535. His translation of Mal 2.16 was incorporated into the Matthew Bible, and then brought into the Great Bible. The Matthew Bible of 1537 says, “If thou hatest her, put her away. ” The Great Bible of 1539 says, “If thou hatest her, put her away.” The Geneva Bible of 1560 says, “If thou hatest her, put her way.” The Bishop’s Bible of 1568-72 says, “If thou hatest her, put her away”; see the article called, “If a Man Hates His Wife He Should Set Her Free From the Marriage. That’s What Malachi 2.16 Says” by Barbara Roberts at cryingoutforjustice.blog; see also Hebrew Voices #216, “Does God Command Divorce? Part 1”, Nehemiah’s Wall; Deut 24.1-4; Exo 21.10 are two verseswhere God allows divorce in the Tanak, and 1 Cor 7.15 is where Paul allows it based on these two verses). “So take heed to your spirit (attitude), that you do not deal treacherously (with the wife of your youth).”
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