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Rh the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee."

The prophet Malachi emphasises the duty of faithfulness to the marriage bond not only by adducing the divine hatred of all treachery, but also by representing that Jehovah Himself is the witness to the marriage covenant. The contempt with which the offerings of the Jews were received had its explanation, according to this prophet, in the moral fault of the worshippers. To their question why their service was unacceptable he answers thus:

Malachi, as afterwards our Lord, refers to