Malachi 2:12

12 The LORD will cut off, to the man who does this, him who wakes and him who answers, out of the tents of Ya`akov, and him who offers an offering to the LORD of Hosts.

Malachi 2:12 Meaning and Commentary

Malachi 2:12

The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this
That is guilty of such treachery, wickedness, and idolatry: or "to the man that doeth this" F25; all that belong to him, his children and substance: it denotes the utter destruction, not of a single man and his family only, but of the whole Jewish nation and its polity, civil and ecclesiastical, as follows: the master and the scholar out of the tabernacles of Jacob;
the Targum paraphrases it,

``the son, and son's son, out of the cities of Jacob;''
agreeable to which is Kimchi's note,
``it is as if it was said, there shall not be left in his house one alive; that there shall not be in his house one that answers him, that calls by name.''
In the Hebrew text it is, "him that is awake, and him that answers" {z}; which the Talmudists F1 explain, the former of the wise men or masters, and the latter of the disciples of the wise men; to which sense our version agrees: but by "him that waketh or watcheth", according to Cocceius, is meant the civil magistrate, who watches for the good of the commonwealth, and so may design the elders and rulers of the people; and by him that "answereth", the prophet, who returns answers when he is consulted in things belonging to the law of God, and such were the scribes and lawyers. And him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts;
the priests, that offered sacrifice for the people; so that hereby is threatened an entire destruction, both of the civil and ecclesiastical polity of the Jews, that there should be no prince, prophet, and priest among them; all should be removed out of the tents of Jacob, or cities of Israel; see ( Hosea 3:4 ) .
FOOTNOTES:

F25 (vyal) "viro", Drusius, Cocceius, Burkius, De Dieu; "filius et qui fecerit istud", Piscator.
F26 (hnew re) "vigilantem et respondentem", Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius, Grotius; "vigilantem et responsantem", Junius & Tremellius; "vigilem et respondentem", Burkius.
F1 T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 82. 1.

Malachi 2:12 In-Context

10 Don't we all have one father? Hasn't one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
11 Yehudah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Yisra'el and in Yerushalayim; for Yehudah has profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.
12 The LORD will cut off, to the man who does this, him who wakes and him who answers, out of the tents of Ya`akov, and him who offers an offering to the LORD of Hosts.
13 This again you do: you cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with sighing, because he doesn't regard the offering any more, neither receives it with good will at your hand.
14 Yet you say, 'Why?' Because the LORD has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion, and the wife of your covenant.
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.