Malachi 2:15
“And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →God made husband and wife one, with His own purpose of raising godly children, and so He calls each person to guard their spirit and remain faithful.
What Does Malachi 2:15 Mean?
God recalls His design from the beginning, when He joined husband and wife as 'one,' though He had the fullness of the Spirit to make many. Why one? 'That he might seek a godly seed' -- God's purpose was the raising of children in faith, nurtured by a faithful home. From this design flows the command: 'take heed to your spirit,' guard your heart, and do not betray the wife of your youth.
Here marriage is shown to serve a purpose larger than the couple: the passing on of faith to the next generation. A home built on faithfulness becomes the soil in which godly children grow. The repeated call to 'take heed to your spirit' locates the battle within, for faithfulness is first guarded in the heart before it is broken by the hand. God's intention for marriage is rich and hopeful, a union that blesses both partners and the children entrusted to them. To guard that union is to honor both the spouse and the God who designed it.
In the Original Language
ruach (רוּחַ), 'spirit' -- breath, wind, or the inner spirit of a person; here the inner self that must be watched and guarded.