Malachi 2:14 (KJV)

Words Then and Now

Wherefore why; therefore Still heard today: the whys and wherefores, the reasons Webster’s 1828 · Wherefore

What these words mean in the King James Bible, and where you’ll still hear them today.

Thou and Ye

thee, thy, thou one person
ye more than one

In the King James Bible, thee, thou, thy, and thine always mean one person, and ye, you, and your more than one: a difference modern English lost. Why keep these words?

Matthew Henry

The people reproved for their evil practicesCorrupt practices are the fruit of corrupt principles; and he who is false to his God, will not be true to his fellow mortals. In contempt of the marriage...

Thompson Chains

Marriage (2)See the chain from Genesis 2:24 · 2 links

Cross References

Isaiah 54:6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
Malachi 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Genesis 31:50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.
1 Samuel 12:5 And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.
Judges 11:10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
Proverbs 2:17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
Proverbs 5:18–19 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. …
Proverbs 30:20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
Ecclesiastes 9:9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
Song of Solomon 1:15 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes.
Isaiah 58:3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
Jeremiah 8:12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 42:5 Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.
Ezekiel 16:8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.
Micah 1:2 Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
Malachi 1:6–7 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? …
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.
Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

From OpenBible.info, most relevant first.

Topics

Divorce General scriptures concerning Divorce
Husband General scriptures concerning Husband
Malachi Reproves God’s people for their impiety
Marriage Unclassified scriptures relating to Marriage
Polygamy Forbidden
Sin Known to God

Bible Dictionary

LordThere are various Hebrew and Greek words so rendered.

Hebrew and Strong’s

Yet ye say וַאֲמַרְתֶּם waʾămartem אָמַר Verb · qal sequential perfect, second person masculine plural · with and כִּי kî Conjunction
Wherefore מָה mâ מָה Interrogative
Because the LORD יְהוָה yhwh יְהֹוָה Proper name אֲשֶׁר ʾăšer Relative
hath been witness הֵעִיד hēʿîd עוּד Verb · hiphil perfect, third person masculine singular
between thee and the wife עַל ʿal Preposition עַל ʿal Preposition בֵּינְךָ bênĕkā Preposition · with suffix: second person masculine singular וּבֵין ûbên Preposition · with and אֵשֶׁת ʾēšet אִשָּׁה Noun · feminine singular construct
of thy youth נְעוּרֶיךָ nĕʿûrêkā נָעוּר Noun · masculine or feminine plural construct · with suffix: second person masculine singular
against whom thou hast dealt treacherously אַתָּה ʾattâ Pronoun · second person masculine singular בָּגַדְתָּה bāgadtâ בָּגַד Verb · qal perfect, second person masculine singular
yet is she thy companion בָּהּ bāh Preposition · with suffix: third person feminine singular וְהִיא wĕhîʾ Pronoun · third person feminine singular · with and חֲבֶרְתְּךָ ḥăbertĕkā חֲבֶרֶת Noun · feminine singular construct · with suffix: second person masculine singular
and the wife וְאֵשֶׁת wĕʾēšet אִשָּׁה Noun · feminine singular construct · with and
of thy covenant בְּרִיתֶךָ bĕrîtekā בְּרִית Noun · feminine singular construct · with suffix: second person masculine singular

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex, Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible · CC BY 4.0