Does God Hate Divorce?
Learn what the Bible ACTUALLY says...
A while back, I had an Instagram video about the mistranslation of Malachi 2:16 that went relatively viral, at least for my content. With that, I’ve received hundreds of comments from women and men who are so grateful for this clarity. I’ve also received critical feedback and severe accusations against me. I wanted to respond to two parts of the accusations.
First, the Hebrew grammar of Malachi 2:16 and why the phrase “God hates divorce” is inaccurate from an exegetical standpoint in my opinion, based on Hebrew grammar supported by ancient sources.
Second, why this clarification is a distinction WITH a difference. In other words, it has real-life applications and consequences for men and women in destructive and dangerous marriages.
It truly is an honor to walk alongside you as we both strive to better understand and interpret the text.
(Source: From Bodenschatz, “Kirchliche Verfassung,” 1748)1
The Hebrew Grammar:
Now, in regard to Malachi 2:16, the first question is the subject of the verb “hates/śā·nē.” We have two options: the subject is the husband or God. The ancient versions (LXX, 4QXIIa, Targum, Vulg) all understand Mal 2:16 as being connected to Deut 24:1. Modern translations (KJV and NKJV and others) that make an interpretation decision amend the text to “I” (I hate divorce). The challenge is the Masoretic text has a third-person verb “he hates.” So KJV and NKJV are interpreted as indirect versus direct discourse. This is incoherent with the MSS and doesn’t flow with the LXX, Dead Sea Scrolls (4QXII), the Targums, or the Vulgate!2
The most coherent translation that flows with ancient sources—Masoretic Text/MSS, Septuagint/LXX, 4QXIIa, Targum, and Vulg (especially LXX, the first commentary on the MSS)—is to preserve the MSS without emendation or modification. So, we should translate it as a third-person verb “he hates.” Who is the “he”? Almost all phrases of “says Yahweh” in Malachi are taken in direct discourse, so the same should be done here. NOT indirect as KJV and NKJV opt for. So Yahweh is talking about the husband who hates and divorces his wife.
In the LXX, the Greek reads ʾallà e̓àn misḗsas e̓xapostéilēs - the construct is a participle and subjunctive (if hating you divorce or if out of hatred you divorce). This is talking about the husband, NOT God.3
Now, let me be clear. I am not giving a license for divorce. I am not demeaning or lowering the sacred nature of marriage. I am not denying marriage is a covenant/Berith between a man and woman in the presence of God as a judge.
A Difference With A Distinction
What I am saying is that this verse does not say “God hates divorce.” The Hebrew doesn’t read that way. The ancient sources don’t read that way. And this is a distinction that has a difference! It matters. Why? Because the words we use frame the world we live in.
The translation “God hates divorce” is a flat and absolute statement. It is one that leaves God’s hatred, grief, and displeasure on both the covenant breaker and the victim of the broken covenant. For the woman who is the recipient of an unwanted divorce, when she hears “God hates divorce,” she hears “God hates me.” You may say that I am making an assumption. Let me assure you, this is not an assumption. As part of my theological work with Proverbs 31 Ministries and Haven Place Ministries, I’ve literally talked to hundreds of women in person who have heard this verse weaponized against them. I’ve personally heard the testimony of hundreds of women who have said that this verse was mistranslated and was used to force them to stay in sexually, physically, and extremely emotionally abusive marriages. And through my experience and work at Proverbs 31, the number extends into thousands. As my friend Leslie Vernick says, there is a massive difference between a difficult marriage and a destructive marriage.
This is why clarity on what this verse is actually saying matters. It protects innocent victims of unwanted divorces and those who have been rescued from life-threatening marriages from feeling like they are in sin and a disappointment to God. They are not.
The entire concept of the Old Testament certificate of divorce was established to protect women.4 I’ve had some people respond and say that moving away from the phrase “God hates divorce” is a dangerous thing to suggest because it devalues the covenant of marriage. But this is a comment based on a fear hermeneutic.
The truth is the passage translated appropriately maintains the right view of marriage, the grief and displeasure of God upon the one who breaks the covenant, and the tragedy that this covenant-breaking has upon the victim and how it shatters the sacredness of marriage, while still tending to the heart of the victim who was sinned against.
None of this devalues or diminishes the institution of marriage. It upholds it in the proper order.
What grieves me the most is that some in the church are putting undue suffering on the woman who has been crushed by the sinful choices of men who are in the throes of sin (cheating, abusing, exploiting), while being more concerned that the woman may be getting a divorce rather than addressing the reasons the woman is in this position in the first place. The comments that have grieved me the most are the ones from the pastors and men who didn’t say a word about the sin, betrayals, deceitfulness, and unrepentant nature of the men who are breaking the hearts of women by the millions. This is why theology matters.
Learn more about this and so much more in my new book I’ve co-authored with Lysa TerKeurst and licensed counselor Jim Cress.
Isidore Singer, ed., The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, 12 Volumes (New York; London: Funk & Wagnalls, 1901–1906), 625.
Gary Edward Schnittjer, Old Testament Use of Old Testament: A Book-by-Book Guide (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2021), 466.
Andrew E. Hill, Malachi: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 25D, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 250.
For more on divorce and marriage in the context of the Ancient Near East see David Instone Brewer’s book, “Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible.”