Malachi 2:14–16 (KJV):
14 “Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
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.
16 For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.”
This passage is not a condemnation of women who seek safety through divorce. Rather, it is a rebuke directed at men who were betraying their wives—breaking covenant, acting with treachery, and putting their wives away unjustly. God Himself is speaking as a witness on behalf of the women, defending them.
The Lord declares that He hates “putting away”, because it was being used as a legal cover for violence—not necessarily physical violence alone, but betrayal, abandonment, and covenant-breaking. The imagery of “covering violence with a garment” paints a picture of men disguising injustice under the appearance of law or tradition.
This is not a verse weaponizing marriage permanence against women in crisis. It is a warning to men, especially in a patriarchal context, where women had fewer legal protections and were deeply vulnerable when cast aside.
This ties into the broader biblical theme of equity and faithfulness, as seen earlier in Malachi 2:6, where it is said of the faithful priest:
“The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.”
God honors those who walk in peace and equity, and calls His people to the same.
We can both affirm that divorce is tragic and recognize that sometimes, in a broken world, it is necessary—just as adoption, though born from loss, can be a redemptive and life-giving act. Not every divorce is a failure of faith; sometimes, it is the result of someone trying to survive betrayal or abuse. Some divorces, like some adoptions, are full of pain and should not have happened. Others are painful, yes—but are necessary, even lifesaving.
God hates the violence and betrayal that leads to divorce—not the people seeking refuge from it. In fact, Malachi shows us that God stands with the oppressed, not with those who violate covenant.
The example in this biblical passage is men abusing women. While statistically that is most often the case, of course the opposite can happen with women being the abuser, and the same standards apply.
This segment is taken from a podcast between Zach Lambert and Sheila Gregoire.
In the Bible, every instruction about divorce is directed to men, because only men could initiate it. In the first-century Roman world, women were treated like property—passed from father to husband through dowry—without real choice in marriage. Men could, and often divorced their wives for trivial reasons, leaving women vulnerable, unable to remarry, and often forced into poverty or prostitution.
In Matthew 19, Jesus is asked whether it's lawful to divorce for any reason. When Jesus says no, then his disciples asked, "Why would we even get married then?!" When Scripture says “God hates divorce,” it isn’t condemning all divorce. Rather, it reflects God’s anger at men casting out already marginalized women with no means of survival. Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 19 pushes back against this culture of casual divorce, protecting women from further harm.
Applied today, this means God does not hate divorce itself, but the suffering of women in unjust marriages. God hates abuse, not the act of escaping it. Passages like Malachi, often used to tell women to stay with abusive husbands, actually condemn men who betray and mistreat their wives.
This in no way implies that men cannot divorce abusive wives also, but that it was the women who were put in the more vulnerable position.
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