⁴⁵ Now from the ^[a]sixth hour darkness ^[b]fell upon all the land until the ^[c]ninth hour. ⁴⁶ About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ⁴⁷ And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. ⁴⁹ But the rest of them said, “^[d]Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him^[e].” ⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. ⁵¹ And behold, the ^[f]veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the ^[g]saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴ Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was ^[h]the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ^[i]ministering to Him. ⁵⁶ Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

⁵⁷ When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.

⁶² Now on the next day, ^[j]the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.

Priests to Be Disciplined

2 “And now this commandment is for you, O priests. ² If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,” says the Lord of hosts, “then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart. ³ Behold, I am going to rebuke your ^[a]offspring, and I will spread ^[b]refuse on your faces, the ^[c]refuse of your feasts; and you will be taken away ^[d]with it. ⁴ Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, ^[e]that My covenant may ^[f]continue with Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. ⁵ “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of ^[g]reverence; so he ^[h]revered Me and stood in awe of My name. ^6 [i]True instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity. ⁷ For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and ^[j]men should seek ^[k]instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. ⁸ But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble ^[l]by the instruction; you have ^[m]corrupted the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. ⁹ “So I also have made you despised and abased ^[n]before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in the ^[o]instruction.

Sin in the Family

¹⁰ “Do we not all have one father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers? ¹¹ Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord ^[p]which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god. ¹² As for the man who does this, may the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers, or who presents ^[q]an offering to the Lord of hosts.

¹³ “This is ^[r]another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the ^[s]offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. ¹⁴ Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. ^15 [t]But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And ^[u]what did that one do while he was seeking a godly ^[v]offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth. ¹⁶ For ^[w]I hate ^[x]divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and ^[y]him who covers his garment with ^[z]wrong,” says the Lord of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

¹⁷ You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”