Malachi condemns faithlessness in marriage and describes divorce as covering one’s garment with violence Malachi 2:16. The passage frames the issue as dealing treacherously with the wife of one’s youth Malachi 2:14–15. It repeatedly warns against treachery in spirit and action Malachi 2:15–16.
In Malachi 2:13–16 the people complain that Yahweh no longer accepts their offerings, even though they come to the altar with intense emotion. The passage answers that the problem is not the amount of crying but their betrayal in marriage. This unit sits within Malachi’s series of confrontations where the prophet states what the people do, reports their question (“Why?”), and then gives Yahweh’s explanation.
This passage links rejected worship with broken covenant life. The people are emotionally intense at the altar (tears, weeping, sighing), yet Yahweh does not accept their offerings (explicit textual claim).
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with Malachi 2:16, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
16For I hate putting away, says Yahweh, the God of Israel, and him who covers his garment with violence, says Yahweh of Hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that you don`t deal treacherously.