And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
And this have ye done again, х sheeniyt (H8145)] - 'a second time:' an aggravation of your offence (Nehemiah 13:23-30), in that it is a relapse into the sin already checked once under Ezra (Ezra 9:1-10). (Henderson.) Or, "again" - `a second time'-means this: your first sin was your blemished offerings to the Lord; now "again" is added your sin toward your wives (Calvin). I prefer the former view. Malachi supported Nehemiah in his second reformation of the people, after the former work of reformation had been undone during his absence at the court of Persia (Nehemiah 13:5-6).
Covering the altar of the Lord with tears - shed by your unoffending wives, repudiated by you that ye might take foreign wives. Calvin makes the tears to be those of all the people, on perceiving their sacrifices to be sternly rejected by God. I prefer the former view.