Charles Ellicott Commentary Malachi 1:14

"But cursed be the deceiver, who hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a blemished thing; for I am a great King, saith Jehovah of hosts, and my name is terrible among the Gentiles." — Malachi 1:14 (ASV)

Some consider that two cases are mentioned in this verse:

1. One who acts deceitfully (by offering a female as a burnt offering, which is contrary to the Law, while there is in his flock a male).
2. And one who makes a vow (to offer a sacrifice of peace offerings, for which either a male or a female was allowable, provided it were without a blemish: Leviticus 22:23), and then offers an animal that has a blemish.

However, it is better to understand only one case to be mentioned—namely, that of a man who vows, and while he has a male in his flock offers a female with a blemish.

A female without blemish would be admissible as a vow offering, but a male without blemish would be the most valuable because it could be offered as a burnt offering, whereas a female could not; while a female with a blemish would be the very worst, and actually illegal. A man is not bound to make a vow, but if he makes one, his offering should be of the very best, just as he would not dare to offer to a king or to his ruler (Malachi 1:6) anything but the best. How cursed, then, must he be who, while he possesses the best, deliberately makes a vow to God, and then offers Him the very worst.