1 Samuel 15:22
Konteks15:22 Then Samuel said,
“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as he does in obedience? 1
Certainly, 2 obedience 3 is better than sacrifice;
paying attention is better than 4 the fat of rams.
Yesaya 1:11
Konteks1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” 5
says the Lord.
“I am stuffed with 6 burnt sacrifices
of rams and the fat from steers.
The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats
I do not want. 7
Mikha 6:6-8
Konteks6:6 With what should I 8 enter the Lord’s presence?
With what 9 should I bow before the sovereign God? 10
Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?
6:7 Will the Lord accept a thousand rams,
or ten thousand streams of olive oil?
Should I give him my firstborn child as payment for my rebellion,
my offspring – my own flesh and blood – for my sin? 11
6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good,
and what the Lord really wants from you: 12
He wants you to 13 promote 14 justice, to be faithful, 15
and to live obediently before 16 your God.


[15:22] 1 tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the
[15:22] 4 tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).
[1:11] 5 tn Heb “Why to me the multitude of your sacrifices?” The sarcastic rhetorical question suggests that their many sacrifices are of no importance to the Lord. This phrase answers the possible objection that an Israelite could raise in response to God’s indictment: “But we are offering the sacrifices you commanded!”
[1:11] sn In this section the Lord refutes a potential objection that his sinful people might offer in their defense. He has charged them with rebellion (vv. 2-3), but they might respond that they have brought him many sacrifices. So he points out that he requires social justice first and foremost, not empty ritual.
[1:11] 6 tn The verb שָׂבַע (sava’, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע. Here sacrifices are viewed, in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion, as food for the deity. God here declares that he has eaten and drunk, as it were, his fill.
[1:11] 7 sn In the chiastic structure of the verse, the verbs at the beginning and end highlight God’s displeasure, while the heaping up of references to animals, fat, and blood in the middle lines hints at why God wants no more of their sacrifices. They have, as it were, piled the food on his table and he needs no more.
[6:6] 8 sn With what should I enter the
[6:6] 9 tn The words “with what” do double duty in the parallelism and are supplied in the second line of the translation for clarification.
[6:6] 10 tn Or “the exalted God.”
[6:7] 11 tn Heb “the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often translated “soul,” but the word usually refers to the whole person; here “the sin of my soul” = “my sin.”
[6:8] 12 sn What the
[6:8] 13 tn Heb “except.” This statement is actually linked with what precedes, “What does he want from you except….”
[6:8] 14 tn Heb “to do,” in the sense of “promote.”
[6:8] 15 tn Heb “to love faithfulness.”
[6:8] 16 tn Heb “to walk humbly [or perhaps, “carefully”] with.”