Keluaran 20:24

20:24 ‘You must make for me an altar made of earth, ¹  and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, ²  your sheep and your cattle. In every place ³  where I cause my name to be honored ⁴  I will come to you and I will bless you.

Keluaran 27:1-8

The Altar

27:1 “You are to make the ⁵  altar of acacia wood, seven feet six inches long, ⁶  and seven feet six inches wide; the altar is to be square, ⁷  and its height is to be ⁸  four feet six inches. 27:2 You are to make its four horns ⁹  on its four corners; its horns will be part of it, ¹⁰  and you are to overlay it with bronze. 27:3 You are to make its pots for the ashes, ¹¹  its shovels, its tossing bowls, ¹²  its meat hooks, and its fire pans – you are to make all ¹³  its utensils of bronze. 27:4 You are to make a grating ¹⁴  for it, a network of bronze, and you are to make on the network four bronze rings on its four corners. 27:5 You are to put it under the ledge of the altar below, so that the network will come ¹⁵  halfway up the altar. ¹⁶  27:6 You are to make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and you are to overlay them with bronze. 27:7 The poles are to be put ¹⁷  into the rings so that the poles will be on two sides of the altar when carrying it. ¹⁸  27:8 You are to make the altar hollow, out of boards. Just as it was shown you ¹⁹  on the mountain, so they must make it. ²⁰ 

Keluaran 27:1

The Altar

27:1 “You are to make the ²¹  altar of acacia wood, seven feet six inches long, ²²  and seven feet six inches wide; the altar is to be square, ²³  and its height is to be ²⁴  four feet six inches.

1 Samuel 15:22

15:22 Then Samuel said,

“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as he does in obedience? ²⁵ 

Certainly, ²⁶  obedience ²⁷  is better than sacrifice;

paying attention is better than ²⁸  the fat of rams.

1 Samuel 15:2

15:2 Here is what the Lord of hosts says: ‘I carefully observed how the Amalekites opposed ²⁹  Israel along the way when Israel ³⁰  came up from Egypt.

Kisah Para Rasul 18:22

18:22 and when he arrived ³¹  at Caesarea, ³²  he went up and greeted ³³  the church at Jerusalem ³⁴  and then went down to Antioch. ³⁵ 

Mazmur 50:8-9

50:8 I am not condemning ³⁶  you because of your sacrifices,

or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me. ³⁷ 

50:9 I do not need to take ³⁸  a bull from your household

or goats from your sheepfolds.

Amsal 15:8

15:8 The Lord abhors ³⁹  the sacrifices ⁴⁰  of the wicked, ⁴¹ 

but the prayer ⁴²  of the upright pleases him. ⁴³ 

Yesaya 1:11-15

1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” ⁴⁴ 

says the Lord.

“I am stuffed with ⁴⁵  burnt sacrifices

of rams and the fat from steers.

The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats

I do not want. ⁴⁶ 

1:12 When you enter my presence,

do you actually think I want this –

animals trampling on my courtyards? ⁴⁷ 

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ⁴⁸  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ⁴⁹ 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ⁵⁰ 

1:14 I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies;

they are a burden

that I am tired of carrying.

1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,

I look the other way; ⁵¹ 

when you offer your many prayers,

I do not listen,

because your hands are covered with blood. ⁵² 

Matius 23:14

23:14 [[EMPTY]] ⁵³ 

[20:24]  ¹ sn The instructions here call for the altar to be made of natural things, not things manufactured or shaped by man. The altar was either to be made of clumps of earth or natural, unhewn rocks.

[20:24]  ² sn The “burnt offering” is the offering prescribed in Lev 1. Everything of this animal went up in smoke as a sweet aroma to God. It signified complete surrender by the worshiper who brought the animal, and complete acceptance by God, thereby making atonement. The “peace offering” is legislated in Lev 3 and 7. This was a communal meal offering to celebrate being at peace with God. It was made usually for thanksgiving, for payment of vows, or as a freewill offering.

[20:24]  ³ tn Gesenius lists this as one of the few places where the noun in construct seems to be indefinite in spite of the fact that the genitive has the article. He says בְּכָל־הַמָּקוֹם (bÿkhol-hammaqom) means “in all the place, sc. of the sanctuary, and is a dogmatic correction of “in every place” (כָּל־מָקוֹם, kol-maqom). See GKC 412 §127.e.

[20:24]  ⁴ tn The verb is זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”), but in the Hiphil especially it can mean more than remember or cause to remember (remind) – it has the sense of praise or honor. B. S. Childs says it has a denominative meaning, “to proclaim” (Exodus [OTL], 447). The point of the verse is that God will give Israel reason for praising and honoring him, and in every place that occurs he will make his presence known by blessing them.

[27:1]  ⁵ tn The article on this word identifies this as the altar, meaning the main high altar on which the sacrifices would be made.

[27:1]  ⁶ tn The dimensions are five cubits by five cubits by three cubits high.

[27:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “four”; this refers to four sides. S. R. Driver says this is an archaism that means there were four equal sides (Exodus, 291).

[27:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “and three cubits its height.”

[27:2]  ⁹ sn The horns of the altar were indispensable – they were the most sacred part. Blood was put on them; fugitives could cling to them, and the priests would grab the horns of the little altar when making intercessory prayer. They signified power, as horns on an animal did in the wild (and so the word was used for kings as well). The horns may also represent the sacrificial animals killed on the altar.

[27:2]  ¹⁰ sn The text, as before, uses the prepositional phrase “from it” or “part of it” to say that the horns will be part of the altar – of the same piece as the altar. They were not to be made separately and then attached, but made at the end of the boards used to build the altar (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 363).

[27:3]  ¹¹ sn The word is literally “its fat,” but sometimes it describes “fatty ashes” (TEV “the greasy ashes”). The fat would run down and mix with the ashes, and this had to be collected and removed.

[27:3]  ¹² sn This was the larger bowl used in tossing the blood at the side of the altar.

[27:3]  ¹³ tn The text has “to all its vessels.” This is the lamed (ל) of inclusion according to Gesenius, meaning “all its utensils” (GKC 458 §143.e).

[27:4]  ¹⁴ tn The noun מִכְבָּר (mikhbar) means “a grating”; it is related to the word that means a “sieve.” This formed a vertical support for the ledge, resting on the ground and supporting its outer edge (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 292).

[27:5]  ¹⁵ tn The verb is the verb “to be,” here the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. It is “and it will be” or “that it may be,” or here “that it may come” halfway up.

[27:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to the half of the altar.”

[27:7]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is a Hophal perfect with vav consecutive: וְהוּבָא (vÿhuva’, “and it will be brought”). The particle אֶת (’et) here introduces the subject of the passive verb (see a similar use in 21:28, “and its flesh will not be eaten”).

[27:7]  ¹⁸ tn The construction is the infinitive construct with bet (ב) preposition: “in carrying it.” Here the meaning must be that the poles are not left in the rings, but only put into the rings when they carried it.

[27:8]  ¹⁹ tn The verb is used impersonally; it reads “just as he showed you.” This form then can be made a passive in the translation.

[27:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “thus they will make.” Here too it could be given a passive translation since the subject is not expressed. But “they” would normally refer to the people who will be making this and so can be retained in the translation.

[27:8]  sn Nothing is said about the top of the altar. Some commentators suggest, in view of the previous instruction for making an altar out of earth and stone, that when this one was to be used it would be filled up with dirt clods and the animal burnt on the top of that. If the animal was burnt inside it, the wood would quickly burn. A number of recent scholars think this was simply an imagined plan to make a portable altar after the pattern of Solomon’s – but that is an unsatisfactory suggestion. This construction must simply represent a portable frame for the altar in the courtyard, an improvement over the field altar. The purpose and function of the altar are not in question. Here worshipers would make their sacrifices to God in order to find forgiveness and atonement, and in order to celebrate in worship with him. No one could worship God apart from this; no one could approach God apart from this. So too the truths that this altar communicated form the basis and center of all Christian worship. One could word an applicable lesson this way: Believers must ensure that the foundation and center of their worship is the altar, i.e., the sacrificial atonement.

[27:1]  ²¹ tn The article on this word identifies this as the altar, meaning the main high altar on which the sacrifices would be made.

[27:1]  ²² tn The dimensions are five cubits by five cubits by three cubits high.

[27:1]  ²³ tn Heb “four”; this refers to four sides. S. R. Driver says this is an archaism that means there were four equal sides (Exodus, 291).

[27:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and three cubits its height.”

[15:22]  ²⁵ tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the Lord.”

[15:22]  ²⁶ tn Heb “look.”

[15:22]  ²⁷ tn Heb “listening.”

[15:22]  ²⁸ tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).

[15:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “what Amalek did to Israel, how he placed against him.”

[15:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:22]  ³¹ tn BDAG 531 s.v. κατέρχομαι 2 states, “arrive, put in, nautical t.t. of ships and those who sail in them, who ‘come down’ fr. the ‘high seas’…εἴς τι at someth. a harbor Ac 18:22; 21:3; 27:5.”

[18:22]  ³² sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. This was a sea voyage of 620 mi (990 km).

[18:22]  map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[18:22]  ³³ tn Grk “going up and greeting.” The participles ἀναβάς (anabas) and ἀσπασάμενος (aspasameno") are translated as finite verbs due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[18:22]  ³⁴ tn The words “at Jerusalem” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the participle ἀναβάς (anabas). The expression “go up” refers almost exclusively to the direction of Jerusalem, while the corresponding “go down” (κατέβη, katebh) refers to directions away from Jerusalem. Both expressions are based on a Hebrew idiom. Assuming Jerusalem is meant, this is another indication of keeping that key church informed. If Jerusalem is not referred to here, then Caesarea is in view. Paul was trying to honor a vow, which also implies a visit to Jerusalem.

[18:22]  map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[18:22]  ³⁵ sn Went down to Antioch. The city of Antioch in Syria lies due north of Jerusalem. In Western languages it is common to speak of north as “up” and south as “down,” but the NT maintains the Hebrew idiom which speaks of any direction away from Jerusalem as down (since Mount Zion was thought of in terms of altitude). This marks the end of the second missionary journey which began in Acts 15:36. From Caesarea to Antioch is a journey of 280 mi (450 km).

[18:22]  map For location see JP1 F2; JP2 F2; JP3 F2; JP4 F2.

[50:8]  ³⁶ tn Or “rebuking.”

[50:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and your burnt sacrifices before me continually.”

[50:9]  ³⁸ tn Or “I will not take.”

[15:8]  ³⁹ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) functions as a subjective genitive: “the Lord abhors.” Cf. NIV “the Lord detests”; NCV, NLT “the Lord hates”; CEV “the Lord is disgusted.”

[15:8]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “sacrifice” (so many English versions).

[15:8]  ⁴¹ sn The sacrifices of the wicked are hated by the Lord because the worshipers are insincere and blasphemous (e.g., Prov 15:29; 21:3; 28:9; Ps 40:6-8; Isa 1:10-17). In other words, the spiritual condition of the worshiper determines whether or not the worship is acceptable to God.

[15:8]  ⁴² sn J. H. Greenstone notes that if God will accept the prayers of the upright, he will accept their sacrifices; for sacrifice is an outer ritual and easily performed even by the wicked, but prayer is a private and inward act and not usually fabricated by unbelievers (Proverbs, 162).

[15:8]  ⁴³ tn Heb “[is] his pleasure.” The 3rd person masculine singular suffix functions as a subjective genitive: “he is pleased.” God is pleased with the prayers of the upright.

[1:11]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ 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]  ⁴⁶ 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.

[1:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “When you come to appear before me, who requires this from your hand, trampling of my courtyards?” The rhetorical question sarcastically makes the point that God does not require this parade of livestock. The verb “trample” probably refers to the eager worshipers and their sacrificial animals walking around in the temple area.

[1:13]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ⁴⁹ sn Notice some of the other practices that Yahweh regards as “detestable”: homosexuality (Lev 18:22-30; 20:13), idolatry (Deut 7:25; 13:15), human sacrifice (Deut 12:31), eating ritually unclean animals (Deut 14:3-8), sacrificing defective animals (Deut 17:1), engaging in occult activities (Deut 18:9-14), and practicing ritual prostitution (1 Kgs 14:23).

[1:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “sin and assembly” (these two nouns probably represent a hendiadys). The point is that their attempts at worship are unacceptable to God because the people’s everyday actions in the socio-economic realm prove they have no genuine devotion to God (see vv. 16-17).

[1:15]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”

[1:15]  ⁵² sn This does not just refer to the blood of sacrificial animals, but also the blood, as it were, of their innocent victims. By depriving the poor and destitute of proper legal recourse and adequate access to the economic system, the oppressors have, for all intents and purposes, “killed” their victims.

[23:14]  ⁵³ tc The most important mss (א B D L Z Θ Ë¹ 33 892* pc and several versional witnesses) do not have 23:14 “Woe to you experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ property, and as a show you pray long prayers! Therefore you will receive a more severe punishment.” Part or all of the verse is contained (either after v. 12 or after v. 13) in W 0102 0107 ˹³ Ï and several versions, but it is almost certainly not original. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number as well, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations. Note also that Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47 are very similar in wording and are not disputed textually.