Yesaya 1:11-13

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

says the Lord.

“I am stuffed with ²  burnt sacrifices

of rams and the fat from steers.

The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats

I do not want. ³ 

1:12 When you enter my presence,

do you actually think I want this –

animals trampling on my courtyards? ⁴ 

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ⁵  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ⁶ 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ⁷ 

Yesaya 1:1

Heading

1:1 Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem ⁸  that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah reigned over Judah. ⁹ 

1 Samuel 15:21-24

15:21 But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle – the best of what was to be slaughtered – to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

15:22 Then Samuel said,

“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as he does in obedience? ¹⁰ 

Certainly, ¹¹  obedience ¹²  is better than sacrifice;

paying attention is better than ¹³  the fat of rams.

15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,

and presumption is like the evil of idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

he has rejected you as ¹⁴  king.”

15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded ¹⁵  and what you said as well. ¹⁶  For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. ¹⁷ 

Yeremia 7:8-11

7:8 “‘But just look at you! ¹⁸  You are putting your confidence in a false belief ¹⁹  that will not deliver you. ²⁰  7:9 You steal. ²¹  You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to ²²  other gods whom you have not previously known. 7:10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own ²³  and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins! ²⁴  7:11 Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own ²⁵  is to be a hideout for robbers? ²⁶  You had better take note! ²⁷  I have seen for myself what you have done! says the Lord.

Amos 5:21-24

5:21 “I absolutely despise ²⁸  your festivals!

I get no pleasure ²⁹  from your religious assemblies!

5:22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, ³⁰  I will not be satisfied;

I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves. ³¹ 

5:23 Take away from me your ³²  noisy songs;

I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments. ³³ 

5:24 Justice must flow like torrents of water,

righteous actions ³⁴  like a stream that never dries up.

Matius 23:14

23:14 [[EMPTY]] ³⁵ 

[1:11]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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).

[1:1]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”

[1:1]  sn Isaiah’s prophetic career probably began in the final year of Uzziah’s reign (ca. 740 b.c., see Isa 6:1) and extended into the later years of Hezekiah’s reign, which ended in 686 b.c.

[15:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the Lord.”

[15:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “look.”

[15:22]  ¹² tn Heb “listening.”

[15:22]  ¹³ tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).

[15:23]  ¹⁴ tn Or “from [being].”

[15:24]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord.”

[15:24]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and your words.”

[15:24]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and I listened to their voice.”

[7:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Behold!”

[7:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “You are trusting in lying words.” See the similar phrase in v. 4 and the note there.

[7:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “not profit [you].”

[7:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “Will you steal…then say, ‘We are safe’?” Verses 9-10 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text.

[7:9]  ²² tn Heb “You go/follow after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.

[7:10]  ²³ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:10]  ²⁴ tn Or “‘We are safe!’ – safe, you think, to go on doing all those hateful things.” Verses 9-10 are all one long sentence in the Hebrew text. It has been broken up for English stylistic reasons. Somewhat literally it reads “Will you steal…then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe’ so as to/in order to do…” The Hebrew of v. 9 has a series of infinitives which emphasize the bare action of the verb without the idea of time or agent. The effect is to place a kind of staccato like emphasis on the multitude of their sins all of which are violations of one of the Ten Commandments. The final clause in v. 8 expresses purpose or result (probably result) through another infinitive. This long sentence is introduced by a marker (ה interrogative in Hebrew) introducing a rhetorical question in which God expresses his incredulity that they could do these sins, come into the temple and claim the safety of his protection, and then go right back out and commit the same sins. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 52) catches the force nicely: “What? You think you can steal, murder…and then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe…’ just so that you can go right on…”

[7:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Is this house…a den/cave of robbers in your eyes?”

[7:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Behold!”

[5:21]  ²⁸ tn Heb “I hate”; “I despise.”

[5:21]  ²⁹ tn Heb “I will not smell.” These verses are full of vivid descriptions of the Lord’s total rejection of Israelite worship. In the first half of this verse two verbs are used together for emphasis. Here the verb alludes to the sense of smell, a fitting observation since offerings would have been burned on the altar ideally to provide a sweet aroma to God (see, e.g., Lev 1:9, 13, 17; Num 29:36). Other senses that are mentioned include sight and hearing in vv. 22-23.

[5:22]  ³⁰ tn Heb “burnt offerings and your grain offerings.”

[5:22]  ³¹ tn Heb “Peace offering[s], your fattened calves, I will not look at.”

[5:23]  ³² tn In this verse the second person suffixes are singular and not plural like they are in vv. 21-22 and vv. 25-27. Some have suggested that perhaps a specific individual or group within the nation is in view.

[5:23]  ³³ tn The Hebrew word probably refers to “harps” (NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “lutes” (NEB).

[5:24]  ³⁴ tn Traditionally, “righteousness.”

[23:14]  ³⁵ 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.