Imamat 27:11-12

27:11 If what is vowed is an unclean animal from which an offering must not be presented to the Lord, then he must stand the animal before the priest, 27:12 and the priest will establish its conversion value, ¹  whether good or bad. According to the assessed conversion value of the priest, thus it will be.

Ulangan 23:18

23:18 You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute ²  or the wage of a male prostitute ³  into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

Mazmur 66:13

66:13 I will enter ⁴  your temple with burnt sacrifices;

I will fulfill the vows I made to you,

Yesaya 66:3

66:3 The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man; ⁵ 

the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck; ⁶ 

the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it; ⁷ 

the one who offers incense also praises an idol. ⁸ 

They have decided to behave this way; ⁹ 

they enjoy these disgusting practices. ¹⁰ 

[27:12]  ¹ tn Heb “and the priest shall cause it to be valued.” See the note on v. 8 above.

[23:18]  ² tn Here the Hebrew term זוֹנָה (zonah) refers to a noncultic (i.e., “secular”) female prostitute; see note on the phrase “sacred prostitute” in v. 17.

[23:18]  ³ tn Heb “of a dog.” This is the common Hebrew term for a noncultic (i.e., “secular”) male prostitute. See note on the phrase “sacred male prostitute” in v. 17.

[66:13]  ⁴ sn Here the psalmist switches to the singular; he speaks as the representative of the nation.

[66:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “one who slaughters a bull, one who strikes down a man.” Some understand a comparison here and in the following lines. In God’s sight the one who sacrifices is like (i.e., regarded as) a murderer or one whose worship is ritually defiled or idolatrous. The translation above assumes that the language is not metaphorical, but descriptive of the sinners’ hypocritical behavior. (Note the last two lines of the verse, which suggests they are guilty of abominable practices.) On the one hand, they act pious and offer sacrifices; but at the same time they commit violent crimes against men, defile their sacrifices, and worship other gods.

[66:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “one who sacrifices a lamb, one who breaks a dog’s neck.” Some understand a comparison, but see the previous note.

[66:3]  sn The significance of breaking a dog’s neck is uncertain, though the structure of the statement when compared to the preceding and following lines suggests the action is viewed in a negative light. According to Exod 13:13 and 34:20, one was to “redeem” a firstborn donkey by offering a lamb; if one did not “redeem” the firstborn donkey in this way, then its neck must be broken. According to Deut 21:1-9 a heifer’s neck was to be broken as part of the atonement ritual to purify the land from the guilt of bloodshed. It is not certain if these passages relate in any way to the action described in Isa 66:3.

[66:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “one who offers an offering, pig’s blood.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line.

[66:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “one who offers incense as a memorial offering, one who blesses something false.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line. אָוֶן (’aven), which has a wide variety of attested nuances, here refers metonymically to an idol. See HALOT 22 s.v. and BDB 20 s.v. 2.

[66:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “also they have chosen their ways.”

[66:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “their being [or “soul”] takes delight in their disgusting [things].”