Discovery Box1 Samuel 15:22
Context15:22 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.
Psalms 50:8-15
Context50:8 I am not condemning 5 you because of your sacrifices,
or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me. 6
50:9 I do not need to take 7 a bull from your household
or goats from your sheepfolds.
50:10 For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me,
as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills. 8
50:11 I keep track of 9 every bird in the hills,
and the insects 10 of the field are mine.
50:12 Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all it contains belong to me.
50:13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls?
Do I drink the blood of goats? 11
50:14 Present to God a thank-offering!
Repay your vows to the sovereign One! 12
50:15 Pray to me when you are in trouble! 13
I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” 14
Psalms 50:23
Context50:23 Whoever presents a thank-offering honors me. 15
To whoever obeys my commands, I will reveal my power to deliver.” 16
Proverbs 21:3
Context21:3 To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable 17 to the Lord than sacrifice. 18
Isaiah 1:11-17
Context1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” 19
says the Lord.
“I am stuffed with 20 burnt sacrifices
of rams and the fat from steers.
The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats
I do not want. 21
1:12 When you enter my presence,
do you actually think I want this –
animals trampling on my courtyards? 22
1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless 23 offerings;
I consider your incense detestable! 24
You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,
but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! 25
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; 26
when you offer your many prayers,
I do not listen,
because your hands are covered with blood. 27
1:16 28 Wash! Cleanse yourselves!
Remove your sinful deeds 29
from my sight.
Stop sinning!
1:17 Learn to do what is right!
Promote justice!
Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! 30
Take up the cause of the orphan!
Defend the rights of the widow! 31
Isaiah 58:5-7
Context58:5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want? 32
Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, 33
bowing their heads like a reed
and stretching out 34 on sackcloth and ashes?
Is this really what you call a fast,
a day that is pleasing to the Lord?
58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. 35
I want you 36 to remove the sinful chains,
to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,
to set free the oppressed, 37
and to break every burdensome yoke.
58:7 I want you 38 to share your food with the hungry
and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. 39
When you see someone naked, clothe him!
Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! 40
Jeremiah 7:21-23
Context7:21 The Lord said to the people of Judah, 41 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 42 says: ‘You might as well go ahead and add the meat of your burnt offerings to that of the other sacrifices and eat it, too! 43 7:22 Consider this: 44 When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices. 7:23 I also explicitly commanded them: 45 “Obey me. If you do, I 46 will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you 47 and things will go well with you.”
Hosea 6:6
Context6:6 For I delight in faithfulness, not simply in sacrifice;
I delight 48 in acknowledging God, not simply in whole burnt offerings. 49
Amos 5:21-24
Context5:21 “I absolutely despise 50 your festivals!
I get no pleasure 51 from your religious assemblies!
5:22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, 52 I will not be satisfied;
I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves. 53
5:23 Take away from me your 54 noisy songs;
I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments. 55
5:24 Justice must flow like torrents of water,
righteous actions 56 like a stream that never dries up.
Micah 6:6-8
Context6:6 With what should I 57 enter the Lord’s presence?
With what 58 should I bow before the sovereign God? 59
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? 60
6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good,
and what the Lord really wants from you: 61
He wants you to 62 promote 63 justice, to be faithful, 64
and to live obediently before 65 your God.
Matthew 9:13
Context9:13 Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ 66 For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 12:7
Context12:7 If 67 you had known what this means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’ 68 you would not have condemned the innocent.
Matthew 12:1
Context12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His 69 disciples were hungry, and they began to pick heads of wheat 70 and eat them.
Colossians 1:1-3
Context1:1 From Paul, 71 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 1:2 to the saints, the faithful 72 brothers and sisters 73 in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you 74 from God our Father! 75
1:3 We always 76 give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
[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).
[50:8] 6 tn Heb “and your burnt sacrifices before me continually.”
[50:9] 7 tn Or “I will not take.”
[50:10] 8 tn Heb “[the] animals on a thousand hills.” The words “that graze” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The term בְּהֵמוֹה (bÿhemot, “animal”) refers here to cattle (see Ps 104:14).
[50:11] 10 tn The precise referent of the Hebrew word, which occurs only here and in Ps 80:13, is uncertain. Aramaic, Arabic and Akkadian cognates refer to insects, such as locusts or crickets.
[50:13] 11 tn The rhetorical questions assume an emphatic negative response, “Of course not!”
[50:14] 12 tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.
[50:15] 13 tn Heb “call [to] me in a day of trouble.”
[50:15] 14 sn In vv. 7-15 the Lord makes it clear that he was not rebuking Israel because they had failed to offer sacrifices (v. 8a). On the contrary, they had been faithful in doing so (v. 8b). However, their understanding of the essence of their relationship with God was confused. Apparently they believed that he needed/desired such sacrifices and that offering them would ensure their prosperity. But the Lord owns all the animals of the world and did not need Israel’s meager sacrifices (vv. 9-13). Other aspects of the relationship were more important to the Lord. He desired Israel to be thankful for his blessings (v. 14a), to demonstrate gratitude for his intervention by repaying the vows they made to him (v. 14b), and to acknowledge their absolute dependence on him (v. 15a). Rather than viewing their sacrifices as somehow essential to God’s well-being, they needed to understand their dependence on him.
[50:23] 15 sn The reference to a thank-offering recalls the earlier statement made in v. 14. Gratitude characterizes genuine worship.
[50:23] 16 tn Heb “and [to one who] sets a way I will show the deliverance of God.” Elsewhere the phrase “set a way” simply means “to travel” (see Gen 30:36; cf. NRSV). The present translation assumes an emendation of וְשָׂם דֶּרֶךְ (vÿsam derekh) to וְשֹׁמֵר דְּרָכַּי (vÿshomer dÿrakhay, “and [the one who] keeps my ways” [i.e., commands, see Pss 18:21; 37:34). Another option is to read וְשֹׁמֵר דַּרְכּוֹ (vÿshomer darko, “and [the one who] guards his way,” i.e., “the one who is careful to follow a godly lifestyle”; see Ps 39:1).
[21:3] 17 tn The Niphal participle בָּחַר (bakhar, “to choose”) means “choice to the
[21:3] 18 sn The
[1:11] 19 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] 20 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] 21 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] 22 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] 23 tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”
[1:13] 24 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] 25 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] 26 tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”
[1:15] 27 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.
[1:16] 28 sn Having demonstrated the people’s guilt, the Lord calls them to repentance, which will involve concrete action in the socio-economic realm, not mere emotion.
[1:16] 29 sn This phrase refers to Israel’s covenant treachery (cf. Deut 28:10; Jer 4:4; 21:12; 23:2, 22; 25:5; 26:3; 44:22; Hos 9:15; Ps 28:4). In general, the noun ַמעַלְלֵיכֶם (ma’alleykhem) can simply be a reference to deeds, whether good or bad. However, Isaiah always uses it with a negative connotation (cf. 3:8, 10).
[1:17] 30 tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The translation assumes an emendation of חָמוֹץ (khamots, “oppressor [?]”) to חָמוּץ (khamuts, “oppressed”), a passive participle from II חָמַץ (khamats, “oppress”; HALOT 329 s.v. II חמץ) and takes the verb II אָשַׁר (’ashar) in the sense of “make happy” (the delocutive Piel, meaning “call/pronounce happy,” is metonymic here, referring to actually effecting happiness). The parallelism favors this interpretation, for the next two lines speak of positive actions on behalf of the destitute. The other option is to retain the MT pointing and translate, “set right the oppressor,” but the nuance “set right” is not clearly attested elsewhere for the verb I אשׁר. This verb does appear as a participle in Isa 3:12 and 9:16 with the meaning “to lead or guide.” If it can mean to “lead” or “rebuke/redirect” in this verse, the prophet could be contrasting this appeal for societal reformation (v. 17c) with a command to reorder their personal lives (v. 17a-b). J. A. Motyer (The Prophecy of Isaiah, 47) suggests that these three statements (v. 17a-c) provide “the contrast between the two ends of imperfect society, the oppressor and the needy, the one inflicting and the other suffering the hurt. Isaiah looks for a transformed society wherever it needs transforming.”
[1:17] 31 tn This word refers to a woman who has lost her husband, by death or divorce. The orphan and widow are often mentioned in the OT as epitomizing the helpless and impoverished who have been left without the necessities of life due to the loss of a family provider.
[58:5] 32 tn Heb “choose” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “wish.”
[58:5] 33 tn Heb “a day when man humbles himself.” The words “Do I want” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[58:5] 34 tn Or “making [their] bed.”
[58:6] 35 tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[58:6] 36 tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[58:7] 38 tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!”
[58:7] 39 tn Heb “and afflicted [ones], homeless [ones] you should bring [into] a house.” On the meaning of מְרוּדִים (mÿrudim, “homeless”) see HALOT 633 s.v. *מָרוּד.
[58:7] 40 tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.”
[7:21] 41 tn The words “The
[7:21] 42 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[7:21] 43 tn Heb “Add your burnt offerings to your [other] sacrifices and eat the meat!” See the following sn for explanation. This is an example of the rhetorical use of the imperative for a sarcastic challenge. Cf. GKC 324 §110.a; cf. Amos 4:4, “Go to Bethel and sin!”
[7:22] 44 tn Heb “For” but this introduces a long explanation about the relative importance of sacrifice and obedience.
[7:23] 45 tn Verses 22-23a read in Hebrew, “I did not speak with your ancestors and I did not command them when I brought them out of Egypt about words/matters concerning burnt offering and sacrifice, but I commanded them this word:” Some modern commentators have explained this passage as an evidence for the lateness of the Pentateuchal instruction regarding sacrifice or a denial that sacrifice was practiced during the period of the wilderness wandering. However, it is better explained as an example of what R. de Vaux calls a dialectical negative, i.e., “not so much this as that” or “not this without that” (Ancient Israel, 454-56). For other examples of this same argument see Isa 1:10-17; Hos 6:4-6; Amos 5:21-25.
[7:23] 46 tn Heb “Obey me and I will be.” The translation is equivalent syntactically but brings out the emphasis in the command.
[7:23] 47 tn Heb “Walk in all the way that I command you.”
[6:6] 48 tn The phrase “I delight” does not appear in the Hebrew text a second time in this verse, but is implied from the parallelism in the preceding line.
[6:6] 49 sn Contrary to popular misunderstanding, Hosea does not reject animal sacrifice nor cultic ritual, and advocate instead obedience only. Rather, God does not delight in ritual sacrifice without the accompanying prerequisite moral obedience (1 Sam 15:22; Pss 40:6-8; 51:16-17; Prov 21:3; Isa 1:11-17; Jer 7:21-23; Hos 6:6; Mic 6:6-8). However, if prerequisite moral obedience is present, he delights in sacrificial worship as an outward expression (Ps 51:19). Presented by a repentant obedient worshiper, whole burnt offerings were “an aroma pleasing” to the
[5:21] 50 tn Heb “I hate”; “I despise.”
[5:21] 51 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] 52 tn Heb “burnt offerings and your grain offerings.”
[5:22] 53 tn Heb “Peace offering[s], your fattened calves, I will not look at.”
[5:23] 54 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] 55 tn The Hebrew word probably refers to “harps” (NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “lutes” (NEB).
[5:24] 56 tn Traditionally, “righteousness.”
[6:6] 57 sn With what should I enter the
[6:6] 58 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] 59 tn Or “the exalted God.”
[6:7] 60 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] 61 sn What the
[6:8] 62 tn Heb “except.” This statement is actually linked with what precedes, “What does he want from you except….”
[6:8] 63 tn Heb “to do,” in the sense of “promote.”
[6:8] 64 tn Heb “to love faithfulness.”
[6:8] 65 tn Heb “to walk humbly [or perhaps, “carefully”] with.”
[9:13] 66 sn A quotation from Hos 6:6 (see also Matt 12:7).
[12:7] 67 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[12:7] 68 sn A quotation from Hos 6:6 (see also Matt 9:13).
[12:1] 69 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[12:1] 70 tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).
[1:1] 71 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
[1:2] 72 tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.
[1:2] 73 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).
[1:2] 74 tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”
[1:2] 75 tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these
[1:3] 76 tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).
