1 Kings 12:32

12:32 Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, ¹  like the festival celebrated in Judah. ²  On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made. ³  In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made.

Isaiah 1:13-14

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ⁴  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ⁵ 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ⁶ 

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

they are a burden

that I am tired of carrying.

Amos 5:21

5:21 “I absolutely despise ⁷  your festivals!

I get no pleasure ⁸  from your religious assemblies!

Amos 8:3

8:3 The women singing in the temple ⁹  will wail in that day.”

The sovereign Lord is speaking.

“There will be many corpses littered everywhere! ¹⁰  Be quiet!”

Amos 8:5

8:5 You say,

“When will the new moon festival ¹¹  be over, ¹²  so we can sell grain?

When will the Sabbath end, ¹³  so we can open up the grain bins? ¹⁴ 

We’re eager ¹⁵  to sell less for a higher price, ¹⁶ 

and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! ¹⁷ 

Amos 8:9-10

8:9 In that day,” says the sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun set at noon,

and make the earth dark in the middle of the day. ¹⁸ 

8:10 I will turn your festivals into funerals, ¹⁹ 

and all your songs into funeral dirges.

I will make everyone wear funeral clothes ²⁰ 

and cause every head to be shaved bald. ²¹ 

I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son; ²² 

when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day. ²³ 

[12:32]  ¹ sn The eighth month would correspond to October-November in modern reckoning.

[12:32]  ² sn The festival he celebrated in Judah probably refers to the Feast of Tabernacles (i.e., Booths or Temporary Shelters), held in the seventh month (September-October). See also 1 Kgs 8:2.

[12:32]  ³ tn Heb “and he offered up [sacrifices] on the altar; he did this in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made.”

[1:13]  ⁴ tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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).

[5:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “I hate”; “I despise.”

[5:21]  ⁸ 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.

[8:3]  ⁹ tn Or “palace” (NASB, NCV, TEV).

[8:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Many corpses in every place he will throw out.” The subject of the verb is probably impersonal, though many emend the active (Hiphil) form to a passive (Hophal): “Many corpses in every place will be thrown out.”

[8:5]  ¹¹ sn Apparently work was prohibited during the new moon festival, just as it was on the Sabbath.

[8:5]  ¹² tn Heb “pass by.”

[8:5]  ¹³ tn The verb, though omitted in the Hebrew text, is supplied in the translation from the parallel line.

[8:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “sell grain.” Here “grain” could stand by metonymy for the bins where it was stored.

[8:5]  ¹⁵ tn Here and in v. 6 the words “we’re eager” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to make small the ephah and to make great the shekel.” The “ephah” was a unit of dry measure used to determine the quantity purchased, while the “shekel” was a standard weight used to determine the purchase price. By using a smaller than standard ephah and a heavier than standard shekel, these merchants were able to increase their profit (“sell less for a higher price”) by cheating the buyer.

[8:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and to cheat with deceptive scales”; NASB, NIV “dishonest scales”; NRSV “false balances.”

[8:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in a day of light.”

[8:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “mourning.”

[8:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I will place sackcloth on all waists.”

[8:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “and make every head bald.” This could be understood in a variety of ways, while the ritual act of mourning typically involved shaving the head (although occasionally the hair could be torn out as a sign of mourning).

[8:10]  ²² tn Heb “I will make it like the mourning for an only son.”

[8:10]  ²³ tn Heb “and its end will be like a bitter day.” The Hebrew preposition כְּ (kaf) sometimes carries the force of “in every respect,” indicating identity rather than mere comparison.