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? ¹ 

Certainly, ²  obedience ³  is better than sacrifice;

paying attention is better than ⁴  the fat of rams.

Psalms 50:8

50:8 I am not condemning ⁵  you because of your sacrifices,

or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me. ⁶ 

Proverbs 21:3

21:3 To do righteousness and justice

is more acceptable ⁷  to the Lord than sacrifice. ⁸ 

Ecclesiastes 5:1

Rash Vows

5:1 ⁹ Be careful what you do ¹⁰  when you go to the temple ¹¹  of God;

draw near to listen ¹²  rather than to offer a sacrifice ¹³  like fools, ¹⁴ 

for they do not realize that they are doing wrong.

Isaiah 1:11

1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” ¹⁵ 

says the Lord.

“I am stuffed with ¹⁶  burnt sacrifices

of rams and the fat from steers.

The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats

I do not want. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 58:6

58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. ¹⁸ 

I want you ¹⁹  to remove the sinful chains,

to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,

to set free the oppressed, ²⁰ 

and to break every burdensome yoke.

Jeremiah 7:22

7:22 Consider this: ²¹  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.

Daniel 4:27

4:27 Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps your prosperity will be prolonged.” ²² 

Amos 5:21

5:21 “I absolutely despise ²³  your festivals!

I get no pleasure ²⁴  from your religious assemblies!

Micah 6:6

6:6 With what should I ²⁵  enter the Lord’s presence?

With what ²⁶  should I bow before the sovereign God? ²⁷ 

Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings,

with year-old calves?

Matthew 5:7

5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Matthew 9:13

9:13 Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ ²⁸  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 12:7

12:7 If ²⁹  you had known what this means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’ ³⁰  you would not have condemned the innocent.

[15:22]  ¹ tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the Lord.”

[15:22]  ² tn Heb “look.”

[15:22]  ³ tn Heb “listening.”

[15:22]  ⁴ tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).

[50:8]  ⁵ tn Or “rebuking.”

[50:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “and your burnt sacrifices before me continually.”

[21:3]  ⁷ tn The Niphal participle בָּחַר (bakhar, “to choose”) means “choice to the Lord” or “chosen of the Lord,” meaning “acceptable to the Lord”; cf. TEV “pleases the Lord more.”

[21:3]  ⁸ sn The Lord prefers righteousness above religious service (e.g., Prov 15:8; 21:29; 1 Sam 15:22; Ps 40:6-8; Isa 1:11-17). This is not a rejection of ritual worship; rather, religious acts are without value apart from righteous living.

[5:1]  ⁹ sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:20 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:17 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, etc., through 5:20 ET = 5:19 HT. Beginning with 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[5:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Guard your feet.” The Kethib is the plural רַגְלֶיךָ (raglekha, “your feet”), while the Qere is the singular רַגְלְךָ (raglÿkha, “your foot”), which is preserved in several medieval Hebrew mss and is reflected in the versions (LXX, Aramaic Targum, Vulgate, Syriac Peshitta). For example, the LXX reads πόδα σου (poda sou, “your foot”) which reflects רַגְלְךָ.

[5:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the house of God.” The term “house” (בַּיִת, bayit) is a synecdoche of general (i.e., house) for specific (i.e., temple), e.g., 1 Kgs 6:3; 7:12; 1 Chr 9:11; 2 Chr 3:8; 28:11. See E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 620.

[5:1]  ¹² tn Alternately, “to obey.” The term לִשְׁמֹעַ (lishmoa’, preposition + Qal infinitive construct from שָׁמַע, shama’, “to hear”) may be taken in one of two ways: (1) literal: “to listen” in contrast to speak or (2) figurative (metonymy of cause for effect) “to obey” in contrast to sacrifice (HALOT 1572 s.v. שׁמע 4; BDB 1033–34 s.v. שָׁמַע). The LXX took the term in the literal sense: τοῦ ἀκούειν (tou akouein, “to listen”). The English versions reflect both literal and figurative options: “obedience” (NJPS, Douay, NAB, NEB) versus “to hear [or listen]” (KJV, ASV, YLT, MLB, RSV, NASB, NIV, NRSV). The section warns against rash vows therefore, the nuance “to listen” is more appropriate: the wise man will be slow to speak and quick to listen in the presence of God; however, the fool is unrestrained and speaks rashly.

[5:1]  ¹³ tn The term “sacrifice” (זֶבַח, zevakh) is the general term that refers to the thank offering and free will offering (Lev 7:12, 16). This section focuses on making vows in prayer and fulfilling them, such as the vow offering. The term “sacrifice” functions as a synecdoche of general (i.e., sacrifice) for specific (i.e., vow offering).

[5:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the fools, a sacrifice.” The term “fools” (הַכְּסִילִים, hakkÿsilim) is an adverbial accusative of comparison (e.g., GKC 375 §118.r): “rather than giving a sacrifice like fools” (מִתֵּת הַכְּסִילִים זָבַח, mittet hakkÿsilim zavakh). Contextually, the “sacrifice” is a rash vow made to God that is not fulfilled. The rash vow is referred to in 5:2 as the “voice of a fool.” Qoheleth admonishes the fool against making a rash vow that is not paid: “When you make a vow to God, do not delay in paying it; for God takes no pleasure in fools: Pay what you vow! It is better for you not to vow than to vow and not pay it” (vv. 4-5 [3-4 HT]).

[1:11]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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.

[58:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:6]  ¹⁹ tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[58:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “crushed.”

[7:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “For” but this introduces a long explanation about the relative importance of sacrifice and obedience.

[4:27]  ²² tn Aram “if there may be a lengthening to your prosperity.”

[5:21]  ²³ tn Heb “I hate”; “I despise.”

[5:21]  ²⁴ 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.

[6:6]  ²⁵ sn With what should I enter the Lord’s presence? The prophet speaks again, playing the role of an inquisitive worshiper who wants to know what God really desires from his followers.

[6:6]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Or “the exalted God.”

[9:13]  ²⁸ sn A quotation from Hos 6:6 (see also Matt 12:7).

[12:7]  ²⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:7]  ³⁰ sn A quotation from Hos 6:6 (see also Matt 9:13).