Isaiah 1:11

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 

Isaiah 5:24-25

5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire ⁴  devours straw,

and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,

so their root will rot,

and their flower will blow away like dust. ⁵ 

For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,

they have spurned the commands ⁶  of the Holy One of Israel. ⁷ 

5:25 So the Lord is furious ⁸  with his people;

he lifts ⁹  his hand and strikes them.

The mountains shake,

and corpses lie like manure ¹⁰  in the middle of the streets.

Despite all this, his anger does not subside,

and his hand is ready to strike again. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 56:7

56:7 I will bring them to my holy mountain;

I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me. ¹² 

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,

for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.” ¹³ 

[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]  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.

[5:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.

[5:24]  ⁵ sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.

[5:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “the word.”

[5:24]  ⁷ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[5:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “the anger of the Lord rages.”

[5:25]  ⁸ tn Or “extends”; KJV, ASV “he hath stretched forth.”

[5:25]  ⁹ tn Or “garbage” (NCV, CEV, NLT); NAB, NASB, NIV “refuse.”

[5:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”

[56:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in the house of my prayer.”

[56:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”