Proverbs 1:28

1:28 Then they will call to me, but I will not answer;

they will diligently seek ¹  me, but they will not find me.

Isaiah 1:11-15

1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” ² 

says the Lord.

“I am stuffed with ³  burnt sacrifices

of rams and the fat from steers.

The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats

I do not want. ⁴ 

1:12 When you enter my presence,

do you actually think I want this –

animals trampling on my courtyards? ⁵ 

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ⁶  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ⁷ 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ⁸ 

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; ⁹ 

when you offer your many prayers,

I do not listen,

because your hands are covered with blood. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 66:3

66:3 The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man; ¹¹ 

the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck; ¹² 

the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it; ¹³ 

the one who offers incense also praises an idol. ¹⁴ 

They have decided to behave this way; ¹⁵ 

they enjoy these disgusting practices. ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 11:11

11:11 So I, the Lord, say this: ¹⁷  ‘I will soon bring disaster on them which they will not be able to escape! When they cry out to me for help, I will not listen to them.

Lamentations 3:44

3:44 You shrouded yourself with a cloud

so that no prayer can get through.

Ezekiel 8:18

8:18 Therefore I will act with fury! My eye will not pity them nor will I spare ¹⁸  them. When they have shouted in my ears, I will not listen to them.”

Amos 5:21-23

5:21 “I absolutely despise ¹⁹  your festivals!

I get no pleasure ²⁰  from your religious assemblies!

5:22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, ²¹  I will not be satisfied;

I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves. ²² 

5:23 Take away from me your ²³  noisy songs;

I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments. ²⁴ 

Micah 3:4

3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, ²⁵ 

but he will not answer them.

He will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have done such wicked deeds.”

John 7:34

7:34 You will look for me ²⁶  but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come.”

[1:28]  ¹ tn Heb “look to.” The verb שָׁחַר (shakhar, “to look”) is used figuratively of intensely looking (=seeking) for deliverance out of trouble (W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 366); cf. NLT “anxiously search for.” It is used elsewhere in parallelism with בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek rescue”; Hos 5:15). It does not mean “to seek early” (cf. KJV) as is popularly taught due to etymological connections with the noun שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”; so BDB 1007 s.v. שָׁחַר).

[1:11]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”

[1:15]  ¹⁰ 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.

[66:3]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “also they have chosen their ways.”

[66:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “their being [or “soul”] takes delight in their disgusting [things].”

[11:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Therefore, thus, says the Lord.” The person has been shifted in the translation in accordance with the difference between Hebrew and English style.

[8:18]  ¹⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

[5:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I hate”; “I despise.”

[5:21]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Heb “burnt offerings and your grain offerings.”

[5:22]  ²² tn Heb “Peace offering[s], your fattened calves, I will not look at.”

[5:23]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew word probably refers to “harps” (NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “lutes” (NEB).

[3:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “then they will cry out to the Lord.” The words “Someday these sinners” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[7:34]  ²⁶ tn Grk “seek me.”