Proverbs 15:8

15:8 The Lord abhors ¹  the sacrifices ²  of the wicked, ³ 

but the prayer ⁴  of the upright pleases him. ⁵ 

Proverbs 28:9

28:9 The one who turns away his ear ⁶  from hearing the law,

even his prayer ⁷  is an abomination. ⁸ 

Proverbs 28:1

28:1 The wicked person flees when there is no one pursuing, ⁹ 

but the righteous person is as confident ¹⁰  as a lion.

Proverbs 13:12-13

13:12 Hope ¹¹  deferred ¹²  makes the heart sick, ¹³ 

but a longing fulfilled ¹⁴  is like ¹⁵  a tree of life.

13:13 The one who despises instruction ¹⁶  will pay the penalty, ¹⁷ 

but whoever esteems instruction ¹⁸  will ¹⁹  be rewarded. ²⁰ 

Proverbs 15:21-23

15:21 Folly is a joy to one who lacks sense, ²¹ 

but one who has understanding ²²  follows an upright course. ²³ 

15:22 Plans fail ²⁴  when there is no counsel,

but with abundant advisers they are established. ²⁵ 

15:23 A person has joy ²⁶  in giving an appropriate answer, ²⁷ 

and a word at the right time ²⁸  – how good it is!

Psalms 50:8-13

50:8 I am not condemning ²⁹  you because of your sacrifices,

or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me. ³⁰ 

50:9 I do not need to take ³¹  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. ³² 

50:11 I keep track of ³³  every bird in the hills,

and the insects ³⁴  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? ³⁵ 

Isaiah 1:11-16

1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” ³⁶ 

says the Lord.

“I am stuffed with ³⁷  burnt sacrifices

of rams and the fat from steers.

The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats

I do not want. ³⁸ 

1:12 When you enter my presence,

do you actually think I want this –

animals trampling on my courtyards? ³⁹ 

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ⁴⁰  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ⁴¹ 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ⁴² 

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; ⁴³ 

when you offer your many prayers,

I do not listen,

because your hands are covered with blood. ⁴⁴ 

1:16 ⁴⁵ Wash! Cleanse yourselves!

Remove your sinful deeds ⁴⁶ 

from my sight.

Stop sinning!

Isaiah 66:3

66:3 The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man; ⁴⁷ 

the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck; ⁴⁸ 

the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it; ⁴⁹ 

the one who offers incense also praises an idol. ⁵⁰ 

They have decided to behave this way; ⁵¹ 

they enjoy these disgusting practices. ⁵² 

Jeremiah 6:20

6:20 I take no delight ⁵³  when they offer up to me ⁵⁴ 

frankincense that comes from Sheba

or sweet-smelling cane imported from a faraway land.

I cannot accept the burnt offerings they bring me.

I get no pleasure from the sacrifices they offer to me.’ ⁵⁵ 

Jeremiah 7:11-12

7:11 Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own ⁵⁶  is to be a hideout for robbers? ⁵⁷  You had better take note! ⁵⁸  I have seen for myself what you have done! says the Lord. 7:12 So, go to the place in Shiloh where I allowed myself to be worshiped ⁵⁹  in the early days. See what I did to it ⁶⁰  because of the wicked things my people Israel did.

Amos 5:21-22

5:21 “I absolutely despise ⁶¹  your festivals!

I get no pleasure ⁶²  from your religious assemblies!

5:22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, ⁶³  I will not be satisfied;

I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves. ⁶⁴ 

[15:8]  ¹ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) functions as a subjective genitive: “the Lord abhors.” Cf. NIV “the Lord detests”; NCV, NLT “the Lord hates”; CEV “the Lord is disgusted.”

[15:8]  ² tn Heb “sacrifice” (so many English versions).

[15:8]  ³ sn The sacrifices of the wicked are hated by the Lord because the worshipers are insincere and blasphemous (e.g., Prov 15:29; 21:3; 28:9; Ps 40:6-8; Isa 1:10-17). In other words, the spiritual condition of the worshiper determines whether or not the worship is acceptable to God.

[15:8]  ⁴ sn J. H. Greenstone notes that if God will accept the prayers of the upright, he will accept their sacrifices; for sacrifice is an outer ritual and easily performed even by the wicked, but prayer is a private and inward act and not usually fabricated by unbelievers (Proverbs, 162).

[15:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “[is] his pleasure.” The 3rd person masculine singular suffix functions as a subjective genitive: “he is pleased.” God is pleased with the prayers of the upright.

[28:9]  ⁶ sn The expression “turn away the ear from hearing” uses a metonymy to mean that this individual will not listen – it indicates a deliberate refusal to follow the instruction of the law.

[28:9]  ⁷ sn It is hard to imagine how someone who willfully refuses to obey the law of God would pray according to the will of God. Such a person is more apt to pray for some physical thing or make demands on God. (Of course a prayer of repentance would be an exception and would not be an abomination to the Lord.)

[28:9]  ⁸ sn C. H. Toy says, “If a man, on his part, is deaf to instruction, then God, on his part, is deaf to prayer” (Proverbs [ICC], 499). And W. McKane observes that one who fails to attend to God’s law is a wicked person, even if he is a man of prayer (Proverbs [OTL], 623).

[28:1]  ¹¹ sn The line portrays the insecurity of a guilty person – he flees because he has a guilty conscience, or because he is suspicious of others around him, or because he fears judgment.

[28:1]  ¹² tn The verb בָּטַח (batakh) means “to trust; to be secure; to be confident.” Cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “bold.”

[13:12]  ¹⁶ sn The word “hope” (תּוֹחֶלֶת [tokhelet] from יָחַל [yakhal]) also has the implication of a tense if not anxious wait.

[13:12]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is the Pual participle from מָשַׁךְ (mashakh,“to draw; to drag”).

[13:12]  ¹⁸ sn Failure in realizing one’s hopes can be depressing or discouraging. People can bear frustration only so long (W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 153).

[13:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a desire that comes”; cf. CEV “a wish that comes true.”

[13:12]  ²⁰ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[13:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “the word.” The term “word” means teaching in general; its parallel “command” indicates that it is the more forceful instruction that is meant. Both of these terms are used for scripture.

[13:13]  ²² tc The MT reads יֵחָבֶל (yekhavel, “he will pay [for it]”; cf. NAB, NIV) but the BHS editors suggest revocalizing the text to יְחֻבָּל (yÿkhubal, “he will be broken [for it]”; cf. NRSV “bring destruction on themselves”).

[13:13]  ²³ tn Heb “fears a commandment”; NIV “respects a command.”

[13:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he” or “that one” [will be rewarded].

[13:13]  ²⁵ tc The LXX adds: “A crafty son will have no good thing, but the affairs of a wise servant will be prosperous; and his path will be directed rightly.”

[15:21]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew text reads לַחֲסַר־לֵב (lakhasar-lev, “to one who lacks heart”). The Hebrew term “heart” represents the mind, the place where proper decisions are made (cf. NIV “judgment”). The one who has not developed this ability to make proper choices finds great delight in folly.

[15:21]  ²⁷ tn Heb “a man of understanding” (so KJV, NIV); NLT “a sensible person.”

[15:21]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew construction is יְיַשֶּׁר־לָכֶת (yÿyasher-lakhet, “makes straight [to] go”). This is a verbal hendiadys, in which the first verb, the Piel imperfect, becomes adverbial, and the second form, the infinitive construct of הָלַךְ, halakh, becomes the main verb: “goes straight ahead” (cf. NRSV).

[15:22]  ³¹ tn Heb “go wrong” (so NRSV, NLT). The verb is the Hiphil infinitive absolute from פָּרַר, parar, which means “to break; to frustrate; to go wrong” (HALOT 975 s.v. I פרר 2). The plans are made ineffectual or are frustrated when there is insufficient counsel.

[15:22]  ³² sn The proverb says essentially the same thing as 11:14, but differently.

[15:23]  ³⁶ tn Heb “joy to the man” or “the man has joy.”

[15:23]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in the answer of his mouth” (so ASV); NASB “in an apt answer.” The term “mouth” is a metonymy of cause for what he says. But because the parallelism is loosely synonymous, the answer given here must be equal to the good word spoken in season. So it is an answer that is proper or fitting.

[15:23]  ³⁸ tn Heb “in its season.” To say the right thing at the right time is useful; to say the right thing at the wrong time is counterproductive.

[50:8]  ⁴¹ tn Or “rebuking.”

[50:8]  ⁴² tn Heb “and your burnt sacrifices before me continually.”

[50:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “I will not take.”

[50:10]  ⁵¹ 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]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “I know.”

[50:11]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁶¹ tn The rhetorical questions assume an emphatic negative response, “Of course not!”

[1:11]  ⁶⁶ 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]  ⁶⁷ 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]  ⁶⁸ 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]  ⁷¹ 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]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ⁷⁷ 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]  ⁷⁸ 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]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”

[1:15]  ⁸² 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]  ⁸⁶ 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]  ⁸⁷ 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).

[66:3]  ⁹¹ 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]  ⁹² 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]  ⁹³ 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]  ⁹⁴ 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]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “also they have chosen their ways.”

[66:3]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “their being [or “soul”] takes delight in their disgusting [things].”

[6:20]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “To what purpose is it to me?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[6:20]  ⁹⁷ tn The words “when they offer up to me” are not in the text but are implicit from the following context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:20]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “Your burnt offerings are not acceptable and your sacrifices are not pleasing to me.” “The shift from “your” to “their” is an example of the figure of speech (apostrophe) where the speaker turns from talking about someone to addressing him/her directly. Though common in Hebrew style, it is not common in English. The shift to the third person in the translation is an accommodation to English style.

[7:11]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.

[7:11]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “Is this house…a den/cave of robbers in your eyes?”

[7:11]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “Behold!”

[7:12]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “where I caused my name to dwell.” The translation does not adequately represent the theology of the Lord’s deliberate identification with a place where he chose to manifest his presence and desired to be worshiped (cf. Exod 20:25; Deut 16:2, 6, 11).

[7:12]  ¹⁰⁷ sn The place in Shiloh…see what I did to it. This refers to the destruction of Shiloh by the Philistines circa 1050 b.c. (cf. Ps 78:60). The destruction of Shiloh is pertinent to the argument. The presence of the tabernacle and ark of the covenant did not prevent Shiloh from being destroyed when Israel sinned. The people of Israel used the ark as a magic charm but it did not prevent them from being defeated or the ark being captured (1 Sam 4:3, 11, 21-22).

[5:21]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “I hate”; “I despise.”

[5:21]  ¹¹² 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]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “burnt offerings and your grain offerings.”

[5:22]  ¹¹⁷ tn Heb “Peace offering[s], your fattened calves, I will not look at.”