1 Samuel 15:22
New English Translation
22 Then Samuel said,
“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as he does in obedience?[a]
Certainly,[b] obedience[c] is better than sacrifice;
paying attention is better than[d] the fat of rams.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 15:22 tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the Lord.”
- 1 Samuel 15:22 tn Heb “look.”
- 1 Samuel 15:22 tn Heb “listening.”
- 1 Samuel 15:22 tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).
Isaiah 1:11-17
New English Translation
11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?”[a]
says the Lord.
“I have had my fill[b] of burnt sacrifices,
of rams and the fat from steers.
The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats
I do not want.[c]
12 When you enter my presence,
do you actually think I want this—
animals trampling on my courtyards?[d]
13 Do not bring any more meaningless[e] offerings;
I consider your incense detestable![f]
You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,
but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations![g]
14 I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies;
they are a burden
that I am tired of carrying.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I look the other way;[h]
when you offer your many prayers,
I do not listen,
because your hands are covered with blood.[i]
16 [j] Wash! Cleanse yourselves!
Remove your sinful deeds[k]
from my sight.
Stop sinning.
17 Learn to do what is right.
Promote justice.
Give the oppressed reason to celebrate.[l]
Take up the cause of the orphan.
Defend the rights of the widow.[m]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 1:11 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!”sn In this section the Lord refutes a potential objection that his sinful people might offer in their defense. He has charged them with rebellion (vv. 2-3), but they might respond that they have brought him many sacrifices. So he points out that he requires justice in society first and foremost, not empty ritual.
- Isaiah 1:11 tn The verb שָׂבַע (savaʿ, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill, to have had fully enough and want no more. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע. In some cases it means to have had more than enough of something and to want to not have any more (cf. Prov 25:17). The word picture builds on the Near Eastern viewpoint of sacrifices as food for the deity. God essentially says, “enough of that already;” what he wants is not more of that.
- Isaiah 1:11 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.
- Isaiah 1:12 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.
- Isaiah 1:13 tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”
- Isaiah 1:13 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).
- Isaiah 1:13 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).
- Isaiah 1:15 tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”
- Isaiah 1:15 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.
- Isaiah 1:16 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.
- Isaiah 1:16 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 מַעַלְלֵיכֶם (maʿalleykhem) can simply be a reference to deeds, whether good or bad. However, Isaiah always uses it with a negative connotation (cf. 3:8, 10).
- Isaiah 1:17 tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The translation assumes an emendation of חָמוֹץ (khamots, “oppressor [?]”) to חָמוּץ (khamuts, “oppressed”), a passive participle from II חָמַץ (khamats, “oppress”; HALOT 329 s.v. II חמץ) and takes the verb II אָשַׁר (ʾashar) in the sense of “make happy” (the delocutive Piel, meaning “call/pronounce happy,” is metonymic here, referring to actually effecting happiness). The parallelism favors this interpretation, for the next two lines speak of positive actions on behalf of the destitute. The other option is to retain the MT pointing and translate, “set right the oppressor,” but the nuance “set right” is not clearly attested elsewhere for the verb I אשׁר. This verb does appear as a participle in Isa 3:12 and 9:16 with the meaning “to lead or guide.” If it can mean to “lead” or “rebuke/redirect” in this verse, the prophet could be contrasting this appeal for societal reformation (v. 17c) with a command to reorder their personal lives (v. 17a-b). J. A. Motyer (The Prophecy of Isaiah, 47) suggests that these three statements (v. 17a-c) provide “the contrast between the two ends of imperfect society, the oppressor and the needy, the one inflicting and the other suffering the hurt. Isaiah looks for a transformed society wherever it needs transforming.”
- Isaiah 1:17 tn This word refers to a woman who has lost her husband, by death or divorce. The orphan and widow are often mentioned in the OT as epitomizing the helpless and impoverished who have been left without the necessities of life due to the loss of a family provider.
Jeremiah 7:21-23
New English Translation
21 “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[a] says to the people of Judah:[b] ‘You might as well go ahead and add the meat of your burnt offerings to that of the other sacrifices and eat it, too![c] 22 Consider this:[d] 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. 23 I also explicitly commanded them:[e] “Obey me. If you do, I[f] will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you[g] and things will go well with you.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Jeremiah 7:21 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.”sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3.
- Jeremiah 7:21 tn The words “to the people of Judah” are not in the text but are implicit in the shift in addressee between vv. 16-20 and vv. 21-26.
- Jeremiah 7:21 tn Heb “Add your burnt offerings to your [other] sacrifices and eat the meat!” See the following sn for explanation. This is an example of the rhetorical use of the imperative for a sarcastic challenge. See GKC 324 §110.a; cf. Amos 4:4, “Go to Bethel and sin!”sn All of the burnt offering, including the meat, was to be consumed on the altar (e.g., Lev 1:6-9). The meat of the other sacrifices could be eaten by the priest who offered the sacrifice and the person who brought it (e.g., Lev 7:16-18, 32). Since, however, the people of Judah were making a mockery of the sacrificial system by offering sacrifices while disobeying the law, the Lord rejected the sacrifices (cf. 6:20). Since they were violating the moral law, they might as well go ahead and violate the cultic law by eating the meat dedicated to God because he rejected it anyway.
- Jeremiah 7:22 tn Heb “For.” But this introduces a long explanation about the relative importance of sacrifice and obedience.
- Jeremiah 7:23 tn Verses 22-23a read in Hebrew, “I did not speak with your ancestors, and I did not command them when I brought them out of Egypt, about words/matters concerning burnt offering and sacrifice, but I commanded them this word:” Some modern commentators have explained this passage as an evidence for the lateness of the Pentateuchal instruction regarding sacrifice or a denial that sacrifice was practiced during the period of the wilderness wandering. However, it is better explained as an example of what R. de Vaux calls a dialectical negative, i.e., “not so much this as that” or “not this without that” (Ancient Israel, 454-56). For other examples of this same argument see Isa 1:10-17; Hos 6:4-6; Amos 5:21-25.
- Jeremiah 7:23 tn Heb “Obey me and I will be.” The translation is equivalent syntactically but brings out the emphasis in the command.
- Jeremiah 7:23 tn Heb “Walk in all the way that I command you.”
Hosea 6:6
New English Translation
6 For I delight in faithfulness, not simply in sacrifice;
I delight[a] in acknowledging God, not simply in whole burnt offerings.[b]
Footnotes
- Hosea 6:6 tn The phrase “I delight” does not appear in the Hebrew text a second time in this verse but is implied from the parallelism in the preceding line.
- Hosea 6:6 sn Contrary to popular misunderstanding, Hosea does not reject animal sacrifice or cultic ritual to advocate instead for obedience only. Rather, God does not delight in ritual sacrifice without the accompanying prerequisite moral obedience (1 Sam 15:22; Pss 40:6-8; 51:16-17; Prov 21:3; Isa 1:11-17; Jer 7:21-23; Hos 6:6; Mic 6:6-8). However, if prerequisite moral obedience is present, he delights in sacrificial worship as an outward expression (Ps 51:19). Presented by a repentant obedient worshiper, whole burnt offerings were “an aroma pleasing” to the Lord (Lev 1:9, 13).
Micah 6:6-8
New English Translation
6 With what should I[a] enter the Lord’s presence?
With what[b] should I bow before the sovereign God?[c]
Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?
7 Will the Lord accept a thousand rams
or ten thousand streams of olive oil?
Should I give him my firstborn child as payment for my rebellion,
my offspring—my own flesh and blood—for my sin?[d]
8 He has told you,[e] O man, what is good,
and what the Lord really wants from you:[f]
He wants you to[g] carry out justice,[h] to love faithfulness,[i]
and to live obediently before[j] your God.
Footnotes
- Micah 6:6 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.
- Micah 6:6 tn The words “with what” do double duty in the parallelism and are supplied in the second line of the translation for clarification.
- Micah 6:6 tn Or “the exalted God.”
- Micah 6:7 tn Heb “the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often translated “soul,” but the word usually refers to the whole person; here “the sin of my soul” = “my sin.” sn Since child sacrifice is forbidden in scripture (Deut 12:31; 18:10), the speaker is revealed to not be in earnest but perhaps sarcastic.
- Micah 6:8 sn Now the prophet switches roles and answers the question of the hypothetical worshiper. He rebukes the extravagant surface remark by pointing to general character qualities that are lacking in Israel.
- Micah 6:8 tn Heb “is seeking from you.”
- Micah 6:8 tn Heb “except.” This statement is actually linked with what precedes, “What does he want from you except….”
- Micah 6:8 tn Or “to act justly.”
- Micah 6:8 tn Or “to love faithfully.” The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) is complex, sometimes translated “lovingkindness,” faithfulness,” or “loyal love.” It has also been understood as covenant loyalty. חֶסֶד is either the object or the manner of the infinitive “to love.”
- Micah 6:8 tn Heb “to walk humbly [or perhaps, “carefully”] with.”
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