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.

Mazmur 50:7-15

50:7 He says: ⁵ 

“Listen my people! I am speaking!

Listen Israel! I am accusing you! ⁶ 

I am God, your God!

50:8 I am not condemning ⁷  you because of your sacrifices,

or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me. ⁸ 

50:9 I do not need to take ⁹  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. ¹⁰ 

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

and the insects ¹²  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? ¹³ 

50:14 Present to God a thank-offering!

Repay your vows to the sovereign One! ¹⁴ 

50:15 Pray to me when you are in trouble! ¹⁵ 

I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 1:11-16

1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” ¹⁷ 

says the Lord.

“I am stuffed with ¹⁸  burnt sacrifices

of rams and the fat from steers.

The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats

I do not want. ¹⁹ 

1:12 When you enter my presence,

do you actually think I want this –

animals trampling on my courtyards? ²⁰ 

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ²¹  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ²² 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ²³ 

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; ²⁴ 

when you offer your many prayers,

I do not listen,

because your hands are covered with blood. ²⁵ 

1:16 ²⁶ Wash! Cleanse yourselves!

Remove your sinful deeds ²⁷ 

from my sight.

Stop sinning!

Yesaya 58:3-5

58:3 They lament, ²⁸  ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast?

Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’

Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, ²⁹ 

you oppress your workers. ³⁰ 

58:4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by ³¹  arguments, brawls,

and fistfights. ³² 

Do not fast as you do today,

trying to make your voice heard in heaven.

58:5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want? ³³ 

Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, ³⁴ 

bowing their heads like a reed

and stretching out ³⁵  on sackcloth and ashes?

Is this really what you call a fast,

a day that is pleasing to the Lord?

Yeremia 6:20

6:20 I take no delight ³⁶  when they offer up to me ³⁷ 

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.’ ³⁸ 

Amos 5:21-24

5:21 “I absolutely despise ³⁹  your festivals!

I get no pleasure ⁴⁰  from your religious assemblies!

5:22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, ⁴¹  I will not be satisfied;

I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves. ⁴² 

5:23 Take away from me your ⁴³  noisy songs;

I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments. ⁴⁴ 

5:24 Justice must flow like torrents of water,

righteous actions ⁴⁵  like a stream that never dries up.

Amos 5:1

Death is Imminent

5:1 Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you, ⁴⁶  family ⁴⁷  of Israel:

Kolose 1:8

1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Kolose 2:21-23

2:21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” 2:22 These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are ⁴⁸  on human commands and teachings. ⁴⁹  2:23 Even though they have the appearance of wisdom ⁵⁰  with their self-imposed worship and false humility ⁵¹  achieved by an ⁵²  unsparing treatment of the body – a wisdom with no true value – they in reality result in fleshly indulgence. ⁵³ 

Ibrani 13:9

13:9 Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings. ⁵⁴  For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals, ⁵⁵  which have never benefited those who participated in them.

[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).

[50:7]  ⁵ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s charges against his people follow.

[50:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “Israel, and I will testify against you.” The imperative “listen” is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[50:8]  ⁷ tn Or “rebuking.”

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

[50:9]  ⁹ tn Or “I will not take.”

[50:10]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I know.”

[50:11]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn The rhetorical questions assume an emphatic negative response, “Of course not!”

[50:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.

[50:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “call [to] me in a day of trouble.”

[50:15]  ¹⁶ sn In vv. 7-15 the Lord makes it clear that he was not rebuking Israel because they had failed to offer sacrifices (v. 8a). On the contrary, they had been faithful in doing so (v. 8b). However, their understanding of the essence of their relationship with God was confused. Apparently they believed that he needed/desired such sacrifices and that offering them would ensure their prosperity. But the Lord owns all the animals of the world and did not need Israel’s meager sacrifices (vv. 9-13). Other aspects of the relationship were more important to the Lord. He desired Israel to be thankful for his blessings (v. 14a), to demonstrate gratitude for his intervention by repaying the vows they made to him (v. 14b), and to acknowledge their absolute dependence on him (v. 15a). Rather than viewing their sacrifices as somehow essential to God’s well-being, they needed to understand their dependence on him.

[1:11]  ¹⁷ 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]  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 social justice first and foremost, not empty ritual.

[1:11]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”

[1:15]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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).

[58:3]  ²⁸ tn The words “they lament” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “you find pleasure”; NASB “you find your desire.”

[58:3]  ³⁰ tn Or perhaps, “debtors.” See HALOT 865 s.v. * עָצֵב.

[58:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “you fast for” (so NASB); NRSV “you fast only to quarrel.”

[58:4]  ³² tn Heb “and for striking with a sinful fist.”

[58:5]  ³³ tn Heb “choose” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “wish.”

[58:5]  ³⁴ tn Heb “a day when man humbles himself.” The words “Do I want” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[58:5]  ³⁵ tn Or “making [their] bed.”

[6:20]  ³⁶ tn Heb “To what purpose is it to me?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[6:20]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ 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.

[5:21]  ³⁹ tn Heb “I hate”; “I despise.”

[5:21]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “burnt offerings and your grain offerings.”

[5:22]  ⁴² tn Heb “Peace offering[s], your fattened calves, I will not look at.”

[5:23]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew word probably refers to “harps” (NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “lutes” (NEB).

[5:24]  ⁴⁵ tn Traditionally, “righteousness.”

[5:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “Listen to this word which I am about to take up against you, a funeral song.”

[5:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[2:22]  ⁴⁸ tn The expression “founded as they are” brings out the force of the Greek preposition κατά (kata).

[2:22]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “The commands and teachings of men.”

[2:23]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “having a word of wisdom.”

[2:23]  ⁵¹ tn Though the apostle uses the term ταπεινοφροσύνῃ (tapeinofrosunh) elsewhere in a positive sense (cf. 3:12), here the sense is negative and reflects the misguided thinking of Paul’s opponents.

[2:23]  ⁵² tc ‡ The vast bulk of witnesses, including some important ones (א A C D F G H Ψ 075 0278 33 1881 Ï lat sy), have καί (kai) here, but the shorter reading is supported by some early and important witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ B 1739 b m Hil Ambst Spec). The καί looks to be a motivated reading in that it makes ἀφειδία (afeidia) “the third in a series of datives after ἐν, rather than an instrumental dative qualifying the previous prepositional phrase” (TCGNT 556). At the same time, the omission of καί could possibly have been unintentional. A decision is difficult, but the shorter reading is slightly preferred. NA²⁷ puts καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[2:23]  ⁵³ tn The translation understands this verse to contain a concessive subordinate clause within the main clause. The Greek particle μέν (men) is the second word of the embedded subordinate clause. The phrase οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινι (ouk en timh tini) modifies the subordinate clause, and the main clause resumes with the preposition πρός (pros). The translation has placed the subordinate clause first in order for clarity instead of retaining its embedded location. For a detailed discussion of this grammatical construction, see B. Hollenbach, “Col 2:23: Which Things Lead to the Fulfillment of the Flesh,” NTS 25 (1979): 254-61.

[13:9]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “by diverse and strange teachings.”

[13:9]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “foods,” referring to the meals associated with the OT sacrifices (see the contrast with the next verse; also 9:9-10; 10:1, 4, 11).