Isaiah 1:11-15

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 

1:12 When you enter my presence,

do you actually think I want this –

animals trampling on my courtyards? ⁴ 

1:13 Do not bring any more meaningless ⁵  offerings;

I consider your incense detestable! ⁶ 

You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,

but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! ⁷ 

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; ⁸ 

when you offer your many prayers,

I do not listen,

because your hands are covered with blood. ⁹ 

Isaiah 48:1-2

The Lord Appeals to the Exiles

48:1 Listen to this, O family of Jacob, ¹⁰ 

you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’

and are descended from Judah, ¹¹ 

who take oaths in the name of the Lord,

and invoke ¹²  the God of Israel –

but not in an honest and just manner. ¹³ 

48:2 Indeed, they live in the holy city; ¹⁴ 

they trust in ¹⁵  the God of Israel,

whose name is the Lord who commands armies.

Isaiah 58:1-7

The Lord Desires Genuine Devotion

58:1 “Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet!

Yell as loud as a trumpet!

Confront my people with their rebellious deeds; ¹⁶ 

confront Jacob’s family with their sin! ¹⁷ 

58:2 They seek me day after day;

they want to know my requirements, ¹⁸ 

like a nation that does what is right

and does not reject the law of their God.

They ask me for just decrees;

they want to be near God.

58:3 They lament, ¹⁹  ‘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, ²⁰ 

you oppress your workers. ²¹ 

58:4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by ²²  arguments, brawls,

and fistfights. ²³ 

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? ²⁴ 

Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, ²⁵ 

bowing their heads like a reed

and stretching out ²⁶  on sackcloth and ashes?

Is this really what you call a fast,

a day that is pleasing to the Lord?

58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. ²⁷ 

I want you ²⁸  to remove the sinful chains,

to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,

to set free the oppressed, ²⁹ 

and to break every burdensome yoke.

58:7 I want you ³⁰  to share your food with the hungry

and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. ³¹ 

When you see someone naked, clothe him!

Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! ³² 

[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.

[1:12]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “worthless” (NASB, NCV, CEV); KJV, ASV “vain.”

[1:13]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”

[1:15]  ⁹ 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.

[48:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV, CEV “people of Israel.”

[48:1]  ¹¹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and from the waters of Judah came out.” מִמֵּי (mimme) could be a corruption of מִמְּעֵי (mimmÿ’e, “from the inner parts of”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV) as suggested in the above translation. Some translations (ESV, NKJV) retain the MT reading because the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, which corrects a similar form to “from inner parts of” in 39:7, does not do it here.

[48:1]  ¹² tn Heb “cause to remember”; KJV, ASV “make mention of.”

[48:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “not in truth and not in righteousness.”

[48:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “they call themselves [or “are called”] from the holy city.” The precise meaning of the statement is uncertain. The Niphal of קָרָא (qara’) is combined with the preposition מִן (min) only here. When the Qal of קָרָא is used with מִן, the preposition often indicates the place from which one is summoned (see 46:11). So one could translate, “from the holy city they are summoned,” meaning that they reside there.

[48:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “lean on” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB, NIV “rely on.”

[58:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “declare to my people their rebellion.”

[58:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and to the house of Jacob their sin.” The verb “declare” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[58:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “ways” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV); NLT “my laws.”

[58:3]  ¹⁹ tn The words “they lament” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “you find pleasure”; NASB “you find your desire.”

[58:3]  ²¹ tn Or perhaps, “debtors.” See HALOT 865 s.v. * עָצֵב.

[58:4]  ²² tn Heb “you fast for” (so NASB); NRSV “you fast only to quarrel.”

[58:4]  ²³ tn Heb “and for striking with a sinful fist.”

[58:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “choose” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “wish.”

[58:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “a day when man humbles himself.” The words “Do I want” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[58:5]  ²⁶ tn Or “making [their] bed.”

[58:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:6]  ²⁸ tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[58:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “crushed.”

[58:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Is it not?” The rhetorical question here expects a positive answer, “It is!”

[58:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “and afflicted [ones], homeless [ones] you should bring [into] a house.” On the meaning of מְרוּדִים (mÿrudim, “homeless”) see HALOT 633 s.v. *מָרוּד.

[58:7]  ³² tn Heb “and from your flesh do not hide yourself.”