Yesaya 1:15

1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,

I look the other way; ¹ 

when you offer your many prayers,

I do not listen,

because your hands are covered with blood. ² 

Yesaya 8:19

Darkness Turns to Light as an Ideal King Arrives

8:19 ³ They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. ⁴  Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” ⁵ 

Yesaya 55:6-7

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ⁶ 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ⁷ 

and sinful people their plans. ⁸ 

They should return ⁹  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ¹⁰ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 58:1-3

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; ¹² 

confront Jacob’s family with their sin! ¹³ 

58:2 They seek me day after day;

they want to know my requirements, ¹⁴ 

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, ¹⁵  ‘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, ¹⁶ 

you oppress your workers. ¹⁷ 

Yesaya 58:1

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; ¹⁸ 

confront Jacob’s family with their sin! ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 28:8

28:8 Indeed, all the tables are covered with vomit;

no place is untouched. ²⁰ 

Yesaya 28:2

28:2 Look, the sovereign master ²¹  sends a strong, powerful one. ²² 

With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm, ²³ 

with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm, ²⁴ 

he will knock that crown ²⁵  to the ground with his hand. ²⁶ 

Yesaya 15:2

15:2 They went up to the temple, ²⁷ 

the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. ²⁸ 

Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, ²⁹  Moab wails.

Every head is shaved bare,

every beard is trimmed off. ³⁰ 

Ezra 8:22

8:22 I was embarrassed to request soldiers and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy ³¹  along the way, because we had said to the king, “The good hand of our God is on everyone who is seeking him, but his great anger ³²  is against everyone who forsakes him.”

Mazmur 24:6

24:6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor,

Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him. ³³  (Selah)

Mazmur 69:13

69:13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me! ³⁴ 

O God, because of your great loyal love,

answer me with your faithful deliverance! ³⁵ 

Mazmur 69:32

69:32 The oppressed look on – let them rejoice!

You who seek God, ³⁶  may you be encouraged! ³⁷ 

Amsal 15:8

15:8 The Lord abhors ³⁸  the sacrifices ³⁹  of the wicked, ⁴⁰ 

but the prayer ⁴¹  of the upright pleases him. ⁴² 

Yeremia 29:13

29:13 When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, ⁴³ 

Amos 5:4

5:4 The Lord says this to the family ⁴⁴  of Israel:

“Seek me ⁴⁵  so you can live!

Maleakhi 3:13-14

Resistance to the Lord through Self-sufficiency

3:13 “You have criticized me sharply,” ⁴⁶  says the Lord, “but you ask, ‘How have we criticized you?’ 3:14 You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped ⁴⁷  by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord who rules over all? ⁴⁸ 

Matius 15:8-9

15:8 ‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart ⁴⁹  is far from me,

15:9 and they worship me in vain,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” ⁵⁰ 

Yakobus 4:3

4:3 you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.

[1:15]  ¹ tn Heb “I close my eyes from you.”

[1:15]  ² 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.

[8:19]  ³ tn It is uncertain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking in vv. 19-22. If the latter, then vv. 19-22 resume the speech recorded in vv. 12-15, after the prophet’s response in vv. 16-18.

[8:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “inquire of the ritual pits and of the magicians who chirp and mutter.” The Hebrew word אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a אוֹב-בַּעֲלַת (ba’alat-’ov, “owner of a ritual pit”). See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401.

[8:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “Should a nation not inquire of its gods on behalf of the living, (by inquiring) of the dead?” These words appear to be a continuation of the quotation begun in the first part of the verse. אֱלֹהָיו (’elohayv) may be translated “its gods” or “its God.” Some take the second half of the verse as the prophet’s (or the Lord’s) rebuke of the people who advise seeking oracles at the ritual pits, but in this case the words “the dead on behalf of the living” are difficult to explain.

[55:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ¹¹ sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.

[58:1]  ¹² tn Heb “declare to my people their rebellion.”

[58:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “and to the house of Jacob their sin.” The verb “declare” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[58:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “ways” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV); NLT “my laws.”

[58:3]  ¹⁵ tn The words “they lament” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you find pleasure”; NASB “you find your desire.”

[58:3]  ¹⁷ tn Or perhaps, “debtors.” See HALOT 865 s.v. * עָצֵב.

[58:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “declare to my people their rebellion.”

[58:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and to the house of Jacob their sin.” The verb “declare” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[28:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “vomit, without a place.” For the meaning of the phrase בְּלִי מָקוֹם (bÿli maqom, “without a place”), see HALOT 133 s.v. בְּלִי.

[28:2]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 22 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[28:2]  ²² tn Heb “Look, a strong and powerful [one] belongs to the Lord.”

[28:2]  ²³ tn Heb “like a rainstorm of hail, a wind of destruction.”

[28:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “like a rainstorm of mighty, overflowing waters.”

[28:2]  ²⁵ tn The words “that crown” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The object of the verb is unexpressed in the Hebrew text.

[28:2]  ²⁶ tn Or “by [his] power.”

[15:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[15:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.

[15:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”

[15:2]  ³⁰ sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.

[8:22]  ³¹ tn A number of modern translations regard this as a collective singular and translate “from enemies” (also in v. 31).

[8:22]  ³² tn Heb “his strength and his anger.” The expression is a hendiadys (one concept expressed through two terms).

[24:6]  ³³ tn Heb “this [is the] generation of the ones seeking him, the ones seeking your face, Jacob.” To “seek the Lord’s face” means to seek his favor through prayer (see 2 Sam 21:1; Pss 27:8; 105:4).

[24:6]  sn This verse presents a somewhat idealized view of Jacob’s descendants as devoted worshipers of the Lord.

[69:13]  ³⁴ tn Heb “as for me, [may] my prayer be to you, O Lord, [in] a time of favor.”

[69:13]  ³⁵ tn Heb “O God, in the abundance of your loyal love, answer me in the faithfulness of your deliverance.”

[69:32]  ³⁶ sn You who seek God refers to those who seek to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him (see Ps 53:2).

[69:32]  ³⁷ tn Heb “may your heart[s] live.” See Ps 22:26.

[15:8]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Heb “sacrifice” (so many English versions).

[15:8]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² 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.

[29:13]  ⁴³ tn Or “If you wholeheartedly seek me”; Heb “You will seek me and find [me] because you will seek me with all your heart.” The translation attempts to reflect the theological nuances of “seeking” and “finding” and the psychological significance of “heart” which refers more to intellectual and volitional concerns in the OT than to emotional ones.

[5:4]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[5:4]  ⁴⁵ sn The following verses explain what it meant to seek the Lord. Israel was to abandon the mere formalism and distorted view of God and reality that characterized religious activity at the worship sites, as well as the social injustice that permeated Israelite society. Instead the people were to repent and promote justice in the land. This call to seek the Lord echoes the challenge in 4:13 to prepare to meet him as he truly is.

[3:13]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “your words are hard [or “strong”] against me”; cf. NIV “said harsh things against me”; TEV, NLT “said terrible things about me.”

[3:14]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “What [is the] profit”; NIV “What did we gain.”

[3:14]  ⁴⁸ sn The people’s public display of self-effacing piety has gone unrewarded by the Lord. The reason, of course, is that it was blatantly hypocritical.

[15:8]  ⁴⁹ tn The term “heart” is a collective singular in the Greek text.

[15:9]  ⁵⁰ sn A quotation from Isa 29:13.