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 29:13

29:13 The sovereign master ³  says,

“These people say they are loyal to me; ⁴ 

they say wonderful things about me, ⁵ 

but they are not really loyal to me. ⁶ 

Their worship consists of

nothing but man-made ritual. ⁷ 

[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.

[29:13]  ³ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[29:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “Because these people draw near to me with their mouth.”

[29:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “and with their lips they honor me.”

[29:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “but their heart is far from me.” The heart is viewed here as the seat of the will, from which genuine loyalty derives.

[29:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught.”