To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
abundance (in any respect) · noun, common masculine singular construct
sacrifices
זִבְחֵיכֶם֙ziv.chei.Khem
H2077
properly · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
saith
יֹאמַ֣רyo.Mar
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD
יְהוָ֔הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
full
שָׂבַ֛עְתִּיsa.Va'.ti
H7646
to sate · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
offerings
עֹל֥וֹתo.Lot
H5930
a step or (collectively · noun, common feminine plural construct
rams
אֵילִ֖ים'ei.Lim
H352
properly · noun, common masculine plural absolute
fat
וְחֵ֣לֶבve.Che.lev
H2459
fat · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
beasts
מְרִיאִ֑יםme.ri.'Im
H4806
stall-fed · noun, common masculine plural absolute
delight
חָפָֽצְתִּיcha.Fa.tze.ti
H2654
properly · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
blood
וְדַ֨םve.Dam
H1818
blood (as that which when shed causes death) of man or… · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
bullocks
פָּרִ֧יםpa.Rim
H6499
a bullock (apparently as breaking forth in wild strength · noun, common masculine plural absolute
lambs
וּכְבָשִׂ֛יםu.khe.va.Sim
H3532
a ram (just old enough to butt) · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural absolute
goats
וְעַתּוּדִ֖יםve.'a.tu.Dim
H6260
prepared · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is b…
Amos 5:21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
Jeremiah 6:20 To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor y…
Isaiah 66:3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if…
Micah 6:7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the…
Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
Malachi 1:10 Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in…
Matthew 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repenta…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 1:10-15
Here, I. God calls to them (but calls in vain) to hear his word, Isa 1:10. 1. The title he gives them is very strange; You rulers of Sodom, and people of Gomorrah. This intimates what a righteous thing it would have been with God to make them like Sodom and Gomorrah in respect of ruin (Isa 1:9), because that had made themselves like Sodom and Gomorrah in respect of sin. The men of Sodom were wicked, and sinners before the Lord exceedingly (Gen 13:13), and so were the men of Judah. When the rulers were bad, no wonder the people were so. Vice overpowered virtue, for it had the rulers, the men of figure, on its side; and it out-polled it, for it had the people, the men of number, on its side. T…
God does not here absolutely disparage sacrifice, which is as old and universal as sin (Gen 3:21; Gen 4:4), and sin is almost as old as the world; but sacrifice, unaccompanied with obedience of heart and life (Sa1 15:22; Psa 50:9-13; Psa 51:16-19; Hos 6:6). Positive precepts are only means; moral obedience is the end. A foreshadowing of the gospel, when the One real sacrifice was to supersede all the shadowy ones, and "bring in everlasting righteousness" (Psa 40:6-7; Dan 9:24-27; Heb 10:1-14).
full--to satiety; weary of
burnt offerings--burnt whole, except the blood, which was sprinkled about the altar.
fat--not to be eaten by man, but burnt on the altar (Lev 3:4-5, Lev 3:11, Lev 3:17)…
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord,.... These people, though they neglected the weightier matters of the law, and the more substantial duties of religion, as did the Scribes and Pharisees in Christ's time, Matthew 23:23 yet were very diligent in the observance of the ceremonial law, and repeated their sacrifices almost without number, on which they placed all their trust and dependence; wherefore, to take off their confidence in these things, the Lord observes to them the unprofitableness of them; they could be of no avail to them, for they could not expiate their sins, or atone for them; and they could not be profitable to God, for he had no need of…
The Church Fathers
By saying that he does not delight in the sacrifices of the people, God is saying this: I abound in my own [sacrifice], I do not seek yours, I do not desire whole burnt offerings of rams and the fat of lambs and the blood of bulls and of goats. And do not come so into my sight.
How do you hope to find any redemption for your souls through sacrifices that are offered in quantity but with no repentance worth mentioning? For God is merciful not through the blood of animals or through slaughter on the altar but upon the contrite heart. For "the sacrifice to God is a contrite heart."It is fitting for the same to be said to those who are lavish in their expiations but do not repent through their deeds.… Scripture says, "What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me?" So it dismisses the multitude and seeks after the single sacrifice.
Observe that God does not say that he does not wish for any blood, but for this particular blood from these particular animals. For he would not say that he does not wish for the blood that was poured out "in the last times for the annulment of sins," "which speaks more effectively than that of Abel," but he changes the sacrifices to the spiritual plane, since "the change of priesthood" is about to happen. For if he rejects the physical sacrifices, he manifestly rejects the high priest according to the law.… They of the stock of Aaron are cast out, therefore, so that he [Christ] according to the order of Melchizedek might enter instead. The "continuous sacrifices" are no more, no more the sacrifices of the Day of Atonement, no more "the ashes of the heifer which purify those that partake." For the sacrifice is one, the Christ, and the mortification of the saints according to him; the sprinkling is one, the bath of regeneration;14 the absolution of sins is one—the blood poured out for the salvation of the world. Because of this God renounces the former things, so that he may establish the latter.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Goat — (1.) Heb. ‘ez, the she-goat (Gen. 15:9; 30:35; 31:38). This Hebrew word is also used for the he-goat (Ex. 12:5; Lev. 4:23; Num. 28:15), and to denote a kid (Gen. 38:17, 20). Hence it may be regarded…
Isaiah, The Book of — Consists of prophecies delivered (Isa. 1) in the reign of Uzziah (1-5), (2) of Jotham (6), (3) Ahaz (7-14:28), (4) the first half of Hezekiah’s reign (14:28-35), (5) the second half of Hezekiah’s…
Burnt Offering, The · Of the wicked, not accepted by God — Of the wicked, not accepted by God
Formalism · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Hypocrisy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Hypocrites · Worship of, not acceptable to God — Worship of, not acceptable to God
Lamb, The · Offered in sacrifice: By the wicked not accepted — Offered in sacrifice: By the wicked not accepted
Ordinance · INSUFFICIENCY OF, FOR SALVATION — INSUFFICIENCY OF, FOR SALVATION
Sacrifices · Generally the best of their kind — Generally the best of their kind
Sins, National · Defile: National worship — Defile: National worship
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Isaiah 1:11 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
To what purpose is he multitude of your sacrifices to me? Isaiah now introduces God as speaking, for the purpose of making known his own meaning; for it belongs to a lawgiver not only to issue commands, but likewise to give a sound interpretation to the laws, that they may not be abused. Beyond all doubt, the former reproof was exceedingly unpalatable and oppressive to them; for what language expressive of stronger disapprobation or abhorrence could have been employed? They gloried in the name of Abraham, boasted that they were his children, and on this ground maintained a haughty demeanor. This is the reason why the Prophet arms himself with the authority of God against them; as if he had s…
The prophet's address has here reached a resting-place. The fact that it is divided at this point into two separate sections, is indicated in the text by the space left between Isa 1:9 and Isa 1:10. This mode of marking larger or smaller sections, either by leaving spaces of by breaking off the line, is older than the vowel points and accents, and rests upon a tradition of the highest antiquity (Hupfeld, Gram. p. 86ff.). The space is called pizka; the section indicated by such a space, a closed parashah (sethumah); and the section indicated by breaking off the line, an open parashah (petuchah). The prophet stops as soon as he has affirmed, that nothing but the mercy of God has warded off fro…
The people had so offended God through their sin that he took no pleasure any more in their sacrifices. The Lord wanted Judah to stop the religious exercises he had commanded them to do rather than to continue them in a manner that was sinful and false (1:13). Ritual is never an acceptable substitute for true godliness.
Rashi on Isaiah 1:11
I am sated with the burnt-offerings of rams This is similar to: “Lest he have too much of you and hate you,” (Proverbs 25:18).
fattened cattle Fattened cattle and sheep.
I do not want Since you transgress My Torah, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination [from Prov. 21:27].
