Isaiah 1:11
in Isaiah 1“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah: I have had enough 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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 1
Commentary
13 notes on this verseBy 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.
This site's exposition
Hear the word of the LORD
on Isaiah 1:10-12
The comparison with Sodom becomes direct address in verse 10, "you rulers of Sodom," a name no listener could take as praise. The question "who has required this of you" turns indictment into interrogation. A full round of sacrifice is named a burden God never laid on them.
This site's exposition
What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?
The law of Moses commanded these sacrifices, so the complaint falls on offerings brought by the hands verse 15 calls covered with blood. Samuel told Saul the same at 1 Samuel 15:22. Wesley said God asked for hearts and lives with the offerings.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
(Verse 11) What use to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord. I am full. I do not desire burnt sacrifices of rams, or the fat of fattened cattle, or the blood of bulls, or lambs, or goats. Because they exist, I did not desire them. The Septuagint translates 'I do not desire' as 'I will not desire', using the present tense instead of the past tense. Furthermore, according to the Hebrew, it demonstrates that God never desired the sacrifices of the Jews, as we read in the forty-ninth psalm: I will not accept a bull from your house, or goats from your flocks. For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I have known all the flying creatures of the sky, and the beauty of the field is with me. If I were hungry, I would not say to you: for the world is mine and all its fullness. Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? (Psalm 49, seq.) And when he rejected the ceremonies of the old Law, he passed on to the purity of the Gospel and showed what he desires for these things: Sacrifice to God the sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you, and you will honor me. Therefore, the content of this chapter, up to the point where it says: Judge the orphan, defend the widow, and come, let us reason together: it rejects sacrifices of victims and teaches that obedience to the Gospel is a superior sacrifice. And what he brings is to be understood in this sense: I am full, I need nothing: the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). Therefore, we have all received from his fullness. This can also be understood about those who, not obeying God's precepts, believe they can redeem themselves with gifts and offerings to God: or those who offer stolen goods and ill-gotten gains on the altar and to the poor.
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 Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Then came the time of the prophets who showed them clearly that they could not be saved through the Law. Hence, in Isaiah: "Your new moons and festivals I detest. — I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings; in the blood …
43. To what purpose? Here he shows the uselessness of the remedy which they were applying; and first, as to the offering of sacrifices; second, as to the celebration of feasts, where it says, the new moons (Isa 1:13); third, as to divine prayers, where …
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
To me - Who am a spirit, and therefore cannot be satisfied with such carnal oblations, but expect to have your hearts and lives, as well as your bodies and sacrifices, presented unto me. Blood - He mentions the fat and blood, because these were in a peculiar manner reserved for God, to intimate that even the best of their sacrifices were rejected by him.
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
To what purpose - לי למה lâmâh lı̂y. ‘What is it to me; or what profit or pleasure can I have in them?’ God here replies to an objection which might be urged by the Jews to the representation which had been made of their guilt. The objection would be, that they were strict in the duties of their religion, and that they even abounded in offering victims of sacrifice. God replies in this and the following verses, that all this would be of no use, and would meet with no acceptance, unless it were the offering of the heart.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
4:4), and sin is almost as old as the world; but sacrifice, unaccompanied with obedience of heart and life (1Sa 15:22; 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" (Ps 40:6, 7;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
To what purpose, etc. “What have I to do” - The prophet Amos has expressed the same sentiments with great elegance: - I hate, I despise your feasts; And I will not delight in the odour of your solemnities: Though ye offer unto me burnt-offerings And your meat-offerings, I will not accept: Neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fatlings. Take away from me the noise of your songs; And the melody of your viols I will not hear. But let judgment roll down like waters; And righteousness like a mighty stream. Amo 5:21-24. So has Persius; see Sat. 2 v. 71-75: - “Quin damus id Superis, de magna quod dare lanae,” etc. The two or three last pages of Plato’s Euthyphro contain the same idea. Sacrifices and prayers are not profitable to the offerer, nor acceptable to the gods, unless accompanied with an upright life. The fat of fed beasts, etc. - The fat and the blood are particularly mentioned, because these were in all sacrifices set apart to God. The fat was always burnt upon the altar, and the blood was partly sprinkled, differently on different occasions, and partly poured out at the bottom of the altar. See Leviticus 4.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
I am sated with the burnt-offerings of rams This is similar to: “Lest he have too much of you and hate you,” (Proverbs:18).
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
rulers of Sodom Princes whose deeds are like those of Sodom. From here, [the Rabbis] deduced that a person should not open his mouth to Satan.
who requested this of you, to trample My courts to trample [the preposition is absent in the Hebrew] My courts, since your heart is not whole with Me.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָמָּה־ | lamah- | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| לִּ֤י | li | to me | ||
| רֹב־ | rov- | [the] multitude of | H7230 → | 149 times |
| זִבְחֵיכֶם֙ | zivcheikhem | sacrifices your | H2077 → | 162 times |
| יֹאמַ֣ר | yomar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| שָׂבַ֛עְתִּי | sava'ti | I have been surfeited | H7646 → | 97 times |
| עֹל֥וֹת | olot | burnt offerings of | H5930 → | 287 times |
| אֵילִ֖ים | ʾeilim | rams | H352 → | 187 times |
| וְחֵ֣לֶב | vechelev | and [the] fat of | H2459 → | 92 times |
| מְרִיאִ֑ים | meriim | fatlings | H4806 → | |
| וְדַ֨ם | vedam | and [the] blood of | H1818 → | 360 times |
| פָּרִ֧ים | parim | bulls | H6499 → | |
| וּכְבָשִׂ֛ים | ukhevasim | and lambs | H3532 → | 107 times |
| וְעַתּוּדִ֖ים | veatudim | and goats | H6260 → | 29 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| חָפָֽצְתִּי׃ | chafatzeti | I am pleased | H2654 → | 74 times |
לָמָּה־<to> why?
lamah-H4100 →752 times
לִּ֤יto me
li
רֹב־[the] multitude of
rov-H7230 →149 times
זִבְחֵיכֶם֙sacrifices your
zivcheikhemH2077 →162 times
יֹאמַ֣רhe says
yomarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
שָׂבַ֛עְתִּיI have been surfeited
sava'tiH7646 →97 times
עֹל֥וֹתburnt offerings of
olotH5930 →287 times
אֵילִ֖יםrams
ʾeilimH352 →187 times
וְחֵ֣לֶבand [the] fat of
vechelevH2459 →92 times
מְרִיאִ֑יםfatlings
meriimH4806 →
וְדַ֨םand [the] blood of
vedamH1818 →360 times
פָּרִ֧יםbulls
parimH6499 →
וּכְבָשִׂ֛יםand lambs
ukhevasimH3532 →107 times
וְעַתּוּדִ֖יםand goats
veatudimH6260 →29 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
חָפָֽצְתִּי׃I am pleased
chafatzetiH2654 →74 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 15:22But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of…
it leads to
- Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 51:16–17
For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings.
- Proverbs 21:3
To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.
- Amos 5:21–24
“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
- Mark 12:33
and to love Him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, which is more important than all burnt offerings and…
- Hosea 6:6
Through
Isaiah 66:3Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s…
it leads to
- Amos 5:21–22
“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Amos 5:21–22
Through
Amos 5:21“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
it leads to
- Isaiah 1:11–16
“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood…
- Proverbs 28:9
Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable.
- Isaiah 1:11–16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
On this verse
About Isaiah
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Interrogation of Job and David 4.9.33; Basil of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 1:24; Basil of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 1:26; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.