Isaiah 1:11 "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.

◄ Isaiah 1:11 ►

New International Version
“The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the LORD. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

New Living Translation
“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

English Standard Version
“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.

Berean Standard Bible
“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.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats.

New American Standard Bible
“What are your many sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fattened cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.

NASB 1995
“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.

NASB 1977
“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams, And the fat of fed cattle. And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.

Legacy Standard Bible
“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says Yahweh. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats I take no pleasure.

Amplified Bible
“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me [without your repentance]?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of [your] burnt offerings of rams And the fat of well-fed cattle [without your obedience]; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls or lambs or goats [offered without repentance].

Christian Standard Bible
“What are all your sacrifices to me? ” asks the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I have no desire for the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
What are all your sacrifices to Me?” asks the LORD.” I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I have no desire for the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats.

American Standard Version
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.

Contemporary English Version
"Your sacrifices mean nothing to me. I am sick of your offerings of rams and choice cattle; I don't like the blood of bulls or lambs or goats.

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The LORD asks, "What do your many animal sacrifices mean to me? I've had enough of your burnt offerings of rams and enough fat from your fattened calves. I'm not pleased with the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats.

Good News Translation
He says, "Do you think I want all these sacrifices you keep offering to me? I have had more than enough of the sheep you burn as sacrifices and of the fat of your fine animals. I am tired of the blood of bulls and sheep and goats.

International Standard Version
"How do your voluminous sacrifices benefit me?" the LORD is asking. "I've had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts. I don't enjoy the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.

Majority Standard Bible
“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.

NET Bible
"Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?" says the LORD. "I am stuffed with burnt sacrifices of rams and the fat from steers. The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats I do not want.

New Heart English Bible
"What are the multitude of your sacrifices to me?," says the LORD. "I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed animals. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of male goats.

Webster's Bible Translation
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to 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.

World English Bible
“What are the multitude of your sacrifices to me?”, says Yahweh. “I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed animals. I don’t delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of male goats.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
“Why the abundance of your sacrifices to Me?” says YHWH, "" “I have been satiated [with] burnt-offerings of rams, "" And fat of fatlings; And blood of bullocks, and lambs, "" And I have not desired male goats.

Young's Literal Translation
Why to Me the abundance of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah, I have been satiated with burnt-offerings of rams, And fat of fatlings; And blood of bullocks, and lambs, And he-goats I have not desired.

Smith's Literal Translation
For what to me the multitude of your sacrifices? Jehovah will say: I was filled with the burnt-offerings of rams and the fat of fatlings; and I delighted not in the blood of bullocks, and of he lambs and of he goats.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
To what purpose do you offer me the multitude of your victims, saith the Lord? I am full, I desire not holocausts of rams, and fat of fatlings, and blood of calves, and lambs, and buck goats.

Catholic Public Domain Version
The multitude of your sacrifices, what is that to me, says the Lord? I am full. I do not desire holocausts of rams, nor the fat of fatlings, nor the blood of calves and of lambs and of he-goats.

New American Bible
What do I care for the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD. I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings; In the blood of calves, lambs, and goats I find no pleasure.

New Revised Standard Version
What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
Of what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? says the LORD; I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I do not delight in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
”Why were the abundance of your sacrifices to me, says LORD JEHOVAH? I am filled with sacrifices of rams and fat of fatlings, and the blood of oxen and of lambs and of goats I have not desired

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
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.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Of what value to me is the abundance of your sacrifices? saith the Lord: I am full of whole-burnt-offerings of rams; and I delight not in the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and goats:

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Meaningless Offerings
10Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 11“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. 12When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you—this trampling of My courts?…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Psalm 51:16-17
For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. / The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Micah 6:6-8
With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? / Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? / He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Amos 5:21-24
“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies. / Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard. / Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. ...

Jeremiah 6:20
What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please Me.”

1 Samuel 15:22
But 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 rams.

Proverbs 21:3
To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Matthew 9:13
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

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. This is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Hebrews 10:4-10
because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. / Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. / In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight. ...

Matthew 12:7
If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Psalm 40:6-8
Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but my ears You have opened. Burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not require. / Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll: / I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”

Jeremiah 7:21-23
This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! / For when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, I did not merely command them about burnt offerings and sacrifices, / but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you.

1 Corinthians 13:3
If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Matthew 15:8-9
‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. / They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”

Treasury of Scripture

To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? said 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.

what purpose

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 he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.

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 better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Psalm 50:8
I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.

he goats.

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Isaiah 1

1. Isaiah complains of Judah for her rebellion
5. He laments her judgments
10. He upbraids their whole service
16. He exhorts to repentance, with promises and threats
21. Bewailing their wickedness, he denounces God's judgments
25. He promises grace
28. And threatens destruction to the wicked

Berean Study Bible

What is your multitude of sacrifices to Me?
This phrase begins with a rhetorical question from God, highlighting the futility of the Israelites' sacrifices. The Hebrew word for "sacrifices" is "זְבָחִים" (zevachim), which refers to offerings made to God, often involving the slaughter of animals. Historically, sacrifices were central to Israelite worship, symbolizing atonement and devotion. However, God questions their value when performed without genuine faith and obedience. This reflects a recurring biblical theme: God desires heartfelt worship over ritualistic practices.

says the LORD
The use of "LORD" in all caps represents the Hebrew name "YHWH" (Yahweh), the covenant name of God. This emphasizes the personal relationship between God and Israel. It is not a distant deity speaking, but their covenant God, who has expectations of sincerity and righteousness from His people. The authority of the message is underscored by the divine speaker, reminding the Israelites of their obligations under the covenant.

I am full of burnt offerings of rams
"Burnt offerings" (Hebrew: "עוֹלוֹת" - olot) were offerings completely consumed by fire, symbolizing total dedication to God. "Rams" were valuable animals, often used in significant sacrifices. The phrase "I am full" suggests that God is weary or satiated with these offerings, indicating that the sheer quantity of sacrifices does not equate to true worship. This critique points to the emptiness of ritual without righteousness.

and the fat of well-fed cattle
The "fat" of animals, considered the best part, was often reserved for God in sacrifices. "Well-fed cattle" implies offerings of high quality, yet God expresses dissatisfaction. This highlights the disconnect between the external quality of offerings and the internal state of the worshippers. The emphasis is on the heart behind the offering, not the offering itself.

I have no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats
"Bulls, lambs, and goats" were common sacrificial animals, each with specific roles in various offerings. The "blood" was a crucial element in atonement rituals, symbolizing life and purification. However, God declares He takes "no delight" in these sacrifices when they are devoid of true repentance and justice. This statement challenges the notion that ritual alone can please God, urging a return to sincere faith and ethical living.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(11) To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices? . . .--Isaiah carries on the great catena of prophetic utterances as to the conditions of acceptable worship (1Samuel 15:22; Psalm 40:6; Psalm 50:7-14; Psalm 51:16-17). In Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8 we have the utterances of contemporary prophets, who may have exercised a direct influence on his teaching. The description points primarily, perhaps, to the reign of Uzziah, but may include that of Hezekiah. The account of the sacrifices agrees with 2Chronicles 29:21-29. . . .

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 11. - To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? Cui bono? What good end do they serve? "Thinkest thou that I will eat the flesh of bulls, and drink the blood of goats? "(Psalm 1:13). God "delights not in burnt offerings." From the time of Samuel he had declared, "Behold, to obey is better then sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22). David had said of him, "Sacrifice and meat offering thou wouldest not; burnt offerings and sacrifice for sin hast thou not required" (Psalm 40:8, 9); and again, "I will not reprove thee because of thy sacrifices, or for thy burnt offerings, because they were not always before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goat out of thy folds; for all the beasts of the forest are mine, and so are the cattle upon a thousand hills" (Psalm 50:8-10). Not, of course, that either David or Isaiah desired to abolish sacrifice, or had any commission so to do; but they were, both of them, anxious to impress on men that sacrifice, by itself, was nothing - that self-dedication, self-renunciation, true devotion of the heart, with its necessary concomitant obedience, must accompany sacrifice, for God to be pleased therewith. The sacrifices of a people such as is described in vers. 21-23 could not but be an offence to him. Saith the Lord. The phrase employed is unusual, and almost confined to Isaiah, occurring elsewhere only in Psalm 12:5. Isaiah uses it again in ver. 18, and also in Isaiah 33:10; Isaiah 41:21; and Isaiah 66:9. It is explained to be emphatic, implying that this is what God says, and will say, concerning the matter in hand, once and forever (Kay). I am full of the burnt offerings of rams; rather, I am overfull, satiated, wearied with them. Barns formed a part of the required sacrifice on all great occasions, as at the Passover (Numbers 28:19), at the Feast of Weeks (Numbers 28:27), at the Feast of Tabernacles (Numbers 29:13, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 36), at the Feast of Trumpets (Numbers 29:2), and on the great Day of Atonement (Numbers 29:8). They were commanded as the sole sacrifice for a trespass offering (Leviticus 5:16, 18). Under David were offered on one occasion "a thousand rams" (1 Chronicles 29:21); and the occasions where seven rams formed the legitimate sacrifice were many. Unaccompanied by a proper frame of mind, each such offering was an offence to God, displeased him, wearied him. The fat of fed beasts. The fat was always regarded, both by the Hebrews and the Greeks, as especially suitable for sacrifice. It was burnt upon the altar in every case, even where the greater part of the victim was consumed as food (see Leviticus 1:8, 12; Leviticus 3:3, 10, etc.; note particularly the expression in Leviticus 3:16, "All the fat is the Lord's"). "Fed beasts" are those which were kept separate in stalls or sheds for some time before the sacrifice, and given food in which there was nothing" unclean." The Paschal lambs were required to be thus separated and fed for four days (Exodus 12:3, 6). I delight not in the blood. The blood, "which is the life" (Leviticus 17:14), was to be sprinkled on the altar in every sacrifice of a victim. This sprinkling was of the very essence of the sacrifice (Leviticus 1:5; Leviticus 3:2, 8, 13; Leviticus 4:6, 17, 25, 30, etc.). Bullocks... lambs... he-goats. These, together with rams, constituted all the sacrificial beasts of the Hebrews.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

“What is
לָמָּה־ (lām·māh-)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

your multitude
רֹב־ (rōḇ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7230: Multitude, abundance, greatness

of sacrifices
זִבְחֵיכֶם֙ (ziḇ·ḥê·ḵem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 2077: A slaughter, the flesh of an animal, a sacrifice

to Me?”
לִּ֤י (lî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew

says
יֹאמַ֣ר (yō·mar)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

the LORD.
יְהוָ֔ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

“I am full
שָׂבַ֛עְתִּי (śā·ḇa‘·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7646: To be sated, satisfied or surfeited

from the burnt offerings
עֹל֥וֹת (‘ō·lō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 5930: Whole burnt offering

of rams
אֵילִ֖ים (’ê·lîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 352: Strength, strong, a chief, a ram, a pilaster, an oak, strong tree

and the fat
וְחֵ֣לֶב (wə·ḥê·leḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2459: Fat, richest, choice part

of well-fed cattle;
מְרִיאִ֑ים (mə·rî·’îm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4806: A fatling, fatlings

I take no delight
חָפָֽצְתִּי׃ (ḥā·p̄ā·ṣə·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 2654: To incline to, to bend, to be pleased with, desire

in the blood
וְדַ֨ם (wə·ḏam)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1818: Blood, of man, an animal, the juice of the grape, bloodshed

of bulls,
פָּרִ֧ים (pā·rîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6499: Young bull, steer

of lambs
וּכְבָשִׂ֛ים (ū·ḵə·ḇā·śîm)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3532: A lamb

and goats.
וְעַתּוּדִ֖ים (wə·‘at·tū·ḏîm)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6260: Prepared, full grown, of he-goats, leaders of the people

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OT Prophets: Isaiah 1:11 What are the multitude of your sacrifices (Isa Isi Is)