Isaiah 1:11 (DBY)

Passage

To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith Jehovah. I am sated with burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and in the blood of bullocks, and of lambs, and of he-goats I take no pleasure.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 1:9 Unless Jehovah of hosts had left us a very small residue, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

Isaiah 1:10 Hear the word of Jehovah, rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, people of Gomorrah!

Isaiah 1:11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith Jehovah. I am sated with burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and in the blood of bullocks, and of lambs, and of he-goats I take no pleasure.

Isaiah 1:12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this from your hand to tread my courts?

Isaiah 1:13 Bring no more vain oblations! Incense is an abomination unto me, new moon and sabbath, the calling of convocations wickedness and the solemn meeting I cannot bear.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "purpose", "multitude", "sacrifices", "saith", "jehovah", "sated", "burnt-offerings", and "rams". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "purpose" and "multitude", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "Hear the word of Jehovah rulers of..." into verse 12's "When ye come to appear before me...", so "purpose" and "multitude" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "purpose" and "multitude" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.