Isaiah 1:12 (WEB)

Passage

When you come to appear before me, who has required this at your hand, to trample my courts?

Nearby Context

Isaiah 1:10 Hear Yahweh’s word, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

Isaiah 1:11 “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.

Isaiah 1:12 When you come to appear before me, who has required this at your hand, to trample my courts?

Isaiah 1:13 Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me; new moons, Sabbaths, and convocations: I can’t stand evil assemblies.

Isaiah 1:14 My soul hates your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They are a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "come", "appear", "before", "required", "hand", "trample", and "courts". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "come" and "appear", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "What are the multitude of your sacrifices..." into verse 13's "Bring no more vain offerings Incense is...", so "come" and "appear" 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 "come" and "appear" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.