Isaiah 65:3

Isaiah 65:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;
• New International Version (NIV)a people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick;
• English Standard Version (ESV)a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks;
• New King James Version (NKJV)A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face; Who sacrifice in gardens, And burn incense on altars of brick;

Context of Isaiah 65:3

1I was ready to answer those who didn’t ask. I was found by those who weren’t looking for me. I said, “Here I am! Here I am!” to a nation that didn’t worship me. 2I stretched out my hands all day long to stubborn people. They chose to go the wrong direction. They followed their own plans. These people constantly and openly provoked me. They offered sacrifices in gardens and burnt incense on brick altars. 4They sat among the graves and spent their nights in caves. They ate pork and in their pots made broth from unclean foods. 5They said, “Stay away! Don’t touch me! I’m holier than you are.” They have become like smoke in my nose, like a smoldering fire all day long.

Isaiah 65:3 word by word

הָעָ֗ם הַמַּכְעִיסִ֥ים אוֹתִ֛י עַל־פָּנַ֖י תָּמִ֑יד זֹֽבְחִים֙ בַּגַּנּ֔וֹת וּֽמְקַטְּרִ֖ים עַל־הַלְּבֵנִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• A peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• that provoketh me to angerכָּעַסka‛as · to provokeH3707
• continuallyתָּמִידtâmîyd · continuallyH8548
• to my faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
• that sacrificethזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
• in gardensגַּנָּהgannâh · gardenH1593
• and burneth incenseקָטַרqâţar · to offer: offerH6999
• upon altars of brickלְבֵנָהlebênâh · brickH3843

Cross-references for Isaiah 65:3

• Isaiah 3:8Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because what they say and what they do is against the Lord. They are defiant in his honored presence.
• Deuteronomy 32:16They made him furious because they worshiped foreign gods and angered him because they worshiped worthless idols.
• 2 Kings 17:14But they refused to listen. They became as impossible to deal with as their ancestors who refused to trust the Lord their God.
• 2 Kings 22:17I will do this because they have abandoned me and sacrificed to other gods in order to make me furious. Therefore, my burning anger directed at this place will never be extinguished.’ ”
• Psalms 78:40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness! How often they caused him grief in the desert!
• Jeremiah 32:30Ever since they were young, the people of Israel and Judah have done what I consider evil. The people of Israel have made me furious by what they’ve done,” declares the Lord.
• Ezekiel 8:17He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this? Isn’t it bad enough that the people of Judah have done these disgusting things that you have seen here? Yet, they also fill the land with violence and continue to provoke me even more. Look how they insult me in the worst possible way.
• Matthew 23:32Go ahead, finish what your ancestors started!
• Job 1:11But now stretch out your hand, and strike everything he has. I bet he’ll curse you to your face.”
• Job 2:5But stretch out your hand, and strike his flesh and bones. I bet he’ll curse you to your face.”
• Isaiah 1:29You will be ashamed of the oaks that you wanted to worship and embarrassed by the garden that you have chosen for your gods.
• Isaiah 66:17People make themselves holy and prepare themselves for their garden rituals. They go into the garden and devour pork, disgusting things, and mice. “They will come to an end at the same time,” declares the Lord.
• Leviticus 17:5⌞This means⌟ that the people of Israel must take the sacrifices they have been making in the open fields and bring them to the Lord. They must bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The people will sacrifice them as fellowship offerings to the Lord.
• Jeremiah 3:6When Josiah was king, the Lord asked me, “Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She went up every high mountain and under every large tree, and she acted like a prostitute there.
• Ezekiel 20:28I brought them to the land that I promised to give them. When they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, they made sacrifices and brought offerings there to make me angry. There they offered their sacrifices and poured out their wine offerings.
• Exodus 20:24“You must build an altar for me made out of dirt. Sacrifice your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep, goats, and cattle on it. Wherever I choose to have my name remembered, I will come to you and bless you.

Commentaries on Isaiah 65:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3That sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick "Sacrificing in the gardens, and burning incense on the tiles" - These are instances of heathenish superstition, and idolatrous practices, to which the Jews were immoderately addicted before the Babylonish captivity. The heathen worshipped their idols in groves; whereas God, in opposition to this species of idolatry, commanded his people, when they should come into the promised land, to…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3A people - This verse contains a specification of the reasons why God had rejected them, and brought the calamities upon them. That provoketh me to anger - That is, by their sins. They give constant occasion for my indignation. Continually - (תמיד tâmı̂yd ). It is not once merely, but their conduct as a people is constantly such as to excite my displeasure. To my face - There is no attempt at concealment. Their abominations are public. It is always…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Sacred gardens were a part of the fertility religion of Baal.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. continually--answering to "all the day" (Is 65:2). God was continually inviting them, and they continually offending Him (De 32:21). to my face--They made no attempt to hide their sin (Is 3:9). Compare "before Me" (Ex 20:3). in gardens--(See on Is 1:29; Is 66:17; Le 17:5). altars of brick--Hebrew, "bricks." God had commanded His altars to be of unhewn stone (Ex 20:25). This was in order to separate them, even in external respects, from idolaters; also…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 65:3

• Altar
• Backsliders
• Brick
• Church
• Condescension of God
• Idolatry
• Self-Righteousness

In the dictionaries

• Cry
• Face
• Sought
• Thence
• Garden
• Isaiah
• Oreb; Zeeb
• Salvation

Commentaries on Isaiah 65

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings