1:13 1:13

Isaiah 1:14

1:15 1:15

Bible Versions

Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear [them].
Your new moons {H2320} and your appointed feasts {H4150} my soul {H5315} hateth {H8130}: they are a trouble {H2960} unto me; I am weary {H3811} to bear {H5375} them.
Everything in me hates your Rosh-Hodesh and your festivals; they are a burden to me - I'm tired of putting up with them!
I hate your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.
Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a trouble unto me; I am weary of bearing them.

Isaiah 1:14 presents a powerful and striking declaration from God concerning the religious observances of ancient Israel. In this verse, the Lord expresses His profound disdain for their "new moons and appointed feasts," revealing a divine weariness with their insincere worship.

Context of Isaiah 1:14

The book of Isaiah opens with a severe indictment against Judah and Jerusalem for their widespread spiritual rebellion and moral corruption. Despite their outward religious practices, the nation was deeply steeped in sin, injustice, and idolatry. Chapter 1 serves as a divine lawsuit, where God, through His prophet Isaiah, confronts His people. Verses preceding Isaiah 1:14, such as Isaiah 1:11-13, already detail God's rejection of their abundant sacrifices, incense, and solemn assemblies, because their hearts were far from Him. Their religious acts had become an empty show, devoid of genuine repentance or righteousness, making them a "trouble" and a "burden" to the Lord.

Key Themes

  • Hypocrisy in Worship: This verse starkly highlights the danger of engaging in religious rituals without a transformed heart or a commitment to ethical living. God's hatred for their feasts was not directed at the feasts themselves (which He had instituted), but at the hypocrisy of those observing them. It underscores the biblical principle that outward piety is meaningless without inward righteousness and justice.
  • God's Demand for Righteousness Over Ritual: A central message here is that God values genuine obedience, justice, and mercy far above mere ceremonial observance. This echoes themes found throughout the prophets, such as in Amos 5:21-24, where God declares His hatred for their feast days while calling for justice to "run down as waters," and in Micah 6:8, which famously asks what the Lord requires but to "do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God."
  • Divine Weariness: The phrase "I am weary to bear [them]" reveals God's deep anguish and exhaustion over the insincere worship of His people. Their empty rituals had become an unbearable burden to Him, a testament to the profound grief that human sin and spiritual rebellion cause the divine heart.

Linguistic Insights

The Hebrew word for "hateth" (sane) indicates a strong aversion or abhorrence, not merely a dislike. It conveys God's passionate rejection of their insincere practices. The term "trouble" (ṭōraḥ) denotes a heavy burden or oppressive weight, emphasizing how their rituals had become an imposition. Finally, "I am weary to bear [them]" uses the Hebrew verb niṭlēh (from nāśāʾ), meaning to carry or lift, here in a passive sense implying being laden or burdened to the point of exhaustion. This powerfully conveys God's emotional and spiritual fatigue from their formalistic worship.

Significance and Application

For believers today, Isaiah 1:14 serves as a timeless warning against superficial religiosity. It challenges us to examine the sincerity of our own worship, prayer, and participation in religious activities. God is not impressed by outward displays of piety if our hearts are not aligned with His will, if we neglect justice, or if we harbor unconfessed sin. True worship, pleasing to God, flows from a transformed heart that seeks to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. This verse reminds us that God desires genuine relationship and righteous living over mere ritualistic observance, urging us to pursue authenticity in our faith walk.

Note: Commentary is generated by AI with a directive for Biblical fidelity. Always rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

  • Amos 5:21

    ¶ I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

  • Isaiah 43:24

    Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.

  • Isaiah 7:13

    And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; [Is it] a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?

  • Amos 2:13

    Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed [that is] full of sheaves.

  • Isaiah 61:8

    For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

  • Isaiah 29:1

    ¶ Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city [where] David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.

  • Malachi 2:17

    Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied [him]? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil [is] good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where [is] the God of judgment?
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