Isaiah 65:3

3 They are always making me very angry. They do it right in front of me. They offer sacrifices in the gardens of other gods. They burn incense on altars that are made out of bricks.

Isaiah 65:3 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 65:3

A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face,
&c.] They committed their sins openly, without any fear of the divine Being, and in defiance of him, not at all awed by his omniscience and omnipresence; they committed them in the open streets, and even in the temple, the place of the divine residence; and these they did constantly, which provoked him to anger and wrath against them; particularly the following sins: that sacrificeth in gardens;
to idols, as the Targum, placed there, as they were under every green tree; or in groves, where idols were worshipped. Fortunatus Scacchus ^F8 thinks this refers to their having their sepulchres in their gardens, where they consulted the dead; which is favoured by a clause in the next verse: and burneth incense on altars of brick:
or, "upon bricks" ^F9. Kimchi says, when they made bricks, they put upon them incense for idols; or, "upon tiles"; upon the roofs of their houses, which were covered with tiles; see ( Jeremiah 19:13 ) when incense should only have been burnt upon the golden altar erected for that purpose, ( Exodus 30:1 Exodus 30:3 ) , not that these idolatrous actions were committed by the Jews in the times of Christ and his apostles, the times preceding their last destruction; for, after their return front the Babylonish captivity, they were not guilty of idolatry; but these were the sins of their fathers, which God would recompense into their bosoms, according to ( Isaiah 65:7 ) they now filling up the measure of their iniquities, ( Matthew 23:32 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 Sacr. Eleaochr. Myrothec. I. 2. c. 55. col. 580.
F9 (Mynblh le) "super lateres", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Vitringa.

Isaiah 65:3 In-Context

1 The LORD says, "I made myself known to those who were not asking for me. I was found by those who were not trying to find me. I spoke to a nation that did not pray to me. 'Here I am,' I said. 'Here I am.'

2 All day long I have held out my hands to welcome a stubborn nation. They lead sinful lives. They go where their evil thoughts take them.

3 They are always making me very angry. They do it right in front of me. They offer sacrifices in the gardens of other gods. They burn incense on altars that are made out of bricks.

4 They sit among the graves. They spend their nights talking to the spirits of the dead. They eat the meat of pigs. Their cooking pots hold soup that has 'unclean' meat in it.

5 They say, 'Keep away! Don't come near us! We are too sacred for you!' Those people are like smoke in my nose. They are like a fire that keeps burning all day.