Yeshayah 65:3

3 HaAm that provoketh Me to anger continually to My face; that sacrificeth in ganot (gardens), and burneth sacrifices upon brick;

Yeshayah 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.

Yeshayah 65:3 In-Context

1 5 I let Myself be sought of them that asked not for Me; I let Myself be found of them that sought me not; I said, Hineni, behold Me, unto a Goy (Nation, People) that was not called by My Shem.

2 I have spread out My yad kol hayom unto an Am Sorer (stubbornly rebellious people), which walketh in a derech lo tov, after their own machshevot (thoughts);

3 HaAm that provoketh Me to anger continually to My face; that sacrificeth in ganot (gardens), and burneth sacrifices upon brick;

4 Which remain among the kevarim, and spend the night in closed places, which eat basar hachazir, and broth of piggulim (unclean meat, Lv.7:18) in their vessels;

5 Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am kadosh to thee (holier than thou). These are a smoke in My nose, an eish that burneth kol hayom.