Bible Strands
Proverbs 21:27
The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—how much more so when brought with ill intent!
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The wisdom teacher addresses Israel’s covenant community within a sequence of contrasts between righteous and wicked conduct. The maxim is positioned between warnings against covetousness and false testimony.
The words — זֶבַח (zevach) means ritual sacrifice or offering, and תּוֹעֵבָה (to'evah) translates literally as abomination or detestable thing. The Hebrew syntax places the abomination on the offering itself when the bringer acts with ill intent.
The thread — The same phrase appears in Proverbs 15:8, which contrasts this detestable sacrifice with the delight of the upright’s prayer. Isaiah 66:3 equates corrupt slaughter with murder, and Matthew 23:13 condemns religious leaders who use outward piety to block others from God’s kingdom.
Why it lands — The text requires worshipers to verify that their external acts match their internal motives. It demands the immediate rejection of religious rituals performed to conceal corruption or exploit others.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?
Cross-references
- Isaiah 66:3 Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.
- Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Matthew 23:13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
- Jeremiah 6:20 What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please Me.”
- 1 Samuel 15:21 The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of the things devoted to destruction, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
- Isaiah 1:11 “What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
- Amos 5:21 “I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
- 1 Samuel 13:12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will descend upon me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
- Psalms 50:8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices, and your burnt offerings are ever before Me.
- Proverbs 28:9 Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable.