What use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
English Standard Version (ESV)
God's asking, "What's the point of all this fancy perfume and costly spices from faraway lands?" It's not that He dislikes these things in themselves, but He's highlighting that the most expensive sacrifices mean nothing when they're offered by hearts that are distant from Him and refusing to live rightly.
What use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jeremiah is addressing a people who are outwardly religious, meticulously bringing expensive incense and following sacrificial laws, believing these acts alone will protect them from judgment. However, God, through Jeremiah, dismisses these offerings, revealing that their heart is far from Him. This rejection of their sacrifices and incense directly precedes God's pronouncement of impending destruction for their continued disobedience and corruption.
Imagine bringing the most expensive perfume and the rarest spices to a party, but showing up with a sour attitude. God is saying something similar to Israel.
Jeremiah is calling out a hollow religious practice. The Jews were bringing the finest, most exotic ingredients – frankincense from Sheba and sweet cane from distant lands – for their sacrifices and incense. These were valuable items, sourced from far away, symbolizing great effort and expense.
The Problem of Performance
But God's question, 'To what purpose?' reveals the core issue. It wasn't that these things were inherently bad; incense and sacrifices were part of the worship God Himself had ordained. The problem was why they were doing it and how they were living. Their elaborate rituals were a performance, a way to try and cover up their inner corruption and disobedience. They were going through the motions, assuming that impressive offerings would make up for a lack of genuine heart change and ethical living.
It's easy to think that following the 'rules' or performing the 'right' religious acts is enough. But God is looking for something much deeper.
Jeremiah's prophecy cuts to the heart of true worship. The frankincense and sweet cane were symbols of outward religious observance. The burnt offerings and sacrifices were the prescribed rituals. However, the verse starkly states they were 'not acceptable' and 'not pleasing' to God.
The Divine Disappointment
Ask a follow-up
This wasn't a rejection of the sacrificial system itself, which God had instituted. Instead, it was a profound declaration that these rituals were meaningless, even offensive, when they were detached from a transformed life. God wasn't interested in the smoke rising from their altars if it wasn't accompanied by a heart that was repentant and obedient. Their outward actions were a mockery because their inner lives were far from God. True worship isn't about the spectacle; it's about the sincerity of the heart and the integrity of one's life.
Understand the original words
lebonah · Hebrew Noun
An aromatic gum resin used as an ingredient in sacred incense offered to God, symbolizing prayer and devotion; it was highly valuable and imported.
'olah · Hebrew Noun
Sacrificial gifts, typically animals, consumed completely by fire on the altar to signify total devotion, atonement for sin, and fellowship with God.
zebach · Hebrew Noun
Ritual offerings made to God, often involving slaughtered animals, intended to maintain the covenant relationship or express thanksgiving; they are unacceptable when offered without a heart of sincere obedience.
Jeremiah speaks during a time of increasing national crisis and impending exile, directly challenging the people's misplaced trust in outward religious ceremonies as a substitute for true devotion and obedience to God.
c. 740 BC
Isaiah's Call to Prophecy
Isaiah, another prophet to Judah, is called to deliver God's message during a time of increasing religious formalism and political instability.
639-609 BC
Reign of Josiah
King Josiah initiates significant religious reforms in Judah, seeking to purify worship and re-establish covenant faithfulness. This period saw a renewed emphasis on temple rituals.
605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquers Judah, initiating a series of deportations of the Judean elite to Babylon. This event marks the beginning of Judah's decline and exile.
c. 600-580 BC— this verse
Jeremiah's Ministry Continues
Jeremiah delivers God's warnings to Judah amidst growing Babylonian threat, confronting the people's reliance on empty religious rituals over genuine repentance.
587/586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem
The Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and its Temple, marking the end of the Judean monarchy and the primary phase of the exile.
This passage echoes Jeremiah's sentiment by highlighting that obedience and willingness to follow God are far more pleasing than mere sacrifices, directly addressing the superficiality Jeremiah condemns.
Isaiah 1:11-13Similar to Jeremiah, Isaiah questions the value of multiplied sacrifices and incense when the people's hearts are far from God, emphasizing that true worship involves justice and righteousness, not just rituals.
Micah 6:6-8Micah directly challenges the idea that elaborate offerings can substitute for genuine devotion, asking what God requires and pointing to justice, mercy, and humility as the true offerings He desires.
Psalm 50:8-15This Psalm powerfully states that God doesn't need sacrifices, implying that the outward acts are meaningless without the inward commitment and praise that He truly seeks.
Hosea 6:6Hosea states God's preference for steadfast love and knowledge of Him over sacrifices, reinforcing Jeremiah's message that the ritualistic offerings are hollow without a genuine relationship with God.
barnesJeremiah 6:20: "To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me."
The sweet cane - The same as the scented cane of Exodus 30:23 (see the note). Your burnt offerings - The rejection of ritual observances is proclaimed by the two prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, who chiefly assisted the two pious kings, Hezekiah and Josiah, in restoring the temple-service. God rejects not the cere…
clarkeJeremiah 6:20: "To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me."
Incense frown Sheba - Sheba was in Arabian famous for the best incense. It was situated towards the southern extremity of the peninsula of Arabia; and was, in respect of Judea, a far country. And the sweet cane from a far country - The calamus aromaticus, which, when dried and pulverized, yields a very fine aro…
God's asking, "What's the point of all this fancy perfume and costly spices from faraway lands?" It's not that He dislikes these things in themselves, but He's highlighting that the most expensive sacrifices mean nothing when they're offered by hearts that are distant from Him and refusing to live rightly.
Jeremiah is addressing a people who are outwardly religious, meticulously bringing expensive incense and following sacrificial laws, believing these acts alone will protect them from judgment. However, God, through Jeremiah, dismisses these offerings, revealing that their heart is far from Him. This rejection of their sacrifices and incense directly precedes God's pronouncement of impending destruction for their continued disobedience and corruption.
Jeremiah is addressing a people who are outwardly religious, meticulously bringing expensive incense and following sacrificial laws, believing these acts alone will protect them from judgment. However, God, through Jeremiah, dismisses these offerings, revealing that their heart is far from Him. This rejection of their sacrifices and incense directly precedes God's pronouncement of impending destruction for their continued disobedience and corruption.
"What use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me." — God's asking, "What's the point of all this fancy perfume and costly spices from faraway lands?" It's not that He dislikes these things in themselves, but He's highlighting that the most expensive sa…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026