Misinterpretations often take the statement literally as God rejecting or never commanding sacrifices at all, overlooking that the Mosaic Law does detail them extensively; instead, the sarcasm underscores that such rituals without obedience, justice, and covenant faithfulness are futile. Another error is seeing it as endorsement for selfishly eating sacrificial meat, missing the rebuke of empty formalism that ignores God's call for moral transformation and loyalty.
Jeremiah 7:21
King James Version (1769)
21 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.
God speaks sarcastically through Jeremiah to condemn the hypocrisy of Judah's people, who prioritize ritual sacrifices over true obedience; the core truth is that external religious acts like burnt offerings and sacrifices are worthless without heartfelt submission to God's commands, as obedience was the primary directive given to their ancestors at the Exodus rather than sacrificial rites.