7, 8. In what ways have Jehovah’s stubborn people provoked him?

⁷ The stubborn Jews have repeatedly provoked Jehovah by their disgraceful conduct. Jehovah describes their offensive actions: “The people made up of those offending me right to my face constantly, sacrificing in the gardens and making sacrificial smoke upon the bricks,

Isaiah 65:3

These seemingly pious ones are offending Jehovah ‘right to his face’​—an expression that may imply audacity and disrespect. They make no effort to conceal their abominations. Is it not especially reprehensible to commit sins in the very presence of the One who ought to be honored and obeyed?

These “pious” ones are offering sacrifices and burning incense to false deities, which God’s Law condemns. (Exodus 20:2-6)