רָצָה

Genesis 33:10 וַתִּרְצֵֽנִי׃ and you have accepted favorably me

But Jacob insisted, “No, please! If I have found favor in your sight, then receive this gift from my hand. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing the face of God, since you have received me favorably.

Leviticus 1:4 וְנִרְצָ֥ה and it will be accepted

He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

Here: A passive form, "it will be favourably received". The offering is grammatically in view, but the point is that it counts for the person who brought it. This picks up "for his acceptance (retsono) before the LORD" in verse 3.

Leviticus 7:18 יֵרָצֶה֒ he will be accepted

If any of the meat from his peace offering is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted. It will not be credited to the one who presented it; it shall be an abomination, and the one who eats of it shall bear his iniquity.

Here: A technical sacrificial term: God receives the offering favourably on the worshipper's behalf (compare Lev 1:4). Here that favour is withdrawn. The subject is most naturally the sacrifice ('it'), though the supplied gloss gives 'he.'

Leviticus 19:7 יֵרָצֶֽה׃ it will be accepted

If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is tainted and will not be accepted.

Leviticus 22:23 יֵרָצֶֽה׃ it will be accepted

You may present as a freewill offering an ox or sheep that has a deformed or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow.

Leviticus 22:25 יֵרָצ֖וּ they will be accepted

Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’”

Leviticus 22:27 יֵרָצֶ֕ה it will be accepted

“When an ox, a sheep, or a goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a food offering presented to the LORD.

Leviticus 26:34 תִּרְצֶ֨ה וְהִרְצָ֖ת it will accept, and it will accept

Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths all the days it lies desolate, while you are in the land of your enemies. At that time the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths.

Leviticus 26:41 יִרְצ֥וּ they will accept

and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity,

Here: 'They pay off / make amends for'. The verb is used of the land 'paying off' its missed sabbaths (vv.34, 43). The people now settle their own account of guilt by accepting what it has cost them.

Leviticus 26:43 וְתִ֣רֶץ יִרְצ֣וּ and it may accept, they will accept

For the land will be abandoned by them, and it will enjoy its Sabbaths by lying desolate without them. And they will pay the penalty for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and abhorred My statutes.

Here: A short verb form that can carry a sense of purpose: "so that it may make up for" its sabbaths. The land receives the rest it is owed, like a debt finally paid. The same verb comes back a few words later for the people.

Deuteronomy 33:11 תִּרְצֶ֑ה you will be pleased with

Bless his substance, O LORD, and accept the work of his hands. Smash the loins of those who rise against him, and of his foes so they can rise no more.”

Deuteronomy 33:24 רְצוּי֙ [the] favored [one] of

And concerning Asher he said: “May Asher be the most blessed of sons; may he be the most favored among his brothers and dip his foot in oil.

Here: "One who is accepted or looked on with pleasure". It is the same root as "favor" (rāṣôn) in Naphtali's blessing just before (v. 23). Esther 10:3 uses the identical phrase of Mordecai, "well-liked by his many brothers", meaning popular and well regarded among his own people.

1 Samuel 29:4 יִתְרַצֶּ֥ה will he make himself acceptable

But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with Achish and told him, “Send that man back and let him return to the place you assigned him. He must not go down with us into battle only to become our adversary during the war. What better way for him to regain the favor of his master than with the heads of our men?

Here: 'Make himself acceptable / win himself favor.' The root is used of offerings a god accepts. The picture is of David bringing a gift that would buy his way back into Saul's good graces.

2 Samuel 24:23 יִרְצֶֽךָ׃ may he accept favorably you

O king, Araunah gives all these to the king.” He also said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”

1 Chronicles 28:4 רָצָ֔ה he took pleasure

Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me out of all my father’s house to be king over Israel forever. For He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah He chose my father’s household, and from my father’s sons He was pleased to make me king over all Israel.

Here: God's favourable acceptance. Elsewhere it is used for God accepting an offering. It describes God's goodwill toward David rather than a reward for David's qualities.

1 Chronicles 29:3 בִּרְצוֹתִי֙ because delight I

Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give for it my personal treasures of gold and silver, over and above all that I have provided for this holy temple:

Here: A verb used as a noun with 'my' attached, after the preposition 'in/because of': 'because of my being pleased with.' The reason for the gift is that David's heart is set on the temple and he takes pleasure in it. Duty or a show of status is not the motive given.

1 Chronicles 29:17 תִּרְצֶ֑ה you are pleased with

I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You.

Here: In Israel's worship this was the standard word for God accepting an offering (Lev 1:4; 22:21–27). Its present-habitual form says that God regularly accepts straightness of heart, as though it were itself the offering he welcomes.

2 Chronicles 10:7 וּרְצִיתָ֔ם and you will be favorable to them

They replied, “If you will be kind to these people and please them by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.”

2 Chronicles 36:21 רָצְתָ֥ה it has accepted

So the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation, until seventy years were completed, in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah.

Here: Taken word for word from Leviticus 26:34. The land 'has made good / received in full' the sabbath years it was owed. The tense looks at the debt as settled. 'Enjoyed' (KJV and its successors) is one possible sense, but it misses the language of repayment (see the study).

Esther 10:3 וְרָצ֖וּי and was acceptable

For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews and highly favored by his many kinsmen, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.

Here: A passive form: 'one who is accepted', someone others are pleased with. This is warm approval, not just tolerance. It echoes Deuteronomy 33:24, where Asher is blessed to be 'favored by his brothers' (retsui echav).

Job 14:6 יִ֝רְצֶ֗ה he takes pleasure in

look away from him and let him rest, so he can enjoy his day as a hired hand.

Job 20:10 יְרַצּ֣וּ they will seek [the] favor of

His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth.

Job 33:26 וַיִּרְצֵ֗הוּ and he accepted him

He prays to God and finds favor; he sees God’s face and shouts for joy, and God restores His righteousness to that man.

Here: 'And He accepts him.' This is the worship word for God accepting an offering or the person who brings it (Leviticus 1:4). The man is accepted, welcomed back as a worshiper God takes pleasure in.

Job 34:9 בִּ֝רְצֹת֗וֹ when is pleased he

For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight in God.’

Here: Literally 'in his being pleased', meaning 'when he is pleased', or 'by his being on good terms'. Joined to 'with God', it describes a relationship of goodwill and acceptance between the man and God. The line says even that relationship pays nothing.

Psalm 40:13 רְצֵ֣ה be pleased

Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; hurry, O LORD, to help me.

Psalm 44:3 רְצִיתָֽם׃ you took pleasure in them

For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You favored them.

Here: 'You were pleased with them / accepted them.' The ground is God's own goodwill toward them, not their strength or worth. This sets up the painful question of verses 9–26: why has that favor now been withdrawn?

Psalm 49:13 יִרְצ֣וּ they take delight

This is the fate of the foolish and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah

Psalm 50:18 וַתִּ֣רֶץ and you were pleased

When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot with adulterers.

Here: As the Hebrew is vowelled, "and you were pleased / took up with" him: approval and friendly alliance. The ancient translations read the same consonants as "you ran with him," meaning joined him in what he did. Either way it is complicity, not mere acquaintance.

Psalm 51:16 תִרְצֶֽה׃ you are pleased with

For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings.

Here: 'You do not accept / are not pleased with.' This is the priests' word for an offering being officially accepted by God on the worshipper's behalf (Lev 1:4). To say God 'will not accept' a burnt offering is to say it would fail as an offering.

Psalm 62:4 יִרְצ֪וּ they are pleased with

They fully intend to cast him down from his lofty perch; they delight in lies; with their mouths they bless, but inwardly they curse. Selah

Here: 'They take pleasure in.' The same verb is used of God 'accepting' an offering, so it means real liking and approval. Falsehood is not something they fall into. It is something they enjoy.

Psalm 77:7 לִרְצ֣וֹת to show favor

“Will the Lord spurn us forever and never show His favor again?

Here: 'To be pleased with / to accept.' This is the word for God accepting a worshipper or an offering and for a king welcoming someone. It is about being accepted, not about getting a single kindness.

Psalm 85:1 רָצִ֣יתָ you showed favor to

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. You showed favor to Your land, O LORD; You restored Jacob from captivity.

Here: 'You looked with favor on, took pleasure in.' This is the verb used when God accepts an offering (Lev 1:4). Here the land is what God accepts. The past tense recalls a time when God's goodwill rested on the land again.

Psalm 102:14 רָצ֣וּ they take pleasure in

For Your servants delight in her stones and take pity on her dust.

Psalm 119:108 רְצֵה־ accept

Accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me Your judgments.

Here: A command addressed to God: 'take pleasure in / accept.' Priests used this verb when God approved a sacrifice. The psalmist asks God to receive his words the way he receives a valid offering.

Psalm 147:10 יִרְצֶֽה׃ he takes pleasure

He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.

Here: 'Is he pleased.' Ratsah is the word for God accepting someone or something with favour, often used of an offering being accepted. Verse 11 uses the same verb: what God does not 'accept' here (human prowess), he does 'accept' there (those who fear him).

Psalm 147:11 רוֹצֶ֣ה [is] taking pleasure in

The LORD is pleased with those who fear Him, who hope in His loving devotion.

Here: An active participle: God's pleasure is an ongoing state, not a one-off reaction. It picks up the same verb from verse 10 ("he takes no pleasure in the legs of a man") and turns it around: this is what he does take pleasure in. The word is also used for God accepting an offering.

Psalm 149:4 רוֹצֶ֣ה [is] taking pleasure

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the afflicted with salvation.

Here: A participle (a verb form describing an ongoing state): God is in a continuing state of favor toward his people. The word comes from the language of worship, where a sacrifice or worshipper is 'accepted' by God, so it carries a sense of being welcomed, not just liked.

Proverbs 3:12 יִרְצֶֽה׃ [whom] he is pleased with

for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights.

Here: 'In whom he delights': the father favors and accepts the son. The verb is also used for God accepting an offering, so it carries the idea of approval and acceptance, not only warm feeling.

Proverbs 16:7 בִּרְצ֣וֹת when is pleased with

When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him.

Here: The preposition 'in/when' joined to a verb used as a noun: 'when (Yahweh) is pleased with / accepts'. The grammar makes God the one doing the approving, and the conduct is what he approves. The verb belongs to the world of sacrifice, where an offering is 'accepted' by God.

Ecclesiastes 9:7 רָצָ֥ה he has taken pleasure in

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:

Here: To look on something with favour and accept it. The word is used in temple law for God accepting an offering. The verb is in the completed form: the approval has already happened.

Isaiah 40:2 נִרְצָ֖ה it has been accepted

“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.”

Here: "Has been accepted / has been paid off". This is the language of sacrifice being accepted (Lev 1:4) and of a debt being paid off in full (Lev 26:41, 43). The penalty owed for her guilt has been received as fully paid.

Isaiah 42:1 רָצְתָ֣ה [whom] it is pleased with

“Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.

Here: 'Is pleased with / has accepted.' In Israel's worship the word is used for God accepting an offering or a person (Lev 1:4). Here it means God's approval of the servant is already settled.

Jeremiah 14:10 רָצָ֔ם he has accepted them

This is what the LORD says about this people: “Truly they love to wander; they have not restrained their feet. So the LORD does not accept them; He will now remember their iniquity and punish them for their sins.”

Here: 'Has not accepted them'. This is temple language for God finding a worshipper or offering acceptable (Lev 1:4; 22:27). The people themselves are declared unacceptable, like a rejected sacrifice.

Jeremiah 14:12 רֹצָ֑ם [will be] accepting them

Although they may fast, I will not listen to their cry; although they may offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will finish them off by sword and famine and plague.”

Here: "Accepting them": the technical temple word for God receiving an offering with favour, so that it counts for the person who brings it. "Them" can refer to the offerings or to the people offering them; the Hebrew allows both, and the two go together.

Ezekiel 20:40 אֶרְצֵ֔ם I will accept them

For on My holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, there the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land. There I will accept them and will require your offerings and choice gifts, along with all your holy sacrifices.

Here: 'I will accept them.' This is the priestly word for God accepting a worshipper and their sacrifice as pleasing. It also sounds like ba'aretz ('in the land') just before it: ba'aretz… ertsem.

Ezekiel 20:41 אֶרְצֶ֣ה I will accept

When I bring you from the peoples and gather you from the lands to which you have been scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing aroma. And I will show My holiness through you in the sight of the nations.

Here: A technical temple word for God approving and receiving an offering or the person who brings it. It repeats 'I will accept them' from verse 40.

Ezekiel 43:27 וְרָצִ֣אתִי and I will accept

At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Lord GOD.’”

Here: 'And I will accept/take pleasure in.' This is the technical temple word for God receiving worship with favor. The form looks like a past tense, but after the preceding future clauses it is read as future ('then I will accept').

Hosea 8:13 רָצָ֑ם he is pleased with them

Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: They will return to Egypt.

Here: 'Has accepted them'. This is the technical word of the sacrificial system for an offering that God accepts as valid. The form states a completed verdict: their offerings have already been declared unacceptable.

Amos 5:22 אֶרְצֶ֑ה I will accept [them]

Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard.

Here: 'I will not accept.' This is the technical temple word for an offering being formally received and credited to the worshipper (Lev 1:4; 22:21–27). God refuses the very verdict the ritual was meant to secure.

Micah 6:7 הֲיִרְצֶ֤ה ¿ will he take pleasure

Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

Here: The question marker hă- plus 'will he accept?' The verb is the priests' word for God accepting an offering as valid, so the question is: would any amount of sacrifice be accepted?

Haggai 1:8 וְאֶרְצֶה־ so I may take pleasure

Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified, says the LORD.

Malachi 1:8 הֲיִרְצְךָ֙ ¿ will he be pleased with you

When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present the lame and sick ones, is it not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts.

Here: 'Will he accept you?' This is the Law's technical word for an offering being 'accepted' (Lev 1:4; 22:23–27). Notice the object is 'you', not 'it': the person stands or falls with the gift.

Malachi 1:10 אֶרְצֶ֥ה I will accept

“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.

Here: The official priestly term for God accepting a sacrifice (Leviticus 1:4; 22:20–27). God refuses the formal acceptance that the whole sacrifice exists to gain.

Malachi 1:13 הַאֶרְצֶ֥ה ¿ will I accept

You also say: ‘Oh, what a nuisance!’ And you turn up your nose at it,” says the LORD of Hosts. “You bring offerings that are stolen, lame, or sick! Should I accept these from your hands?” asks the LORD.

Here: A question expecting 'no'. Raṣah is the technical temple word for God accepting an offering and so being favorable to the offerer (Lev 1:4; 22:20–25).