Isaiah 65:5

“Which say, stand by thyself, &c], According to Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi, these are the unclean persons that did the above things; who say to the righteous, “draw near to thyself”f1273; so the words are, go to thine own place, or to thine own company: and come not near to me; keep off at a distance, as unworthy of such company: for I am holier than thou; but this is the language of a self-righteous man, of a Pharisee that strictly observed the rituals of the law; and fitly describes such who lived in the times of Christ; and exactly agrees with the characters of such, who not only would have no dealings with the Samaritans, but washed themselves when they came from market, or any public…”

“(Mat 9:11; Luk 5:30; Luk 18:11; Jde 1:19). Applicable to the hypocritical self-justifiers of our Lord's time. smoke--alluding to the smoke of their self-righteous sacrifices; the fire of God's wrath was kindled at the sight, and exhibited itself in the smoke that breathed forth from His nostrils; in Hebrew the nose is the seat of anger; and the nostrils distended in wrath, as it were, breathe forth smoke [ROSENMULLER] (Psa 18:8).”

“Which say, Stand by thyself - Who at the time that they engage in these abominations are distinguished for spiritual pride. The most worthless people are commonly the most proud; and they who have wandered farthest from God have in general the most exalted idea of their own goodness. It was a characteristic of a large part of the Jewish nation, and especially of the Pharisees, to be self-righteous and proud. A striking illustration of this we have in the following description of the Hindu yogis, by Roberts: ‘Those men are so isolated by their superstition and penances, that they hold but little contact with the rest of mankind. They wander about in the dark in the place of burning the dead,…”

“Holier - Thus they esteemed themselves holier than others, though all their holiness lay in rituals, and those too, such as God never commanded. Of these God saith, These are a smoak in my nostrils, a fire that burneth all the day; that is, a continual provocation to me: as smoak is an offence to our noses. Isaiah 65:6”

“65:5 you will defile me! I am holier than you! The people of Israel used the language of ritual purification, as stated in the laws of Moses, yet they practiced rites influenced by paganism. Because of this hypocrisy, they were a stench in God’s nostrils (see 1:10-15).”

“Stand: Mat 9:11; Luk 5:30, Luk 7:39, Luk 15:2, Luk 15:28-30, Luk 18:9-12; Act 22:21, Act 22:22; Rom 2:17-29; Jde 1:19 These: Pro 6:16, Pro 6:17, Pro 10:26, Pro 16:5; Jam 4:6; Pe1 5:5 nose: or, anger a fire: Deu 29:20, Deu 32:20-22 Isaiah 65:6”