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For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
    the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.(A)

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But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.(A)

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13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”(A)

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To do righteousness and justice
    is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.(A)

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21 I hate, I despise your festivals,
    and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.(A)

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11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
    says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
    and the fat of fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls
    or of lambs or of goats.(A)

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22 And Samuel said,

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
    as in obedience to the voice of the Lord?
Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice
    and to heed than the fat of rams.(A)

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Reverence, Humility, and Contentment

[a]Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than the sacrifice offered by fools, for they do not know how to keep from doing evil.[b](A)

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Footnotes

  1. 5.1 4.17 in Heb
  2. 5.1 Cn: Heb they do not know how to do evil

16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
    then it was well.
Is not this to know me?
    says the Lord.(A)

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“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

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27 Therefore, O king, may my counsel be acceptable to you: atone for[a] your sins with righteousness and your iniquities with mercy to the oppressed, so that your prosperity may be prolonged.”(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 4.27 Aram break off

God Accuses Israel

Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel,
    for the Lord has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or loyalty
    and no knowledge of God in the land.(A)

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“And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve him with single mind and willing heart, for the Lord searches every mind and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will abandon you forever.(A)

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