12 I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.

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You who hate good and love evil;
Who strip the skin from [a]My people,
And the flesh from their bones;
Who also (A)eat the flesh of My people,
Flay their skin from them,
Break their bones,
And chop them in pieces
Like meat for the pot,
(B)Like flesh in the caldron.”

Then (C)they will cry to the Lord,
But He will not hear them;
He will even hide His face from them at that time,
Because they have been evil in their deeds.

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 3:2 Lit. them

11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your (A)sacrifices to Me?”
Says the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle.
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
Or of lambs or goats.

12 “When you come (B)to appear before Me,
Who has required this from your hand,
To trample My courts?
13 Bring no more (C)futile[a] sacrifices;
Incense is an abomination to Me.
The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and (D)the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
14 Your (E)New Moons and your (F)appointed feasts
My soul hates;
They are a trouble to Me,
I am weary of bearing them.
15 (G)When you [b]spread out your hands,
I will hide My eyes from you;
(H)Even though you make many prayers,
I will not hear.
Your hands are full of [c]blood.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:13 worthless
  2. Isaiah 1:15 Pray
  3. Isaiah 1:15 bloodshed

10 As it is written:

(A)“There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”
13 “Their(B) throat is an open [a]tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;
(C)“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose(D) mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their(E) feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There(F) is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19 Now we know that whatever (G)the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that (H)every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become [b]guilty before God. 20 Therefore (I)by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 3:13 grave
  2. Romans 3:19 accountable

13 “But (A)woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

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But all their works they do to (A)be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.

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(A)Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.’

“For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly (B)execute [a]judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, (C)or walk after other gods to your hurt, (D)then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in (E)the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

“Behold, you trust in (F)lying words that cannot profit. (G)Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and (H)walk after other gods whom you do not know, 10 (I)and then come and stand before Me in this house (J)which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? 11 Has (K)this house, which is called by My name, become a (L)den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 7:5 justice

You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—
(A)In these ways we continue;
And we need to be saved.

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(A)Their webs will not become garments,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the act of violence is in their hands.
(B)Their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed (C)innocent blood;
(D)Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Wasting and (E)destruction are in their paths.
The way of (F)peace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
(G)They have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.

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Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
‘Why(A) have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we (B)afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’

“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And [a]exploit all your laborers.
(C)Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
Is (D)it a fast that I have chosen,
(E)A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And (F)to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?

Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To (G)loose the bonds of wickedness,
(H)To undo the [b]heavy burdens,
(I)To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 58:3 Lit. drive hard
  2. Isaiah 58:6 Lit. bonds of the yoke

15 (A)Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord,
And their works are in the dark;
(B)They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”

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For I bear them witness (A)that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of (B)God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own (C)righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

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“He(A) who kills a bull is as if he slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he (B)breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;
He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol.
Just as they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,
So will I choose their delusions,
And bring their fears on them;
(C)Because, when I called, no one answered,
When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”

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