¹² I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

⁴² “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,^[a] but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

A Discussion about Fasting

¹⁴ One day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, “Why don’t your disciples fast^[a] like we do and the Pharisees do?”

²³ “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,^[a] but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. ²⁴ Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!^[b]

¹⁰ In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”

⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

Teaching about Giving to the Needy

6 “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.

⁸ “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!

“But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’

“You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.

⁸ “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”

⁹ Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.