Malachi 3:14
New King James Version
14 (A)You have said,
‘It is useless to serve God;
What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance,
And that we have walked as mourners
Before the Lord of hosts?
Isaiah 58:3
New King James Version
3 ‘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.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:3 Lit. drive hard
Psalm 73:8-13
New King James Version
8 (A)They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;
They (B)speak [a]loftily.
9 They set their mouth (C)against the heavens,
And their tongue walks through the earth.
10 Therefore his people return here,
(D)And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
11 And they say, (E)“How does God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the ungodly,
Who are always at ease;
They increase in riches.
13 Surely I have [b]cleansed my heart in (F)vain,
And washed my hands in innocence.
Footnotes
- Psalm 73:8 Proudly
- Psalm 73:13 kept my heart pure in vain
Job 35:3
New King James Version
3 For (A)you say,
‘What advantage will it be to You?
What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned?’
Zechariah 7:3-6
New King James Version
3 and to (A)ask the priests who were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in (B)the fifth month and [a]fast as I have done for so many years?”
4 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 5 “Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you (C)fasted and mourned in the fifth (D)and seventh months (E)during those seventy years, did you really fast (F)for Me—for Me? 6 (G)When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves?
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Zechariah 7:3 Lit. consecrate myself
Zephaniah 1:12
New King James Version
12 “And it shall come to pass at that time
That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
And punish the men
Who are (A)settled[a] in complacency,
(B)Who say in their heart,
‘The Lord will not do good,
Nor will He do evil.’
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 1:12 Lit. on their lees; like the dregs of wine
Joel 2:12
New King James Version
A Call to Repentance
12 “Now, therefore,” says the Lord,
(A)“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
Job 34:9
New King James Version
9 For (A)he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing
That he should delight in God.’
James 4:9
New King James Version
9 (A)Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Read full chapter
Job 22:17
New King James Version
Footnotes
- Job 22:17 LXX, Syr. us
Job 21:14-15
New King James Version
14 (A)Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15 (B)Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And (C)what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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