God’s Lawsuit against Judah

6 Now listen to what the Lord is saying:

What God Requires

¹² “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear^(A) the Lord your God by walking in all his ways, to love him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul?^{(B) 13} Keep the Lord’s commands and statutes I am giving you today, for your own good.^{(C) 14} The heavens, indeed the highest heavens, belong to the Lord your God, as does the earth and everything in it.^{(D) 15} Yet the Lord had his heart set on your ancestors and loved them.^(E) He chose their descendants after them—he chose you out of all the peoples, as it is today.^{(F) 16} Therefore, circumcise your hearts^(G) and don’t be stiff-necked any longer. ¹⁷ For the Lord your God is the God of gods^(H) and Lord of lords,^(I) the great, mighty, and awe-inspiring God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe.^{(J) 18} He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the resident alien, giving him food and clothing.^{(K) 19} You are also to love the resident alien, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.^{(L) 20} You are to fear the Lord your God and worship him. Remain faithful^[a] to him and take oaths in his name.^{(M) 21} He is your praise and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awe-inspiring works your eyes have seen. ²² Your ancestors went down to Egypt, seventy people in all,^(N) and now the Lord your God has made you numerous, like the stars of the sky.^(O)

¹³ Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.^[a](A) For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”^[b]

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of^[a] mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice,^(A) mercy, and faithfulness.^[b] These things should have been done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ Blind guides!^(B) You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed^[c] and self-indulgence.^{(C) 26} Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup,^[d] so that the outside of it^[e] may also become clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,^(D) which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity.