Psalm 50:7-15

New International Version

⁷“Listen, my people, and I will speak;
    I will testify^(A) against you, Israel:
    I am God, your God.^(B)
⁸I bring no charges^(C) against you concerning your sacrifices
    or concerning your burnt offerings,^(D) which are ever before me.
⁹I have no need of a bull^(E) from your stall
    or of goats^(F) from your pens,^(G)
¹⁰for every animal of the forest^(H) is mine,
    and the cattle on a thousand hills.^(I)
¹¹I know every bird^(J) in the mountains,
    and the insects in the fields^(K) are mine.
¹²If I were hungry I would not tell you,
    for the world^(L) is mine, and all that is in it.^(M)
¹³Do I eat the flesh of bulls
    or drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴“Sacrifice thank offerings^(N) to God,
fulfill your vows^(O) to the Most High,^(P)
¹⁵and call^(Q) on me in the day of trouble;^(R)
I will deliver^(S) you, and you will honor^(T) me.”

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Psalm 50:22-23

New International Version

²²“Consider this, you who forget God,^(A)
or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:^(B)
²³Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me,
and to the blameless^[a] I will show my salvation.^(C)”

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Footnotes

Psalm 50:23 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; the meaning of the Masoretic Text for this phrase is uncertain.

Isaiah 1:2-4

New International Version

A Rebellious Nation

²Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!^(A)
    For the Lord has spoken:^(B)
“I reared children^(C) and brought them up,
    but they have rebelled^(D) against me.
³The ox knows^(E) its master,
    the donkey its owner’s manger,^(F)
but Israel does not know,^(G)
    my people do not understand.^(H)”

⁴Woe to the sinful nation,
    a people whose guilt is great,^(I)
a brood of evildoers,^(J)
    children given to corruption!^(K)
They have forsaken^(L) the Lord;
    they have spurned the Holy One^(M) of Israel
    and turned their backs^(N) on him.

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Isaiah 1:16-20

New International Version

¹⁶Wash^(A) and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;^(B)
    stop doing wrong.^(C)
¹⁷Learn to do right;^(D) seek justice.^(E)
    Defend the oppressed.^[a]^(F)
Take up the cause of the fatherless;^(G)
    plead the case of the widow.^(H)

¹⁸“Come now, let us settle the matter,”^(I)
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;^(J)
though they are red as crimson,
    they shall be like wool.^(K)
¹⁹If you are willing and obedient,^(L)
    you will eat the good things of the land;^(M)
²⁰but if you resist and rebel,^(N)
    you will be devoured by the sword.”^(O)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.^(P)

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Footnotes

Isaiah 1:17 Or justice. / Correct the oppressor

Matthew 23:1-12

New International Version

A Warning Against Hypocrisy^(A)^(B)

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ²“The teachers of the law^(C) and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.^(D)

⁵“Everything they do is done for people to see:^(E) They make their phylacteries^[a]^(F) wide and the tassels on their garments^(G) long; ⁶they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;^(H) ⁷they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.^(I)

⁸“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father,^(J) and he is in heaven. ¹⁰Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant.^(K) ¹²For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.^(L)