49 Bible Verses about Law, Letter And Spirit Of

And there came together to him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, And had seen that some of his disciples took their bread with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. Now the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not take food without washing their hands with care, keeping the old rule which has been handed down to them:read more.
And when they come from the market-place, they take no food till their hands are washed; and a number of other orders there are, which have been handed down to them to keep--washings of cups and pots and brass vessels. And the Pharisees and the scribes put the question to him, Why do your disciples not keep the rules of the fathers, but take their bread with unwashed hands? And he said, Well did Isaiah say of you, you false ones: These people give me honour with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But their worship is to no purpose, while they give as their teaching the rules of men. For, turning away from the law of God, you keep the rules of men.

Then there came to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying, Why do your disciples go against the teaching of the fathers? for they take food with unwashed hands.

And the Lord said, because this people come near to me with their mouths, and give honour to me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and their fear of me is false, a rule given them by the teaching of men;

And it came about, when he was in the house taking food, that a number of tax-farmers and sinners came and took their places with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, Why does your Master take food with tax-farmers and sinners? But on hearing this he said, Those who are well have no need of a medical man, but those who are ill.read more.
But go and take to heart the sense of these words, My desire is for mercy, not offerings: for I have come not to get the upright, but sinners.

And it came about that he was seated at meat in his house, and a number of tax-farmers and sinners were at table with Jesus and his disciples: for there were a great number of them, and they came after him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was taking food with the tax-farmers and sinners, said to his disciples, Why does he take food and drink with such men? And Jesus, hearing it, said to them, Those who are well have no need of a medical man, but those who are ill: I have come not to get the upright but sinners.

And Levi made a great feast for him in his house: and a great number of tax-farmers and others were seated at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes made protests against his disciples, saying, Why do you take food and drink with tax-farmers and sinners? And Jesus, answering, said to them, Those who are well have no need of a medical man, but those who are ill.read more.
I have come, not to get the upright, but sinners, so that they may be turned from their sins.

And he said to them, Truly you put on one side the law of God, so that you may keep the rules which have been handed down to you. For Moses said, Give honour to your father and mother, and, He who says evil of father or mother, let him have the punishment of death: But you say, If a man says to his father or his mother, That by which you might have had profit from me is Corban, that is to say, Given to God,read more.
You no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of no effect by your rule, which you have given: and a number of other such things you do.

And in answer he said to them, Why do you, yourselves, go against the word of God on account of the teaching which has been handed down to you? For God said, Give honour to your father and mother: and, He who says evil of father or mother will be put to death. But you say, If a man says to his father or his mother, That by which you might have had profit from me is given to God;read more.
There is no need for him to give honour to his father. And you have made the word of God without effect because of your teaching.

Then Jesus said to the people and to his disciples: The scribes and the Pharisees have the authority of Moses; All things, then, which they give you orders to do, these do and keep: but do not take their works as your example, for they say and do not.read more.
They make hard laws and put great weights on men's backs; but they themselves will not put a finger to them But all their works they do so as to be seen by men: for they make wide their phylacteries, and the edges of their robes, And the things desired by them are the first places at feasts, and the chief seats in the Synagogues, And words of respect in the market-places, and to be named by men, Teacher. But you may not be named Teacher: for one is your teacher, and you are all brothers. And give no man the name of father on earth: because one is your Father, who is in heaven. And you may not be named guides: because one is your Guide, even Christ. But let the greatest among you be your servant. And whoever makes himself high will be made low, and whoever makes himself low will be made high. But a curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! because you are shutting the kingdom of heaven against men: for you do not go in yourselves, and those who are going in, you keep back. [ A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you go about land and sea to get one disciple and, having him, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. A curse is on you, blind guides, who say, Whoever takes an oath by the Temple, it is nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gold of the Temple, he is responsible. You foolish ones and blind: which is greater, the gold, or the Temple which makes the gold holy? And, Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the offering which is on it, he is responsible. You blind ones: which is greater, the offering, or the altar which makes the offering holy He, then, who takes an oath by the altar, takes it by the altar and by all things on it. And he who takes an oath by the Temple, takes it by the Temple and by him whose house it is And he who takes an oath by heaven, takes it by the seat of God, and by him who is seated on it. A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make men give a tenth of all sorts of sweet-smelling plants, but you give no thought to the more important things of the law, righteousness, and mercy, and faith; but it is right for you to do these, and not to let the others be undone. You blind guides, who take out a fly from your drink, but make no trouble over a camel. A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of violent behaviour and uncontrolled desire. You blind Pharisee, first make clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may become equally clean. A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you are like the resting-places of the dead, which are made white, and seem beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and of all unclean things. Even so you seem to men to be full of righteousness, but inside you are all false and full of wrongdoing. A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! because you put up buildings for housing the dead bodies of the prophets, and make fair the last resting-places of good men, and say, If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in the blood of the prophets. So that you are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who put the prophets to death. Make full, then, the measure of your fathers. You snakes, offspring of snakes, how will you be kept from the punishment of hell?

Now, while he was talking, a Pharisee made a request that he would come to a meal with him; and he went in and took his seat at the meal. And when the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised because he came to the meal without first washing himself. And the Lord said to him, You Pharisees make the outside of the cup and the plate clean; but inside you are thieves and full of evil.read more.
O you foolish ones! did not he who made the outside in the same way make the inside? But if you give to the poor such things as you are able, then all things are clean to you. But a curse is on you, Pharisees! for you make men give a tenth of every sort of plant, and give no thought to right and the love of God; but it is right for you to do these things, and not let the others be undone. A curse is on you, Pharisees! for your desires are for the most important seats in the Synagogues and for words of respect said to you in the market-place. A curse is on you! for you are like the resting-places of dead men, which are not seen, and men go walking over them without knowledge of it. And one of the teachers of the law, answering, said to him, Master, in saying this, you give a bad name to us as to them. And he said, A curse is on you, teachers of the law! for while other men are crushed under the weight of the rules you make for them, you yourselves do not put so much as one finger to them. A curse is on you! for you make resting-places for the bodies of the prophets, but your fathers put them to death. So you are witnesses and give approval to the work of your fathers; for they put them to death and you make their last resting-places. For this reason the wisdom of God has said, I will send them prophets and teachers, and to some of them they will give death and cruel pains; So that punishment may come on this generation for the blood of all the prophets which was given from the earliest days; From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who was put to death between the altar and the Temple. Yes, I say to you, It will come on this generation. A curse is on you, teachers of the law! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you did not go in yourselves, and you got in the way of those who were going in.

And he made this story for some people who were certain that they were good, and had a low opinion of others: Two men went up to the Temple for prayer; one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-farmer. The Pharisee, taking up his position, said to himself these words: God, I give you praise because I am not like other men, who take more than their right, who are evil-doers, who are untrue to their wives, or even like this tax-farmer.read more.
Twice in the week I go without food; I give a tenth of all I have. The tax-farmer, on the other hand, keeping far away, and not lifting up even his eyes to heaven, made signs of grief and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I say to you, This man went back to his house with God's approval, and not the other: for everyone who makes himself high will be made low and whoever makes himself low will be made high.

And when he went on his way, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples put a question to him, saying, Master, was it because of this man's sin, or the sin of his father and mother, that he has been blind from birth? Jesus said in answer, It was not because of his sin, or because of his father's or mother's; it was so that the works of God might be seen openly in him.read more.
While it is day we have to do the works of him who sent me: the night comes when no work may be done. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Having said these words, he put earth, mixed with water from his mouth, on the man's eyes, And said to him, Go and make yourself clean in the bath of Siloam (the sense of the name is, Sent). So he went away and, after washing, came back able to see. Then the neighbours and others who had seen him before in the street, with his hand out for money, said, Is not this the man who got money from people? Some said, It is he: others said, No, but he is like him. He said, I am he. So they said to him, How then were your eyes made open? His answer was: The man who is named Jesus put earth mixed with water on my eyes, and said to me, Go and make yourself clean in Siloam: so I went away and, after washing, am now able to see. And they said to him, Where is he? His answer was: I have no knowledge. They took him before the Pharisees--this man who had been blind. Now the day on which the earth was mixed by Jesus and the man's eyes were made open was the Sabbath. So the Pharisees put more questions to him about how his eyes had been made open. And he said to them, He put earth on my eyes, and I had a wash and am able to see. Then some of the Pharisees said, That man has not come from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath. Others said, How is it possible for a sinner to do such signs? So there was a division among them.

But as for you who have the name of Jew, and are resting on the law, and take pride in God, And have knowledge of his desires, and are a judge of the things which are different, having the learning of the law, In the belief that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those in the dark,read more.
A teacher of the foolish, having in the law the form of knowledge and of what is true; You who give teaching to others, do you give it to yourself? you who say that a man may not take what is not his, do you take what is not yours? You who say that a man may not be untrue to his wife, are you true to yours? you who are a hater of images, do you do wrong to the house of God? You who take pride in the law, are you doing wrong to the honour of God by behaviour which is against the law? For the name of God is shamed among the Gentiles because of you, as it is said in the holy Writings.

Now then, what have I here? says the Lord, for my people are taken away without cause; they are made waste and give cries of sorrow, says the Lord, and all the day the nations put shame on my name.

And one came to him and said, Master, what good thing have I to do, so that I may have eternal life? And he said to him, Why are you questioning me about what is good? One there is who is good: but if you have a desire to go into life, keep the rules of the law. He says to him, Which? And Jesus said, Do not put anyone to death, Do not be untrue in married life, Do not take what is not yours, Do not give false witness,read more.
Give honour to your father and your mother: and, Have love for your neighbour as for yourself. The young man says to him, All these things have I done: what more is there? Jesus said to him, If you have a desire to be complete, go, get money for your property, and give it to the poor, and you will have wealth in heaven: and come after me. But hearing these words the young man went away sorrowing: for he had much property. And Jesus said to his disciples, Truly I say to you, It is hard for a man with much money to go into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, It is simpler for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a man with much money to go into the kingdom of God. And the disciples, hearing this, were greatly surprised, saying, Who then may have salvation? And Jesus, looking at them, said, With men this is not possible; but with God all things are possible. Then Peter said to him, See, we have given up everything and have come after you; what then will we have? And Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you that in the time when all things are made new, and the Son of man is seated in his glory, you who have come after me will be seated on twelve seats, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or child, or land, for my name, will be given a hundred times as much, and have eternal life. But a great number who are first will be last, and some who are last will be first.

And while he was going out into the way, a man came running to him, and went down on his knees, saying, Good Master, what have I to do so that I may have eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you say I am good? no one is good but one, and that is God. You have knowledge of what is said in the law, Do not put any one to death, Do not be untrue in married life, Do not take what is not yours, Do not give false witness, Do not get money by deceit, Give honour to your father and mother.read more.
And he said to him, Master, all these laws I have kept from the time when I was young. And Jesus, looking on him and loving him, said, There is one thing needed: go, get money for your goods, and give it to the poor, and you will have wealth in heaven: and come with me. But his face became sad at the saying, and he went away sorrowing: for he was one who had much property. And Jesus, looking round about, said to his disciples, How hard it is for those who have wealth to come into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were full of wonder at his words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how hard it is for those who put faith in wealth to come into the kingdom of God! It is simpler for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a man of wealth to come into the kingdom of God. And they were greatly surprised, saying to him, Who then may have salvation? Jesus, looking on them, said, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God. Peter said to him, See, we have given up everything, and come after you. Jesus said, Truly I say to you, There is no man who has given up house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or land, because of me and the good news, Who will not get a hundred times as much now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and land--though with great troubles; and, in the world to come, eternal life.

And a certain ruler put a question to him, saying, Good Master, what have I to do so that I may have eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you say that I am good? No one is good, but only God. You have knowledge of what the law says: Do not be untrue to your wife, Do not put anyone to death, Do not take what is not yours, Do not give false witness, Give honour to your father and mother.read more.
And he said, All these things I have done from the time when I was a boy. And Jesus, hearing it, said to him, One thing you still have need of; get money for your goods, and give it away to the poor, and you will have wealth in heaven; and come after me. But at these words he became very sad, for he had great wealth. And Jesus, looking at him, said, How hard it is for those who have wealth to get into the kingdom of God! It is simpler for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a man who has much money to come into the kingdom of God. And those who were present said, Then who may have salvation? But he said, Things which are not possible with man are possible with God. And Peter said, See, we have given up what is ours to come after you. And he said to them, Truly I say to you, There is no man who has given up house or wife or brothers or father or mother or children, because of the kingdom of God, Who will not get much more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life.

At that time Jesus went through the fields on the Sabbath day; and his disciples, being in need of food, were taking the heads of grain. But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, See, your disciples do that which it is not right to do on the Sabbath. But he said to them, Have you no knowledge of what David did when he had need of food, and those who were with him?read more.
How he went into the house of God and took for food the holy bread which it was not right for him or for those who were with him to take, but only for the priests? Or is it not said in the law, how the Sabbath is broken by the priests in the Temple and they do no wrong? But I say to you that a greater thing than the Temple is here. But if these words had been in your minds, My desire is for mercy and not for offerings, you would not have been judging those who have done no wrong. For the Son of man is lord of the Sabbath. And he went from there into their Synagogue: And there was a man with a dead hand. And they put a question to him, saying, Is it right to make a man well on the Sabbath day? so that they might have something against him. And he said to them, Which of you, having a sheep, if it gets into a hole on the Sabbath day, will not put out a helping hand and get it back? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! For this reason it is right to do good on the Sabbath day. Then said he to the man, Put out your hand. And he put it out, and it was made as well as the other. But the Pharisees went out and made designs against him, how they might put him to death.

Now it came about that on the Sabbath he was going through the fields of grain, and his disciples took the heads of the grain for food, crushing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, Why do you do what it is not right to do on the Sabbath? And Jesus said, Have you not seen in the Writings what David did when he was in need of food, he, and those who were with him;read more.
How he went into the house of God and took for food the holy bread, which only the priests may take, and gave it to those who were with him? And he said, The Son of man is lord even of the Sabbath. And it came about, on another Sabbath, that he went into the Synagogue and was teaching there. And a man was there whose right hand was dead. And the scribes and Pharisees were watching him to see if he would make him well on the Sabbath, so that they might be able to say something against him. But he had knowledge of their thoughts; and he said to the man whose hand was dead, Get up and come into the middle. And he got up and came forward. And Jesus said, I put the question to you, Is it right to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil? to give life or to take it away? And looking round on all of them, he said to him, Put out your hand. And he did so: and his hand was made well. But they were full of wrath, and were talking together about what they might do to Jesus.

And they came to Capernaum; and on the Sabbath he went into the Synagogue and gave teaching. And they were full of wonder at his teaching, because he gave it as one having authority, and not like the scribes. And there was in their Synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he gave a cry,read more.
Saying, What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? have you come to put an end to us? I see well who you are, the Holy One of God. And Jesus said to him sharply, Be quiet, and come out of him. And the unclean spirit, shaking him violently, and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all greatly surprised, so that they put questions to one another, saying, What is this? a new teaching! with authority he gives orders even to the unclean spirits, and they do what he says. And news of him went out quickly everywhere into all parts of Galilee round about.

And he came down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee; and he was giving them teaching on the Sabbath. And they were surprised at his teaching, for his word was with authority. And there was a man in the Synagogue who had an unclean spirit; and he gave a loud cry and said,read more.
Let us be! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? have you come to put an end to us? I have knowledge who you are, the Holy One of God. And Jesus said to him, Be quiet, and come out of him. And when the evil spirit had put him down on the earth in the middle of them, he came out of him, having done him no damage. And wonder came on them all and they said to one another, What are these words? for with authority and power he gives orders to the evil spirits and they come out. And there was much talk about him in all the places round about.

And he was teaching in one of the Synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who had had a disease for eighteen years; she was bent, and was not able to make herself straight. And when Jesus saw her, he said to her, Woman, you are made free from your disease.read more.
And he put his hands on her, and she was made straight, and gave praise to God. And the ruler of the Synagogue was angry because Jesus had made her well on the Sabbath, and he said to the people, There are six days in which men may do work: so come on those days to be made well, and not on the Sabbath. But the Lord gave him an answer and said, O you false men! do you not, every one of you, on the Sabbath, let loose his ox and his ass and take it to the water? And is it not right for this daughter of Abraham, who has been in the power of Satan for eighteen years, to be made free on the Sabbath? And when he said these things, those who were against him were shamed, and all the people were full of joy because of the great things which were done by him.

And it came about that when he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees on the Sabbath, to have a meal, they were watching him. And a certain man was there who had a disease. And Jesus, answering, said to the scribes and Pharisees, Is it right to make people well on the Sabbath or not?read more.
But they said nothing. And he made him well and sent him away. And he said to them, Which of you, whose ox or ass has got into a water-hole, will not straight away get him out on the Sabbath? And they had no answer to that question.

After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem near the sheep-market there is a public bath which in Hebrew is named Beth-zatha. It has five doorways. In these doorways there were a great number of people with different diseases: some unable to see, some without the power of walking, some with wasted bodies.read more.
This verse ommitted from translation One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him there on the floor it was clear to him that he had been now a long time in that condition, and so he said to the man, Is it your desire to get well? The ill man said in answer, Sir, I have nobody to put me into the bath when the water is moving; and while I am on the way down some other person gets in before me. Jesus said to him, Get up, take your bed and go. And the man became well straight away, and took up his bed and went. Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been made well, It is the Sabbath; and it is against the law for you to take up your bed. He said to them, But he who made me well, said to me, Take up your bed and go. Then they put to him the question: Who is the man who said to you, Take it up and go? Now he who had been made well had no knowledge who it was, Jesus having gone away because of the number of people who were in that place. After a time Jesus came across him in the Temple and said to him, See, you are well and strong; do no more sin for fear a worse thing comes to you. The man went away and said to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. And for this reason the Jews were turned against Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

This was the answer of Jesus: I have done one work and you are all surprised at it. Moses gave you circumcision--not that it comes from Moses, but from the fathers--and even on the Sabbath you give a child circumcision. If a child is given circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?read more.
Let not your decisions be based on what you see, but on righteousness.

And early in the morning he came again into the Temple and all the people came to him and he was seated teaching them. Now the scribes and Pharisees came, with a woman who had been taken in the act of sinning against the married relation; And putting her forward, they said to him, Master, this woman has been taken in the very act of sinning against the married relation.read more.
Now in the law Moses gave directions that such women were to be stoned; what do you say about it? They said this, testing him, so that they might have something against him. But Jesus, with his head bent down, made letters on the floor with his finger. But when they went on with their questions, he got up and said to them, Let him among you who is without sin be the first to send a stone at her. And again, with bent head, he made letters on the floor. And when his words came to their ears, they went out one by one, starting with the oldest even to the last, because they were conscious of what was in their hearts: and Jesus was there by himself with the woman before him. Then Jesus got up, and seeing nobody but the woman, he said to her, Where are the men who said things against you? did no one give a decision against you? And she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said, And I do not give a decision against you: go, and never do wrong again.]

But the Pharisees, hearing how the mouths of the Sadducees had been stopped, came together; And one of them, a teacher of the law, put a question to him, testing him, and saying, Master, which is the chief rule in the law?read more.
And he said to him, Have love for the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest rule. And a second like it is this, Have love for your neighbour as for yourself. On these two rules all the law and the prophets are based.

And one of the scribes came, and hearing their argument together, and seeing that he had given them a good answer, put the question to him, Which law is the first of all? Jesus said in answer, The first is, Give ear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; And you are to have love for the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.read more.
The second is this, Have love for your neighbour as for yourself. There is no other law greater than these. And the scribe said to him, Truly, Master, you have well said that he is one, and there is no other but he: And to have love for him with all the heart, and with all the mind, and with all the strength, and to have the same love for his neighbour as for himself, is much more than all forms of offerings. And when Jesus saw that he gave a wise answer, he said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. And every man after that was in fear of questioning him any more.

But when the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then will he be seated in his glory: And before him all the nations will come together; and they will be parted one from another, as the sheep are parted from the goats by the keeper. And he will put the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.read more.
Then will the King say to those on his right, Come, you who have the blessing of my Father, into the kingdom made ready for you before the world was: For I was in need of food, and you gave it to me: I was in need of drink, and you gave it to me: I was wandering, and you took me in; I had no clothing, and you gave it to me: when I was ill, or in prison, you came to me. Then will the upright make answer to him, saying, Lord, when did we see you in need of food, and give it to you? or in need of drink, and give it to you? And when did we see you wandering, and take you in? or without clothing, and give it to you? And when did we see you ill, or in prison, and come to you? And the King will make answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Because you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. Then will he say to those on the left, Go from me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire which is ready for the Evil One and his angels: For I was in need of food, and you gave it not to me; I was in need of drink, and you gave it not to me: I was wandering, and you took me not in; without clothing, and you gave me no clothing; ill, and in prison, and you came not to me. Then will they make answer, saying, Lord, when did we see you in need of food or drink, or wandering, or without clothing, or ill, or in prison, and did not take care of you? Then will he make answer to them, saying, Truly I say to you, Because you did it not to the least of these, you did it not to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment; but the upright into eternal life.

It is true that circumcision is of use if you keep the law, but if you go against the law it is as if you had it not. If those who have not circumcision keep the rules of the law, will it not be credited to them as circumcision? And they, by their keeping of the law without circumcision, will be judges of you, by whom the law is broken though you have the letter of the law and circumcision.read more.
The true Jew is not one who is only so publicly, and circumcision is not that which may be seen in the flesh: But he is a Jew who is a secret one, whose circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.

And Samuel said, Has the Lord as much delight in offerings and burned offerings as in the doing of his orders? Truly, to do his pleasure is better than to make offerings, and to give ear to him than the fat of sheep. For to go against his orders is like the sin of those who make use of secret arts, and pride is like giving worship to images. Because you have put away from you the word of the Lord, he has put you from your place as king.

You have no desire for an offering or I would give it; you have no delight in burned offerings. The offerings of God are a broken spirit; a broken and sorrowing heart, O God, you will not put from you.

To do what is right and true is more pleasing to the Lord than an offering.

What use to me is the number of the offerings which you give me? says the Lord; your burned offerings of sheep, and the best parts of fat cattle, are a weariness to me; I take no pleasure in the blood of oxen, or of lambs, or of he-goats. At whose request do you come before me, making my house unclean with your feet? Give me no more false offerings; the smoke of burning flesh is disgusting to me, so are your new moons and Sabbaths and your holy meetings.read more.
Your new moons and your regular feasts are a grief to my soul: they are a weight in my spirit; I am crushed under them. And when your hands are stretched out to me, my eyes will be turned away from you: even though you go on making prayers, I will not give ear: your hands are full of blood. Be washed, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; let there be an end of sinning; Take pleasure in well-doing; let your ways be upright, keep down the cruel, give a right decision for the child who has no father, see to the cause of the widow.

These are the words of the Lord of armies, the God of Israel: Put your burned offerings with your offerings of beasts, and take flesh for your food. For I said nothing to your fathers, and gave them no orders, on the day when I took them out of Egypt, about burned offerings or offerings of beasts: But this was the order I gave them, saying, Give ear to my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people: go in all the way ordered by me, so that all may be well for you.

Because my desire is for mercy and not offerings; for the knowledge of God more than for burned offerings.

Your feasts are disgusting to me, I will have nothing to do with them; I will take no delight in your holy meetings. Even if you give me your burned offerings and your meal offerings, I will not take pleasure in them: I will have nothing to do with the peace-offerings of your fat beasts. Take away from me the noise of your songs; my ears are shut to the melody of your instruments.read more.
But let the right go rolling on like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

With what am I to come before the Lord and go with bent head before the high God? am I to come before him with burned offerings, with young oxen a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of sheep or with ten thousand rivers of oil? am I to give my first child for my wrongdoing, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has made clear to you, O man, what is good; and what is desired from you by the Lord; only doing what is right, and loving mercy, and walking without pride before your God.

O foolish Galatians, by what strange powers have you been tricked, to whom it was made clear that Jesus Christ was put to death on the cross? Give me an answer to this one question, Did the Spirit come to you through the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? having made a start in the Spirit, will you now be made complete in the flesh?read more.
Did you undergo such a number of things to no purpose? if it is in fact to no purpose. He who gives you the Spirit, and does works of power among you, is it by the works of law, or by the hearing of faith?

For you are clearly a letter of Christ, the fruit of our work, recorded not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in stone, but in hearts of flesh. And this is the certain faith which we have in God through Christ: Not as if we were able by ourselves to do anything for which we might take the credit; but our power comes from God;read more.
Who has made us able to be servants of a new agreement; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter gives death, but the Spirit gives life.

The woman said to him, Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our fathers gave worship on this mountain, but you Jews say that the right place for worship is in Jerusalem. Jesus said to her, Woman, take my word for this; the time is coming when you will not give worship to the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem.read more.
You give worship, but without knowledge of what you are worshipping: we give worship to what we have knowledge of: for salvation comes from the Jews. But the time is coming, and is even now here, when the true worshippers will give worship to the Father in the true way of the spirit, for these are the worshippers desired by the Father. God is Spirit: then let his worshippers give him worship in the true way of the spirit.

In the same way, my brothers, you were made dead to the law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, even to him who came again from the dead, so that we might give fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the evil passions which came into being through the law were working in our bodies to give the fruit of death. But now we are free from the law, having been made dead to that which had power over us; so that we are servants in the new way of the spirit, not in the old way of the letter.

For this cause those who are in Christ Jesus will not be judged as sinners. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was not able to do because it was feeble through the flesh, God, sending his Son in the image of the evil flesh, and as an offering for sin, gave his decision against sin in the flesh:read more.
So that what was ordered by the law might be done in us, who are living, not in the way of the flesh, but in the way of the Spirit. For those who are living in the way of the flesh give their minds to the things of the flesh, but those who go in the way of the Spirit, to the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace: Because the mind of the flesh is opposite to God; it is not under the law of God, and is not able to be: So that those who are in the flesh are not able to give pleasure to God. You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God is in you. But if any man has not the Spirit of Christ he is not one of his. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him who made Jesus come again from the dead is in you, he who made Christ Jesus come again from the dead will in the same way, through his Spirit which is in you, give life to your bodies which now are under the power of death.

And so it is said, The first man Adam was a living soul. The last Adam is a life-giving spirit. But that which is natural comes before that which is of the spirit.

And are not like Moses, who put a veil on his face, so that the children of Israel might not see clearly to the end of the present order of things: But their minds were made hard: for to this very day at the reading of the old agreement the same veil is still unlifted; though it is taken away in Christ. But to this day, at the reading of the law of Moses, a veil is over their heart.read more.
But when it is turned to the Lord, the veil will be taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there the heart is free. But we all, with unveiled face giving back as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord who is the Spirit.

But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

So the law which went before is put on one side, because it was feeble and without profit. (Because the law made nothing complete), and in its place there is a better hope, through which we come near to God. And as this is not without the taking of an oathread more.
(For those were made priests without an oath, but this one was made a priest with an oath by him who says of him, The Lord gave his oath, which he will not take back, that you are a priest for ever); By so much is it a better agreement which we have through Jesus.

Now of the things we are saying this is the chief point: We have such a high priest, who has taken his place at the right hand of God's high seat of glory in heaven, As a servant of the holy things and of the true Tent, which was put up by God, not by man. Now every high priest is given authority to take to God the things which are given and to make offerings; so that it is necessary for this man, like them, to have something for an offering.read more.
If he had been on earth he would not have been a priest at all, because there are other priests who make the offerings ordered by the law; Being servants of that which is a copy and an image of the things in heaven, as Moses, when he was about to make the Tent, had special orders from God: for, See, he said, that you make everything like the design which you saw in the mountain. But now his position as priest is higher. because through him God has made a better agreement with man, based on the giving of better things. For if that first agreement had been as good as possible, there would have been no place for a second. For, protesting against them, he says, See, the days are coming when I will make a new agreement with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; Not like the agreement which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand, to be their guide out of the land of Egypt; for they did not keep the agreement with me, and I gave them up, says the Lord. For this is the agreement which I will make with the people of Israel after those days: I will put my laws into their minds, writing them in their hearts: and I will be their God, and they will be my people: And there will be no need for every man to be teaching his brother, or his neighbour, saying, This is the knowledge of the Lord: for they will all have knowledge of me, great and small. And I will have mercy on their evil-doing, and I will not keep their sins in mind. When he says, A new agreement, he has made the first agreement old. But anything which is getting old and past use will not be seen much longer.

See, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new agreement with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah: Not like the agreement which I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to be their guide out of the land of Egypt; which agreement was broken by them, and I gave them up, says the Lord. But this is the agreement which I will make with the people of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put my law in their inner parts, writing it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.read more.
And no longer will they be teaching every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Get knowledge of the Lord: for they will all have knowledge of me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord: for they will have my forgiveness for their evil-doing, and their sin will go from my memory for ever.