“ How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give God a tenth of your garden plants, such as mint and rue. But you have forgotten to be fair and to love God. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first.

“你们法利赛人有祸了！因为你们将薄荷、芸香并各样菜蔬献上十分之一，那公义和爱神的事反倒不行了。这原是你们当行的；那也是不可不行的。

“但是你们法利赛人有祸了！因为你们将薄荷、芸香，和各样蔬菜献上十分之一，疏忽了公义和爱上帝的事；这原是你们该做的—至于其他也不可忽略。

“但是你们法利赛人有祸了！因为你们将薄荷、芸香，和各样蔬菜献上十分之一，疏忽了公义和爱神的事；这原是你们该做的—至于其他也不可忽略。

“法利赛人啊，你们有祸了！你们将薄荷、茴香、各样蔬菜献上十分之一，却忽略了上帝的公义和仁爱。后者是你们本该做的，前者也不可忽略。

然而你们法利赛人有祸了！因为你们把薄荷、茴香和各样菜蔬献上十分之一，却把公义和爱神的事疏忽了；这些是你们应当作的，但其他的也不可疏忽。

“你们法利赛人有祸了！因为你们奉献薄荷、芸香和各种蔬菜的十分之一，却废弃了公义和属神的爱。这些事是你们应该做的，至于前者也不可忽略。

「你們法利賽人有禍了！因為你們將薄荷、芸香並各樣菜蔬獻上十分之一，那公義和愛神的事反倒不行了。這原是你們當行的；那也是不可不行的。

「但是你們法利賽人有禍了！因為你們將薄荷、芸香，和各樣蔬菜獻上十分之一，疏忽了公義和愛上帝的事；這原是你們該做的－至於其他也不可忽略。

「但是你們法利賽人有禍了！因為你們將薄荷、芸香，和各樣蔬菜獻上十分之一，疏忽了公義和愛神的事；這原是你們該做的－至於其他也不可忽略。

「法利賽人啊，你們有禍了！你們將薄荷、茴香、各樣蔬菜獻上十分之一，卻忽略了上帝的公義和仁愛。後者是你們本該做的，前者也不可忽略。

然而你們法利賽人有禍了！因為你們把薄荷、茴香和各樣菜蔬獻上十分之一，卻把公義和愛神的事疏忽了；這些是你們應當作的，但其他的也不可疏忽。

『但是你們法利賽人有禍啊！因為你們將薄荷芸香和各樣蔬菜獻上了十分之一，卻把正義和愛上帝的心疏忽過去。其實呢、前者那些雖不可放鬆，後者這些卻必須行。

「你們法利賽人有禍了！因為你們奉獻薄荷、芸香和各種蔬菜的十分之一，卻廢棄了公義和屬神的愛。這些事是你們應該做的，至於前者也不可忽略。

禍哉、爾法利賽人乎、以爾於薄荷、芸香、及諸蔬、十輸其一、而於義、及向上帝之愛、則忽之、此乃爾所當行、而彼亦不可遺也、

𠵽唎㘔人、其有禍乎、蓋爾於薄荷、芸香、菜蔬、十輸其一、而義與愛上帝、則廢之、然爾所當行者此也、彼第不可遺耳、

禍哉爾曹法利賽人乎、因爾以薄荷、茴香、及諸菜蔬、十輸其一、而行義與愛天主、則輕視之、爾所當行者此也、而彼亦不可遺、

哀哉法利塞！蓋爾曹察察於薄荷芸香園蔬什一之貢、而獨漠然於公義及愛慕天主之道。彼固宜行此亦不可忽也。

“ Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

“ But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

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

“ But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of mint, rue, and every kind of herb, and you bypass justice and love for God. These things you should have done without neglecting the others.

“ But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithes of mint, rue, and every kind of garden herb, and yet you ignore justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

“ But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

But woe unto you Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and every herb, and pass over justice and the love of God: but these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

“ But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of mint, rue, and every kind of herb, and you bypass justice and love for God. These things you should have done without neglecting the others.

But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

“ But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, rue, and every herb, yet you neglect justice and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others.

But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and God’s love. You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.

“ How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You give God a tenth of your spices, like mint, dill and cumin. But you have not practiced the more important things of the law, which are fairness, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first.

I fast twice a week. And I give a tenth of all I get.’

The Lord has shown you what is good. He has told you what he requires of you. You must act with justice. You must love to show mercy. And you must be humble as you live in the sight of your God.

“ How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You are like tombs that are painted white. They look beautiful on the outside. But on the inside they are full of the bones of the dead. They are also full of other things that are not pure and‘ clean.’

And now, Israel, what is the Lord your God asking you to do? Honor him. Live exactly as he wants you to live. Love him. Serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.Obey the Lord’ s commands and rules. I’m giving them to you today for your own good.

But Samuel replied,“ What pleases the Lord more? Burnt offerings and sacrifices, or obeying the Lord? It is better to obey than to offer a sacrifice. It is better to do what he says than to offer the fat of rams.

Do what is right and fair. The Lord accepts that more than sacrifices.

“ Will a mere human being dare to steal from God? But you rob me!“ You ask,‘ How are we robbing you?’“ By holding back your offerings. You also steal from me when you do not bring me a tenth of everything you produce.

“ We will also bring the first part of the meal we grind. We’ll bring the first of our grain offerings. We’ll bring the first share of fruit from all our trees. And we’ll bring the first share of our olive oil and fresh wine. We’ll give all those things to the priests. They’ll put them in the storerooms of the house of our God. And we’ll give a tenth of our crops to the Levites. They collect the tenth shares. They do it in all the towns where we work.

Rulers of Sodom, hear the Lord’ s message. People of Gomorrah, listen to the instruction of our God.“ Do you think I need any more of your sacrifices?” asks the Lord.“ I have more than enough of your burnt offerings. I have more than enough of rams and the fat of your fattest animals. I do not find any pleasure in the blood of your bulls, lambs and goats.Who asked you to bring all these animals when you come to worship me? Who asked you and your animals to walk all over my courtyards?Stop bringing offerings that do not mean anything to me! I hate your incense. I can’t stand your worthless gatherings. I can’t stand the way you celebrate your New Moon feasts, Sabbath days and special services.Your New Moon feasts and your other appointed feasts I hate with my whole being. They have become a heavy load to me. I am tired of carrying it.You might spread out your hands toward me when you pray. But I do not look at you. You might even offer many prayers. But I am not listening to them. Your hands are covered with the blood of the people you have murdered.So wash and make yourselves clean. Get your evil actions out of my sight! Stop doing what is wrong!Learn to do what is right! Treat people fairly. Help those who are treated badly. Stand up in court for children whose fathers have died. And do the same thing for widows.

“ Stand at the gate of my house. Announce my message to the people there. Say,“‘ Listen to the Lord’ s message, all you people of Judah. You always come through these gates to worship the Lord.The God of Israel is speaking to you. He is the Lord who rules over all. He says,“ Change the way you live and act. Then I will let you live in this place.Do not trust in lies. Do not say,‘ This is the temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord!’You must really change the way you live and act. Treat one another fairly.Do not treat outsiders or widows badly in this place. Do not take advantage of children whose fathers have died. Do not kill those who are not guilty of doing anything wrong. Do not worship other gods. That will only bring harm to you.If you obey me, I will let you live in this place. It is the land I gave your people of long ago. It was promised to them for ever and ever.But look! You are trusting in worthless lies.“‘ “You continue to steal and commit murder. You commit adultery. You tell lies in court. You burn incense to Baal. You worship other gods you didn’t know before.Then you come and stand in front of me. You keep coming to this house where I have put my Name. You say,‘ We are safe.’ You think you are safe when you do so many things I hate.

But I know you. I know that you do not have love for God in your hearts.

You have worn out the Lord by what you keep saying.“ How have we worn him out?” you ask. You have done it by saying,“ All those who do evil things are good in the Lord’ s sight. And he is pleased with them.” Or you ask,“ Is God really fair?”

The order went out. Right away the people of Israel began to give freely. They gave the first share of the harvest of their grain, fresh wine, olive oil and honey. They also gave the first share of everything else their fields produced. They brought a large amount. It was a tenth of everything.Here is what the people of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah brought. They brought a tenth of their herds and flocks. They also brought a tenth of the holy things they had set apart to the Lord their God. They put them in piles.They began doing it in the third month. They finished in the seventh month.Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the piles. When they did, they praised the Lord. And they blessed his people Israel.Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the piles.Azariah the chief priest answered him. He said,“ The people have been bringing their gifts to the Lord’ s temple. Ever since they began to bring them, we’ve had enough to eat. We have even had plenty to spare. That’s because the Lord has blessed his people. So we have a large amount left over.” Azariah was from the family line of Zadok.

“ How terrible it will be for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter. And you will not let those enter who are trying to.

The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says,“ Go ahead! Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices. Eat the meat yourselves!When I brought your people out of Egypt, I spoke to them. But I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Day after day they worship me. They seem ready and willing to know how I want them to live. They act as if they were a nation that does what is right. They act as if they have not turned away from my commands. They claim to want me to give them fair decisions. They seem ready and willing to come near and worship me.‘ We have gone without food,’ they say.‘ Why haven’t you noticed it? We have made ourselves suffer. Why haven’t you paid any attention to us?’“ On the day when you fast, you do as you please. You take advantage of all your workers.When you fast, it ends in arguing and fighting. You hit one another with your fists. That is an evil thing to do. The way you are now fasting keeps your prayers from being heard in heaven.Do you think that is the way I want you to fast? Is it only a time for people to make themselves suffer? Is it only for people to bow their heads like tall grass bent by the wind? Is it only for people to lie down in ashes and clothes of mourning? Is that what you call a fast? Do you think I can accept that?“ Here is the way I want you to fast.“ Set free those who are held by chains without any reason. Untie the ropes that hold people as slaves. Set free those who are crushed. Break every evil chain.

“ A son honors his father. A slave honors his master. If I am a father, where is the honor I should have? If I am a master, where is the respect you should give me?” says the Lord who rules over all.“ You priests look down on me.“ But you ask,‘ How have we looked down on you?’

God’s grace has now appeared. By his grace, God offers to save all people.His grace teaches us to say no to godless ways and sinful desires. We must control ourselves. We must do what is right. We must lead godly lives in today’s world.

It’s good to hold on to both of those things. Don’t let go of either one. Whoever has respect for God will avoid going too far in either direction.

“‘ A tenth of everything the land produces belongs to the Lord. That includes grain from the soil and fruit from the trees. It is holy. It is set apart for him.Suppose someone wants to buy back some of their tenth. Then they must add a fifth of the cost to it.Every tenth part of herds and flocks will be holy. They will be set apart for the Lord. That includes every tenth animal that its shepherd marks with his wooden staff.No one may pick out the good animals from the bad. They must not choose one animal instead of another. But if anyone does, both animals become holy. They can’t be bought back.’ ”