Pro 26:7, Isa 1:11-15, 48:1-2, 58:1-7, Jer 7:4-7, Mat 7:3-5, 22-23 | ESV | STEP | Like a lame man’s legs , which hang useless , is a proverb in the mouth of fools .

11 ^a“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
12 “When you come to ^bappear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?
13 Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
^cNew moon and Sabbath and the ^dcalling of convocations—
I cannot endure ^einiquity and ^fsolemn assembly.
14 Your ^gnew moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you ^hspread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
ⁱeven though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
^jyour hands are full of blood.

Isaiah 48:1-2

Israel Refined for God’s Glory

1 Hear this, O house of Jacob,
^kwho are called by the name of Israel,
and ^lwho came from the waters of Judah,
^mwho swear by the name of the Lord
and confess the God of Israel,
but not in truth or right.
2 For they call themselves after the holy city,
ⁿand stay themselves on the God of Israel;
the Lord of hosts is his name.

Isaiah 58:1-7

True and False Fasting

1 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;
^olift up your voice like a trumpet;
^pdeclare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 ^qYet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.
3 ^r‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, ^{▼▼Or pursue your own business}
^tand oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 ^uIs such the fast that I choose,
^va day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:
^wto loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps ^xof the yoke,
to let the oppressed ^{▼▼Or bruised} go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not ^zto share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
^aaand not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Jeremiah 7:4-7

4 ^abDo not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’

5 “For if you truly ^acamend your ways and your deeds, if you truly ^adexecute justice one with another, 6 if you ^aedo not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, ^afor shed innocent blood in this place, ^agand if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, 7 ^ahthen I will let you dwell in this place, ^aiin the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever.

Matthew 7:3-5

3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but ^ajdo not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:22-23

22 ^akOn that day ^almany will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not ^amprophesy in your name, and cast out demons ^anin your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 ^aoAnd then will I declare to them, ‘I ^apnever knew you; ^aqdepart from me, ^aryou workers of lawlessness.’