Samuel said, "Which does the LORD prefer: obedience or offerings and sacrifices? It is better to obey him than to sacrifice the best sheep to him.

I do not reprimand you because of your sacrifices and the burnt offerings you always bring me.

Do what is right and fair; that pleases the LORD more than bringing him sacrifices.

Be careful about going to the Temple. It is better to go there to learn than to offer sacrifices like foolish people who don't know right from wrong.

He says, "Do you think I want all these sacrifices you keep offering to me? I have had more than enough of the sheep you burn as sacrifices and of the fat of your fine animals. I am tired of the blood of bulls and sheep and goats.

"The kind of fasting I want is this: Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free.

I gave your ancestors no commands about burnt offerings or any other kinds of sacrifices when I brought them out of Egypt.

So then, Your Majesty, follow my advice. Stop sinning, do what is right, and be merciful to the poor. Then you will continue to be prosperous."

The LORD says, "I hate your religious festivals; I cannot stand them!

What shall I bring to the LORD, the God of heaven, when I come to worship him? Shall I bring the best calves to burn as offerings to him?

"Happy are those who are merciful to others; God will be merciful to them!

Go and find out what is meant by the scripture that says: 'It is kindness that I want, not animal sacrifices.' I have not come to call respectable people, but outcasts."

The scripture says, 'It is kindness that I want, not animal sacrifices.' If you really knew what this means, you would not condemn people who are not guilty;

The LORD has an accusation to bring against the people who live in this land. Listen, Israel, to what he says: "There is no faithfulness or love in the land, and the people do not acknowledge me as God.

And to Solomon he said, "My son, I charge you to acknowledge your father's God and to serve him with an undivided heart and a willing mind. He knows all our thoughts and desires. If you go to him, he will accept you; but if you turn away from him, he will abandon you forever.

He gave the poor a fair trial, and all went well with him. That is what it means to know the LORD.

If we obey God's commands, then we are sure that we know him.

So everyone who lives in union with Christ does not continue to sin; but whoever continues to sin has never seen him or known him.