Surely I have kept my heart clean in vain, and washed my hands in innocence.
Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’
For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight himself in God.’
For you said, ‘What advantage will it be to me? What profit will I have if I am cleansed from my sin?’
If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint; I will leave off my sad face and brighten up,’
If I am guilty, why then do I labor in vain?
yet You will plunge me into the pit, and my own clothes will abhor me.
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, nor sworn deceitfully.
I will wash my hands in innocence; thus will I go around Your altar, O Lord,
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
You said, “It is vain to serve God. What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked as mourners before the Lord of Hosts?
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.