I fasttwicea week;I pay tithesof allthat I get.'
He said,"Comewith me and seemy zealfor the LORD."So he made him ridein his chariot.
"So when you spreadout your hands[in prayer], I will hideMy eyesfrom you; Yes,eventhoughyou multiplyprayers,I will not listen.Your handsare coveredwith blood.
"Will a manrobGod?Yetyou are robbingMe! But you say,'Howhave we robbedYou?' In tithesand offerings.
"For the titheof the sonsof Israel,whichthey offeras an offeringto the LORD,I have givento the Levitesfor an inheritance;thereforeI have saidconcerning them, 'They shall havenoinheritanceamongthe sonsof Israel.'"
Now GodmetBalaam,and he saidto Him, "I have setup the sevenaltars,and I have offeredup a bulland a ramon each altar."
"For I sayto you that unlessyour righteousnesssurpasses[that] of the scribesand Pharisees,you will not enterthe kingdomof heaven.
"Bewareof practicingyour righteousnessbeforemento be noticedby them; otherwiseyou havenorewardwith your Fatherwhois in heaven.
"Wheneveryou fast,do not puton a gloomy faceas the hypocrites[do], for they neglecttheir appearancesothat they will be noticedby menwhen they are fasting.TrulyI sayto you, they havetheir rewardin full.
"Whenyou pray,you are not to be likethe hypocrites;for they loveto standand prayin the synagoguesand on the streetcornerssothat they may be seenby men.TrulyI sayto you, they havetheir rewardin full.
Thenthe disciplesof Johncameto Him, asking,"Whydo we and the Phariseesfast,but Your disciplesdo not fast?"
"But woeto you Pharisees!For you pay titheof mintand rueand every[kind of] garden herb,and [yet] disregardjusticeand the loveof God;but these are the thingsyou shouldhave donewithoutneglectingthe others.
"Soyou too,whenyou doall the thingswhich are commandedyou, say,'We are unworthyslaves;we have done[only] that whichwe oughtto have done.'"
Wherethenis boasting?It is excluded.By what kindof law?Of works?No,but by a lawof faith.
sothat nomanmay boastbeforeGod.
and I was advancingin Judaismbeyondmanyof my contemporariesamongmy countrymen,beingmore extremelyzealousfor my ancestraltraditions.
not as a resultof works,sothat noonemay boast.
for bodilydisciplineis only of littleprofit,but godlinessis profitablefor all things,since it holdspromisefor the presentlifeand [also] for the [life] to come.
Samuelcameto Saul,and Saulsaidto him, "Blessedare you of the LORD!I have carriedout the commandof the LORD."
