“No, please take them,” Jacob said. ¹  “If I have found favor in your sight, accept ²  my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, ³  it is as if I have seen the face of God. ⁴ 

If some of the meat of his peace offering sacrifice is ever eaten on the third day it will not be accepted; it will not be accounted to the one who presented it, since it is spoiled, ¹  and the person who eats from it will bear his punishment for iniquity. ² 

“When an ox, lamb, or goat is born, it must be under the care of ¹  its mother seven days, but from the eighth day onward it will be acceptable as an offering gift ²  to the Lord.

The Lord God of Israel chose me out of my father’s entire family to become king over Israel and have a permanent dynasty. ¹  Indeed, ²  he chose Judah as leader, and my father’s family within Judah, and then he picked me out from among my father’s sons and made me king over all Israel. ³ 

I know, my God, that you examine thoughts ¹  and are pleased with integrity. With pure motives ²  I contribute all this; and now I look with joy as your people who have gathered here contribute to you.

“Speak kindly to ¹  Jerusalem, ²  and tell her that her time of warfare is over, ³  that her punishment is completed. ⁴  For the Lord has made her pay double ⁵  for all her sins.”

Then the Lord spoke about these people. ¹  “They truly ²  love to go astray. They cannot keep from running away from me. ³  So I am not pleased with them. I will now call to mind ⁴  the wrongs they have done ⁵  and punish them for their sins.”

Even if they fast, I will not hear their cries for help. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. ¹  Instead, I will kill them through wars, famines, and plagues.” ² 

For there on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, all the house of Israel will serve me, all of them ¹  in the land. I will accept them there, and there I will seek your contributions and your choice gifts, with all your holy things.

When I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, I will accept you along with your soothing aroma. I will display my holiness among you in the sight of the nations.

When the prescribed period is over, ¹  on the eighth day and thereafter the priests will offer up on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings; ²  I will accept you, declares the sovereign Lord.”

For when you offer blind animals as a sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer the lame and sick, ¹  is that not wrong as well? Indeed, try offering them ²  to your governor! Will he be pleased with you ³  or show you favor?” asks the Lord who rules over all.

“I wish that one of you would close the temple doors, ¹  so that you no longer would light useless fires on my altar. I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and I will no longer accept an offering from you.

You also say, ‘How tiresome it is.’ You turn up your nose at it,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and instead bring what is stolen, lame, or sick. You bring these things for an offering! Should I accept this from you?” ¹  asks the Lord.

But the leaders of the Philistines became angry with him and said ¹  to him, “Send the man back! Let him return to the place that you assigned him! Don’t let him go down with us into the battle, for he might become ²  our adversary in the battle. What better way to please his lord than with the heads of these men? ³