Suppose a Levite comes by his own free will ¹  from one of your villages, from any part of Israel where he is living, ²  to the place the Lord chooses

After Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the other construction projects he had planned, ¹ 

They are of greater value ¹  than gold, than even a great amount of pure gold; they bring greater delight ²  than honey, than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.

Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. ¹  You make that quite clear to me! ²  You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.

When the wicked ¹  see this, they will worry; they will grind their teeth in frustration ²  and melt away; the desire of the wicked will perish. ³ 

It is better to be content with ¹  what the eyes can see ²  than for one’s heart always to crave more. ³  This continual longing ⁴  is futile – like ⁵  chasing the wind.

Pursue love and be eager for the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

So when he came into the world, he said, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.

because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) ¹  is not from the Father, but is from the world.

For he knows no satisfaction in his appetite; ¹  he does not let anything he desires ²  escape. ³ 

So ¹  he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”

Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand the law? ¹ 

They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or the things they insist on so confidently. ¹ 

Then you may spend the money however you wish for cattle, sheep, wine, beer, or whatever you desire. You and your household may eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and enjoy it.

My dynasty is approved by God, ¹  for he has made a perpetual covenant with me, arranged in all its particulars and secured. He always delivers me, and brings all I desire to fruition. ² 

among whom ¹  all of us ²  also ³  formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath ⁴  even as the rest… ⁵ 

Yes, ¹  the wicked man ²  boasts because he gets what he wants; ³  the one who robs others ⁴  curses ⁵  and ⁶  rejects the Lord. ⁷ 

Lord, you have heard ¹  the request ²  of the oppressed; you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer. ³ 

They are determined to be experts at doing evil; ¹  government officials and judges take bribes, ²  prominent men make demands, and they all do what is necessary to satisfy them. ³ 

Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ ¹  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”