and bow down before 'the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thou sands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has showed you, 0 man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and
to walk humbly with your God.
Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.
You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl
all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
Return, 0 Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins have been your downfall!
Take words with you and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
"Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously,
that we may offer the fruit of our lips."
"I will heal their waywardness and love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from them."
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