1Hear now what the Lord says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, And let the hills hear your voice. 2⚓Hear, O you mountains, ⚓the Lord’s complaint, And you strong foundations of the earth; For ⚓the Lord has a complaint against His people, And He will contend with Israel. 3“O My people, what ⚓have I done to you? And how have I ⚓wearied you? Testify against Me. 4⚓For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage; And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5O My people, remember now What ⚓Balak king of Moab counseled, And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, From Acacia Grove to Gilgal, That you may know ⚓the righteousness of the Lord.” 6With what shall I come before the Lord, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old? 7⚓Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand ⚓rivers of oil? ⚓Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8He has ⚓shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But ⚓to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
Punishment of Israel’s Injustice
9The Lord’s voice cries to the city— Wisdom shall see Your name: “Hear the rod! Who has appointed it? 10Are there yet the treasures of wickedness In the house of the wicked, And the short measure thatis an abomination? 11Shall I count pure those with ⚓the wicked scales, And with the bag of deceitful weights? 12For her rich men are full of ⚓violence, Her inhabitants have spoken lies, And ⚓their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. 13“Therefore I will also ⚓make you sick by striking you, By making you desolate because of your sins. 14⚓You shall eat, but not be satisfied; Hunger shallbe in your midst. You may carry some away, but shall not save them; And what you do rescue I will give over to the sword. 15“You shall ⚓sow, but not reap; You shall tread the olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; And make sweet wine, but not drink wine. 16For the statutes of ⚓Omri are ⚓kept; All the works of Ahab’s house aredone; And you walk in their counsels, That I may make you a desolation, And your inhabitants a hissing. Therefore you shall bear the ⚓reproach of My people.”