God’s Indictment of His People
1 Hear now what the Lordis saying,
“Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
And let the hills [as witnesses] hear your voice.
2 “Hear, O mountains, the indictment of the Lord,
And you enduring foundations of the earth,
For the Lordhas a case (a legal complaint) against His people,
And He will dispute (challenge) Israel.
3 “O My people, what have I done to you [since you have turned away from Me]?
And how have I wearied you? Answer Me.
4 “For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
And ransomed you from the house of slavery,
And I sent before you Moses [to lead you], Aaron [the high priest], and Miriam [the prophetess].
5 “My people, remember now
What Balak king of Moab devised [with his evil plan against Israel]
And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him [turning the curse into blessing for Israel],
[Remember what the Lorddid for you] fromShittim to Gilgal,
So that you may know the righteousandsaving acts [displaying the power] of the Lord.”
What God Requires of Man
6 With what shall I come before the Lord[to honor Him]
And bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With yearling calves?
7 Will the Lordbe delighted with thousands of rams,
Or with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I present my firstborn for my acts of rebellion,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lordrequire of you
Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion),
And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?
9 The voice of the Lordshall call to the city [of Jerusalem]–
And it is sound wisdom to heed [solemnly]andfear Your name [with awe-filled reverence];
“Hear, O tribe [the rod of punishment]. Who has appointed its time?
10 “Are there not still treasures gained by wickedness
In the house of the wicked,
And a short (inaccurate) measure [for grain]that iscursed?
11 “Can I [be guiltless and] justify deceptive scales
And a bag of dishonest weights?
12 “For the rich men of the city are full of violence [of every kind];
Her inhabitants speak lies
And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 “So also I will make you sick, striking you down,
Desolatinganddevastating you, because of your sins.
14 “You shall eat, but you will not be satisfied,
And youremptiness shall be among you;
You will [try to] remove [your goods and those you love]for safekeeping
But you will fail to saveanything,
And what you do save I shall give to the sword.
15 “You shall sow but you shall not reap;
You shall tread olives, but shall not anoint yourself with oil,
And [you will extract juice from] the grapes, but you shall not drink the wine.
16 “For [you have kept] the statutes of Omri [the idolatrous king],
And all the works of the [wicked] house (dynasty) of Ahab;
And you walk in their counselsandpolicies.
Therefore, I shall hand you over for destructionandhorror
And your [city’s] inhabitants for ridicule,
And you shall bear the rebukeandscorn of My people.”