The Indictment of the Lord
1Hear what the Lord says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
2Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord,
and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against his people,
and he will contend with Israel.
3“O my people, what have I done to you?
How have I wearied you? Answer me!
4For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and redeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.
5O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised,
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”
What Does the Lord Require?
6“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,6:8 Or steadfast love
and to walk humbly with your God?
Destruction of the Wicked
9The voice of the Lord cries to the city—
and it is sound wisdom to fear your name:
“Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it!6:9 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
10Can I forget any longer the treasures6:10 Or Are there still treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked,
and the scant measure that is accursed?
11Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales
and with a bag of deceitful weights?
12Your6:12 Hebrew whose rich men are full of violence;
your inhabitants speak lies,
and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,
making you desolate because of your sins.
14You shall eat, but not be satisfied,
and there shall be hunger within you;
you shall put away, but not preserve,
and what you preserve I will give to the sword.
15You shall sow, but not reap;
you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.
16For you have kept the statutes of Omri,6:16 Hebrew For the statutes of Omri are kept
and all the works of the house of Ahab;
and you have walked in their counsels,
that I may make you a desolation, and your6:16 Hebrew its inhabitants a hissing;
so you shall bear the scorn of my people.”
This publication contains the Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.ESV Text Edition: 2016.
The ESV®text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers.
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