God Pleads with Israel
1 Hear now what the Lord says:
"Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
And let the hills hear your voice.
2 Ps. 50:1, 4Hear, O you mountains, (Is. 1:18); Hos. 12:2the Lord’s complaint,
And you strong foundations of the earth;
For (Is. 1:18)the Lord has a complaint against His people,
And He will contend with Israel.
3 "O My people, what Is. 5:4; Jer. 2:5, 31have I done to you?
And how have I Is. 43:22, 23; Mal. 1:13wearied you?
Testify against Me.
4 (Deut. 4:20)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.
5 O My people, remember now
What Num. 22:5, 6; Josh. 24:9Balak king of Moab counseled,
And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
From Acacia Grove to Gilgal,
That you may know Judg. 5:11the righteousness of the Lord."
6 With 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 Ps. 50:9; Is. 1:11Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
Ten thousand Job 29:6rivers of oil?
Lev. 18:21; 20:1–5; 2 Kin. 16:3; Jer. 7:31; Ezek. 23:37Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has (Deut. 10:12; 1 Sam. 15:22); Hos. 6:6; 12:6shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But Gen. 18:19; Is. 1:17to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
Punishment of Israel’s Injustice
9 The Lord’s voice cries to the city—
Wisdom shall see Your name:
"Hear the rod!
Who has appointed it?
10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness
In the house of the wicked,
And the short measure thatis an abomination?
11 Shall I count pure those with Lev. 19:36; Hos. 12:7the wicked scales,
And with the bag of deceitful weights?
12 For her rich men are full of Is. 1:23; 5:7; Amos 6:3, 4; Mic. 2:1, 2violence,
Her inhabitants have spoken lies,
And Jer. 9:2–6, 8; Hos. 7:13; Amos 2:4their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 "Therefore I will also Lev. 26:16; Ps. 107:17make you sick by striking you,
By making you desolate because of your sins.
14 Lev. 26:26You 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 Deut. 28:38–40; Amos 5:11; Zeph. 1:13; Hag. 1:6sow, but not reap;
You shall tread the olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
And make sweet wine, but not drink wine.
16 For the statutes of 1 Kin. 16:25, 26Omri are 1 Kin. 16:30; 21:25, 26; 2 Kin. 21:3; Hos. 5:11kept;
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 Is. 25:8reproach of My people."