1Hear ye now what Jehovah saith: Arise , contend thou before the mountains , and let the hills hear thy voice . 2Hear , O ye mountains , Jehovah ’s controversy , and ye enduring foundations of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with his people , and he will contend with Israel . 3O my people , what have I done unto thee ? and wherein have I wearied thee ? testify against me . 4For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt , and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage ; and I sent before thee Moses , Aaron, and Miriam . 5O my people , remember now what Balak king of Moab devised , and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him ; remember from Shittim unto Gilgal , that ye may know the righteous acts of Jehovah .
Israel's Response and Confusion
6Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah , and bow myself before the high God ? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old ? 7will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? shall I give my first-born for my transgression , the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ? 8He hath showed thee , O man , what is good ; and what doth Jehovah require of thee , but to do justly , and to love kindness , and to walk humbly with thy God ?
What the Lord Requires
9The voice of Jehovah crieth unto the city , and the man of wisdom will see thy name : hear ye the rod , and who hath appointed it . 10Are there yet treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked , and a scant measure that is abominable ? 11Shall I be pure with wicked balances , and with a bag of deceitful weights? 12For the rich men thereof are full of violence , and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies , and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth .
The Consequences of Disobedience
13Therefore I also have smitten thee with a grievous wound; I have made thee desolate because of thy sins . 14Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied ; and thy humiliation shall be in the midst of thee : and thou shalt put away , but shalt not save; and that which thou savest will I give up to the sword . 15Thou shalt sow , but shalt not reap ; thou shalt tread the olives , but shalt not anoint thee with oil ; and the vintage, but shalt not drink the wine . 16For the statutes of Omri are kept , and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels ; that I may make thee a desolation , and the inhabitants thereof a hissing : and ye shall bear the reproach of my people .