1Hear ye now what the LORD saith ; Arise , contend thou before the mountains , and let the hills hear thy voice . 2Hear ye, O mountains , the LORD’s controversy , and ye strong foundations of the earth : for the LORD hath a controversy with his people , and he will plead 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 servants ; and I sent before thee Moses , Aaron , and Miriam . 5O my people , remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted , and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal ; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD .
Israel's Response and Confusion
6Wherewith shall I come before the LORD , and bow myself before the high God ? shall I come before him with burnt offerings , with calves of a year old ? 7Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams , or 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 hath shewed thee, O man , what is good ; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly , and to love mercy , and to walk humbly with thy God ?
What the Lord Requires
9The LORD’s voice crieth unto the city , and the man of wisdom shall see thy name : hear ye the rod , and who hath appointed it. 10Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked , and the scant measure that is abominable ? 11Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances , and with the 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 also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins . 14Thou shalt eat , but not be satisfied ; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold , but shalt not deliver ; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword . 15Thou shalt sow , but thou shalt not reap ; thou shalt tread the olives , but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil ; and sweet wine , but shalt not drink 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 should make thee a desolation , and the inhabitants thereof an hissing : therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people .