The Indictment of the Lord

6 qHear what the Lord says:

Arise, plead your case before the mountains,

and let the hills hear your voice.

2  rHear, you mountains, sthe 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, twhat have I done to you?

uHow have I wearied you? Answer me!

4  For vI brought you up from the land of Egypt

and wredeemed you from the house of slavery,

and I sent before you Moses,

Aaron, and xMiriam.

5  O my people, remember ywhat Balak king of Moab devised,

and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,

and what happened from zShittim to Gilgal,

that you may know athe righteous acts of the Lord.”

What Does the Lord Require?

6  b“With what shall I come before the Lord,

and bow myself before cGod on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

7  dWill the Lord be pleased with1 thousands of rams,

with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

eShall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

8  He has told you, O man, what is good;

and fwhat does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,2

and to gwalk humbly with your God?

Destruction of the Wicked

9  The voice of the Lord cries to the city—

and it is sound wisdom to fear hyour name:

“Hear of ithe rod and of him who appointed it!3

10  Can I forget any longer the treasures4 of wickedness in the house of the wicked,

and the scant measure that is accursed?

11  Shall I acquit the man jwith wicked scales

and with a bag of deceitful weights?

12  Your5 rich men are kfull of violence;

your inhabitants lspeak lies,

and mtheir tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

13  Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,

nmaking you desolate because of your sins.

14  oYou 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.

15  pYou shall sow, but not reap;

you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;

you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.

16  For you have kept the statutes of qOmri,6

and all the works of the house of rAhab;

and you have walked in their counsels,

that I may make you sa desolation, and your7 inhabitants sa hissing;

so you shall bear tthe scorn of my people.”

Wait for the God of Salvation

7 Woe is me! For I have become

uas when the summer fruit has been gathered,

as when the grapes have been gleaned:

there is no cluster to eat,

no vfirst-ripe fig that my soul desires.

2  wThe godly has perished from the earth,

and xthere is no one upright among mankind;

ythey all lie in wait for blood,

and zeach hunts the other with a net.

3  aTheir hands are on what is evil, to do it well;

bthe prince and cthe judge ask for a bribe,

and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;

thus they weave it together.

4  The best of them is dlike a brier,

the most upright of them a thorn hedge.

The day of eyour watchmen, of your punishment, has come;

fnow their confusion is at hand.

5  gPut no trust in a neighbor;

have no confidence in a friend;

guard hthe doors of your mouth

from her who lies in your arms;1

6  for ithe son treats the father with contempt,

the daughter rises up against her mother,

the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

ja man’s enemies are the men of his own house.

7  But as for me, I will look to the Lord;

kI will wait for the God of my salvation;

my God will hear me.