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?

⁷Will the Lord be pleased with1 thousands of rams,

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,2

and to walk humbly with your God?

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