1 HEAR ye now what the Lord saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.
2 Hear 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.
3 O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.
4 For 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.
5 O 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.
6 Wherewith 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?
7 Will 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?
8 He 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?
9 The 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.
10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?
11 Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?
12 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.
14 Thou 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.
15 Thou 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.
16 For 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.

1Heare yee now what the Lord saith, Arise, contend thou before the mountaines, and let the hilles heare thy voice.

2Heare yee, O mountaines, the Lords controuersie, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the Lord hath a controuersie with his people, and he will pleade with Israel.

3O my people, what haue I done vnto thee, and wherein haue I wearied thee? testifie against me.

4For I brought thee vp out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of seruants, and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron and Miriam.

5O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the sonne of Beor answered him from Shittim vnto Gilgal, that yee may know the righteousnesse of the Lord.

6 Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow my selfe before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calues of a yeere olde?

7Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rammes, or with tenne thousands of riuers of oyle? shall I giue my first borne for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sinne of my soule?

8Hee hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doeth the Lord require of thee, but to do iustly, and to loue mercy, and to walke humbly with thy God?

9The Lords voice cryeth vnto the citie, and the man of wisedome shall see thy Name: heare ye the rodde, and who hath appointed it.

10 Are there yet the treasures of wickednesse 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 deceitfull weights?

12For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof haue spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitfull in their mouth.

13Therefore also will I make thee sicke in smiting thee, in making thee desolate, because of thy sinnes.

14Thou shalt eate, but not be satisfied, and thy casting downe shall be in the midst of thee, and thou shalt take holde, but shalt not deliuer: & that which thou deliuerest, will I giue vp to the sword.

15Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reape: thou shalt tread the oliues, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oile; & sweet wine, but shalt not drinke wine.

16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the workes of the house of Ahab, and ye walke in their counsels, that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore yee shall beare the reproch of my people.

II == Deut 32:1 ; Ps 50:1 , 4 ; Isa 1:2 , 18 ; 5:3-4 ; 43:26 ; Hos 4:1 ; 12:2

 

III == Jer 2:5 , 31

 

IV == Ex 12:51 ; 14:30 ; 20:2 ; Deut 4:20 ; Amos 2:10

V == Num 22:5 ; 23:7 ; 24:10-11 ; 25:1 ; 33:49 ; Deut 23:4-5 ; Josh 4:19 ; 5:10 ; 24:9-10 ; Judg 5:11 ; Rev 2:14

 

 

 

VII == 2nd Kings 16:3 ; 21:6 ; 23:10

 

 

 

VIII == Gen 18:19 ; Deut 10:12 ; 1st Sam 15:22 ; Isa 1:17 ; Hos 6:6 ; 12:6

 

 

X == Deut 25:13-16

 

XI == Hos 12:7

 

XII == Jer 9:3 , 5-6 , 8

 

 

 

XIV == Lev 26:26 ; Hos 4:10

 

 

 

XV == Deut 28:38-40 ; Amos 5:11 ; Zeph 1:13 ; Hag 1:6

XVI == 1st Kings 9:8 ; 16:25-26 , 30 ; 21:25-26 ; 2nd Kings 21:3 ; Isa 25:8 ; Jer 19:8 ; 21:21 ; Lam 5:1-2 ; Hos 5:11

1 Hear, then, what the LORD says: Arise, present your plea before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice!

2 Hear, O mountains, the plea of the LORD, pay attention, O foundations of the earth! For the LORD has a plea against his people, and he enters into trial with Israel.

3 O my people, what have I done to you, or how have I wearied you? Answer me!

4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery I released you; And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

5 My people, remember what Moab's King Balak planned, and how Balaam, the son of Beor, answered him . . . from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the just deeds of the LORD.

6 With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow before God most high? Shall I come before him with holocausts, with calves a year old?

7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my crime, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.

9 Hark! the LORD cries to the city. (It is wisdom to fear your name!) Hear, O tribe and city council,

12 You whose rich men are full of violence, whose inhabitants speak falsehood with deceitful tongues in their heads!

10 Am I to bear any longer criminal hoarding and the meager ephah that is accursed?

11 Shall I acquit criminal balances, bags of false weights?

13 Rather I will begin to strike you with devastation because of your sins.

15 You shall sow, yet not reap, tread out the olive, yet pour no oil, and the grapes, yet drink no wine.

14 You shall eat, without being satisfied, food that will leave you empty; What you acquire, you cannot save; what you do save, I will deliver up to the sword.

16 You have kept the decrees of Omri, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and you have walked in their counsels; Therefore I will deliver you up to ruin, and your citizens to derision; and you shall bear the reproach of the nations.

v 1-5. The mountains are all the nations God called as witnesses that He was dealing justly with Israel for their sins. He had led and protected them all the way from Egypt, through the wilderness, and even Balaam blessed them as they passed Moab.

v 6,7. Micah asks rhetorical questions if multiple sacrifices or even the extreme forbidden practice of sacrificing the firstborn would satisfy God for Israel’s sin.

v 8. To everyone, the heart attitude is what God requires by 1, Being just in all our doings; 2, Love mercy, be kind as well as just; 3, Walk in humble fellowship with God. God desires this of us rather than some great deeds of service.

v 9. When the Lord speaks, it is wise to pay attention to what He says.

v 10-12. Instead of acting justly, men were cheating in weights and measures. The rich got their way through violence, and lying was common with everyone.

v 13-14. As punishment for these and other sins, their food would not satisfy them. Enemies would take their stored goods and their crops would fail.

v 16. Instead of following the Lord, Israel and Judah were following the practices of Omri and Ahab, Israel’s two worst kings. The ruin of their cities and captivity would bring them to ridicule before surrounding countries.