heard.
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, andbow 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, orwith ten thousands of rivers of oil?
shall I give my firstborn formy transgression, the fruit of my body forthe sin of my soul?
8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what isgood; 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 ofwisdom 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 isabominable?
11 Shall I count thempure 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 isdeceitful in their mouth.
13 Therefore also will I make theesick in smiting thee, in making theedesolate because of thy
sins.
14 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall bein the midst of thee; and
thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and thatwhich 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.
1 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of
the vintage: there isno cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.
2 The good manis perished out of the earth: and there isnone upright among men: they all lie in
wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge askethfor a
reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
4 The best of them isas a brier: the most upright is sharperthan a thorn hedge: the day of thy
watchmen andthy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.
5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from
her that lieth in thy bosom.
6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter
in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies arethe men of his own house.
7 Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear
me.
8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the

LORD shall bea light unto me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my
cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, andI shall behold his
righteousness.
10 Then she that ismine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me,
Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the
mire of the streets.
11 Inthe day that thy walls are to be built, inthat day shall the decree be far removed.
12 Inthat day alsohe shall come even to thee from Assyria, and fromthe fortified cities, and
from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and frommountain to mountain.
13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit
of their doings.
14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily inthe wood,
in the midst of Carmel: let them feed inBashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him
marvellous things.
16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay theirhand upon
theirmouth, their ears shall be deaf.
17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the
earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.
18 Who isa God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the
remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth inmercy.
19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou
wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, andthe mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn
unto our fathers from the days of old.