The Lord says his people have done wrong
1Listen to what the Lord says:
‘You must talk to the mountains and the hills and say:
2“Mountains, you are the foundations of the earth.
You must listen to the Lord,
because the Lord says
his people have done wrong.” ’
The Lord asks:
3‘My people, what have I done wrong against you?
Have I made you tired? Answer Me.
4I have brought you out of Egypt.
I have freed you from the place
where you were slaves.
I told Moses, Aaron and Miriam to lead you.
5My people, you must remember
what Balak, king of Moab,
wanted to do to you,
and what Balaam, son of Beor, told him.
You must remember everything that happened
between the towns of Shittim and Gilgal
so that you will know
what the Lord has done to save you.’
What should I give to the Lord?
6What must I take with me
when I go to the Lord's temple?
What should I give to the Lord?
The Lord is great.
Must I bring Him offerings?
Must I sacrifice calves to Him?
7Would the Lord like 1 000 sheep rams
and 10 000 rivers full of olive oil?
Must I sacrifice my oldest son
because I have sinned? No.
You must listen to your God
8The Lord has told you what is good.
He wants you to do what is right,
to love being kind,
to live humbly before God.
9The Lord is calling the people of Jerusalem.
Everyone who knows what is right
must fear God.
You are a lot of bad people
The Lord says:
‘Listen, o king and everyone in the city,
10you are a lot of bad people.
I do not like it when you cheat
when you measure something or weigh it.
11I can see when you weigh something
with a dishonest balance-scale.
12The rich people
are doing bad things to the poor people,
and everyone in the city lies and cheats.
13That is why I have started to punish you
because you have sinned.
14You will eat, but you will not be filled,
and you will stay hungry.
You will hide your things,
but I will give them to the people
who make war_against you.
15You will sow wheat,
but you will not harvest that wheat.
You will press oil from olives
but you will not get oil to put on your skins.
You will press juice from the grapes,
but you will not have wine to drink.
16You have lived like the bad Kings Omri and Ahab.
That is why I will bring enemies
and they will destroy your city.
They will do very bad things to you
and they will mock you.’
