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6. The Lord's Case Against Israel

¹ Listen to what the LORD says:

“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;
let the hills hear what you have to say.

    ² “Hear, you mountains, the LORD’s accusation;
   listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the LORD has a case against his people;
   he is lodging a charge against Israel.

    ³ “My people, what have I done to you?
   How have I burdened you? Answer me.
⁴ I brought you up out of Egypt
   and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you,
   also Aaron and Miriam.
⁵ My people, remember
   what Balak king of Moab plotted
   and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
   that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.”

    ⁶ With what shall I come before the LORD
   and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
   with calves a year old?
⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
   with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
   the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
   And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
   and to walk humbly Or prudently with your God.

Israel’s Guilt and Punishment

    ⁹ Listen! The LORD is calling to the city—
   and to fear your name is wisdom—
   “Heed the rod and the One who appointed it. The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
¹⁰ Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,
   and the short ephah, An ephah was a dry measure. which is accursed?
¹¹ Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,
   with a bag of false weights?
¹² Your rich people are violent;
   your inhabitants are liars
   and their tongues speak deceitfully.
¹³ Therefore, I have begun to destroy you,
   to ruin Or Therefore, I will make you ill and destroy you; / I will ruin you because of your sins.
¹⁴ You will eat but not be satisfied;
   your stomach will still be empty. The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
You will store up but save nothing,
   because what you save Or You will press toward birth but not give birth, / and what you bring to birth I will give to the sword.
¹⁵ You will plant but not harvest;
   you will press olives but not use the oil,
   you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.
¹⁶ You have observed the statutes of Omri
   and all the practices of Ahab’s house;
   you have followed their traditions.
Therefore I will give you over to ruin
   and your people to derision;
   you will bear the scorn of the nations. Septuagint; Hebrew scorn due my people”

Here God, in the first place, offers to give a reason, if he was accused of any thing. It seems indeed unbecoming the character of God, that he should be thus ready as one guilty to clear himself: but this is said by way of concession; for the Prophet could not otherwise express, that nothing that deserved blame could be found in God. It is a personification, by which a character; not his own, is ascribed to God. It ought not therefore to appear inconsistent, that the Lord stands forth here, and is prepared to hear any accusation the people might have, that he might give an answer, My people! what have I done? By using this kind expression, my people, he renders double their wickedness; for God here descends from his own elevation, and not only addresses his people, in a paternal manner, but stands as it were on the opposite side, and is prepared, if the people had anything to say, to give answer to it, so that they might mutually discuss the question, as it is usually done by friends. Now the more kindly and indulgently the Lord deals with his people, the more enhanced, as I have said, is their sin.

He says first, What have I done to thee? that is, what hast thou to accuse me with? He adds In what have I caused trouble ¹⁶²¹⁶² The verb is הלאתיך, I have wearied, or caused thee to be weary. Quo fatigavi te — In what have I wearied thee? Jun. and Trem. Τι ελυπησα σε — how have I caused thee to grieve? Sept. Quo labore te pressi — with what labor have I oppressed thee? Jerome. This last contains the full meaning. — Ed. to thee? or, In what have I been troublesome to thee? Testify, he says, against me. This testifying was to be made to the mountains and hills; as though he said, “I am ready to plead my cause before heaven and earth; in a word, before all my creatures.” Some render the passage, “Answer me:” and ענה, one, is also to answer; but the context requires the former meaning; for God conceded so much liberty to the Jews, that they might bring forward against him any fault they had to allege. Testify, he says, against me; that is, there are witnesses present; make public now thy case by stating particulars, I am ready for the defense. We hence see the truth of what I have before stated, — that a character, not his own is ascribed to God: but this is done by way of concession. He afterwards adds —