1Hør, hvad Herren siger til Israels folk: „Kom og forsvar jer med bjergene som vidner, lad højene høre, hvad I har at sige.”2Ja, lad bjergene høre Herrens anklage, jordens grundvold skal lytte med, for han vil anklage sit folk, han kræver Israel til regnskab.3„Mit folk, hvad har jeg gjort jer? Hvorfor er I blevet trætte af mig? Svar mig!4Det var jo mig, der førte jer ud af Egypten og befriede jer fra slaveriet. Jeg gav jer både Moses, Aron og Mirjam som ledere.5Mit folk, husk på, at kong Balak af Moab ville forbande jer, men jeg fik Bileam, Beors søn, til at velsigne jer. Husk alle miraklerne på vejen mellem Shittim og Gilgal, hvordan jeg i min nåde gav jer sejr.”6„Hvilke ofre ønsker Gud, vi skal bringe ham?” spørger I. „Hvad kan vi give til den højhellige Gud? Måske kan vi give ham et brændoffer, de bedste kalve vi ejer?7Vil han tage imod 1000 væddere, eller måske et hav af olivenolie? Skal vi ofre vores førstefødte sønner, som bod for alle vores synder?”8Nej, menneske, du har fået at vide, hvad der er godt, hvad Herren forlanger af dig: Du skal gøre det rette i trofast kærlighed, og altid være villig til at vandre med Herren.
Dommen over den sociale uret
9Herren råber til Jerusalem, og den, der er vis, lytter til hans ord. Hør på dommen og tænk over, hvem der afsiger den:10„I snyder stadig, når I sælger jeres varer, I bliver rige ved at bedrage andre.11I ændrer på vægten med god samvittighed og bruger falske lodder uden at blinke.12Byens rigmænd er voldelige, alle indbyggerne er fulde af løgn, snyd og bedrag.13Derfor vil jeg sende en hær imod jer, så I kan forstå konsekvensen af jeres synd.14Der bliver mangel på mad, så sulten gnaver i maven. I vil prøve at redde jeres ejendele, men det skal ikke lykkes jer. Og skulle det lykkes jer at redde noget, bliver det taget af fjenden.15I skal så, men I når ikke at høste. I presser jeres oliven, men når ikke at bruge olien. I presser saften af druerne, men når ikke at drikke vinen.16I fulgte jo kong Omris gudløse skikke, efterlignede kong Ahabs ondskab. Byens ødelæggelse bliver frygtelig at se på. Indbyggerne bliver udsat for spot, ja, hele folket vil blive hånet.”
1Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. (Mika 1,2)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. (Salm 50,1; Salm 50,4; Es 1,18; Ez 36,4; Hos 4,1)3“O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me! (Es 5,4; Es 43,22; Jer 2,5; Jer 2,31; Mal 1,13)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. (2.Mos 12,51; 2.Mos 15,20; 4.Mos 12,1; 2.Sam 7,23; Hos 12,13; Amos 2,10)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.” (4.Mos 22,5; 4.Mos 25,1; Dom 5,11)
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? (Es 57,15; Hos 5,6; Heb 10,4)7Will the Lord be pleased with[1] 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?” (3.Mos 18,21; 1.Sam 15,22; 2.Kong 3,27; 2.Kong 16,3; 2.Kong 21,6; 2.Kong 23,10)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? (1.Mos 5,22; 5.Mos 10,12)
Destruction of the Wicked
9The voice of the Lord cries to the city— and it is sound wisdom to fear your name: “Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it![3] (Es 10,5; Es 30,27; Es 30,32)10Can I forget any longer the treasures[4] of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is accursed?11Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales and with a bag of deceitful weights? (Hos 12,7)12Your[5] rich men are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. (Jer 9,8; Hos 7,13; Amos 3,10; Hab 1,2)13Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins. (Mika 7,13)14You shall eat, but not be satisfied, and there shall be hunger within you; you shall put away, but not preserve, and what you preserve I will give to the sword. (Hos 4,10)15You shall sow, but not reap; you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine. (Zef 1,13; Hag 1,6)16For you have kept the statutes of Omri,[6] and all the works of the house of Ahab; and you have walked in their counsels, that I may make you a desolation, and your[7] inhabitants a hissing; so you shall bear the scorn of my people.” (1.Kong 16,25; 1.Kong 16,30; 1.Kong 21,25; 2.Krøn 29,8; Es 25,8; Mika 1,13)