Micah 6:1-7:7

New American Standard Bible

God’s Indictment of His People

6 Hear now what the Lord is saying,
“Arise, plead your case ^[a]before the mountains,
And let the hills hear your voice.
²Listen, you mountains, to the indictment by the Lord,
And you enduring ^(A)foundations of the earth,
Because the ^(B)Lord has a case against His people;
And He will dispute with Israel.
³^(C)My people, ^(D)what have I done to you,
And ^(E)how have I wearied you? Answer Me.
⁴Indeed, I ^(F)brought you up from the land of Egypt,
I ^(G)redeemed you from the house of slavery,
And I sent before you ^(H)Moses, Aaron, and ^(I)Miriam.
⁵My people, remember now
What ^(J)Balak king of Moab planned
And what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
And what happened from ^(K)Shittim to ^(L)Gilgal,
^[b]So that you might know the ^(M)righteous acts of the Lord.”

What God Requires of Mankind

⁶^(N)With what shall I come to the Lord
And bow myself before the God on high?
Shall I come to Him with ^(O)burnt offerings,
With yearling calves?
⁷Does the Lord take pleasure in ^(P)thousands of rams,
In ten thousand rivers of ^[c]oil?
Shall I give Him my ^(Q)firstborn for my wrongdoings,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
⁸He has ^(R)told you, mortal one, what is good;
And ^(S)what does the Lord require of you
But to ^(T)do justice, to ^(U)love ^[d]kindness,
And to walk ^[e]^(V)humbly with your God?

⁹The voice of the Lord will call to the city—
And it is sound wisdom to fear Your name:
“^[f]Hear, you tribe. Who has designated ^[g]its time?
¹⁰Is there still a person in the wicked house,
Along with treasures of ^(W)wickedness,
And a ^[h]^(X)short measure that is cursed?
¹¹Can I justify dishonest ^(Y)balances,
And a bag of fraudulent weights?
¹²For the rich people of ^[i]the city are full of ^(Z)violence,
Her residents speak ^(AA)lies,
And their ^(AB)tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
¹³So also I will make you ^(AC)sick, striking you down,
^(AD)Making you desolate because of your sins.
¹⁴You will eat, but you will ^(AE)not be satisfied,
And your filth will be in your midst.
You will try to remove valuables for safekeeping,
But you will ^(AF)not save it all,
And what you do save I will turn over to the sword.
¹⁵You will sow but you will ^(AG)not harvest.
You will tread the olive press but will not anoint yourself with oil;
And tread out sweet wine, but you will ^(AH)not drink any wine.
¹⁶The statutes of ^(AI)Omri
And every work of the house of ^(AJ)Ahab are maintained,
And you ^(AK)walk by their plans.
Therefore I will give you up for ^(AL)destruction,
And ^[j]your inhabitants for ^[k]^(AM)derision,
And you will suffer the ^(AN)taunting of My people.”

The Prophet Acknowledges Injustice

7 Woe to me! For I am
Like harvests of summer fruit, like gleanings of ^(AO)grapes.
There is not a cluster of grapes left to eat,
Nor an ^(AP)early fig, which ^[l]I crave.
²The ^[m]godly person has ^(AQ)perished from the land,
And there is no upright person among mankind.
All of them lie in wait for ^(AR)bloodshed;
Each of them hunts the other with a ^(AS)net.
³As for evil, both hands do it ^(AT)well.
The leader asks for a ^(AU)bribe, also the judge,
And the great one speaks the capricious desire of his soul;
So they plot it together.
⁴The best of them is like a ^(AV)thorn bush,
The most upright like a ^(AW)thorn hedge.
The day ^[n]when you post your watchmen,
Your ^(AX)punishment is coming.
Then their ^(AY)confusion will occur.
⁵Do not ^(AZ)trust in a neighbor;
Do not have confidence in a close friend.
Guard ^[o]your lips
From her who lies ^[p]in your arms.
⁶For ^(BA)son disavows father,
Daughter rises up against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
^(BB)A person’s enemies are the people of his own household.